Is Neymar The Right Leader For Brazil?
Despite the build up about Luiz Felipe Scolari’s Brazil prior to the World Cup, I wondered about their stability. The encouraging belief and magic of playing on home soil was vibrate as ever for the Seleção, but something was missing. The team itself lacked a glue that withheld true world champions. The kind of team that no matter the situation, they could function with ease and power. A perfect example of this is the four-time champions Germany; they are a team that scary enough can still reek havoc on a country even if they select men from their bench. This is a rarity.
But I would argue the world did not see this in Brazil. The young and talented squad found themselves broken mentally during a slim entrance to the semi-finals on penalties against Columbia. The squad was then designated to be reviewed by sports psychologists. Anyone who watched the match that day saw un-explainable tears rolling down the eyes of the entire squad as they, in disbelief, made it into the semi finals at home.
June 28, 2014; Belo Horizonte, BRAZIL; Brazil players from left Jo , Marcelo , Hulk and Neymar celebrate during penalty kicks against Chile during the round of sixteen match in the 2014 World Cup at Estadio Mineirao. Mandatory Credit: Tim Groothuis/Witters Sport via USA TODAY Sports
Also during this dramatic match Brazilian starlet Neymar Jr was badly injured and unable to play the rest of the tournament. This turned into an absolute social media outcry for recovery and support for the Barcelona man, as Brazil mourned his absence like a death. And this is where the stability truly began to decay for me; the team as whole greatly respected his leadership but they were in some ways, showing their vulnerability by honoring him as though they no longer had a leader.
Why this is important is because just this past Thursday, newly appointment Brazil coach and 1994 World Cup winning Captain Dunga, presented to the world the Seleção’s newest Captain in Neymar. In the absence of centre back Thiago Silva, the 22 year old lead the yellows into their clash with Columbia and will continue to against Ecuador.
Sep 5, 2014; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; Columbia player Pablo Armero (7) looks on as Brazil player William (19) kicks the ball in the second half at Sun Life Stadium. Brazil won 1-0. Mandatory Credit: Robert Mayer-USA TODAY Sports
There are a myriad of reasons why this is not only odd, but for lack of a better word, puzzling. After the Brazil’s embarrassing exit out of the World Cup, Scolari was heavily criticized by the press and his home country, finally leading to (inevitable) resignation. One of the most particular comments made during that time was by new coach Dunga in an interview where he expressed what he would have done differently.
“We will not play for Neymar, he will play for the team” as reported on SBnation.com “I wouldn’t have allowed these players to dye their hair while they were with the national team. Either do it before or after, but they should be thinking about the World Cup. Neymar appears with a cap or without a cap. It should be [a Brazil cap]. We should be talking about what happens on the field.”
There are two sides to Dunga’s coin. One is that yes, the focus should solely be on football, not on the stardom and the glory of Brazilian super stardom. In this context, commenting on hair dye and fashion sense makes sense. They can be distractions and keep the players mind set out of such an important time. But the other side of the coin is, this is a manager who Brazil fired 4 years earlier. Now he has decided in light of criticizing his new “captain” that he is fit enough to lead a team?
And mind you, this is a team that perhaps needs just as much cleaning up to do on the international stage as he does.
Sep 5, 2014; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; Brazil coach Dunga in the first half of a game against Columbia at Sun Life Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Mayer-USA TODAY Sports
Dunga also criticized the likes of Thiago Silva being Captain as he has also said that “he would not choose Silva as his captain if he were national-team coach once again” [vis Bleacher Report]. His reasoning stemmed from his poor leadership which lead up to the terrible defeat against Germany. His idea was that perhaps he is not fit for the challenge of Captain, as all came crumbling down due to lack of stability from the start.
But is it fair to blame this all on one player? If Neymar demonstrates the same performance, maybe we could. But it is also a team effort. One where most of the national team hadn’t experienced a grand stage such as the World Cup before; thus the pressure was colossal.
Jun 12, 2014; Sao Paulo, BRAZIL; Brazil defender Thiago Silva (3) reacts against Croatia in the opening game of the 2014 World Cup at Arena Corinthians. Brazil defeated Croatia 3-1. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Yet to replace the Paris-St Germain centre back out of his Captancy (as it was easy because he is injured) is a quick move to make. Thiago Silva has provided an incredible statement as Captain for Paris. He is apart of alot of decisions the clubs make, including the decision to go after David Luiz. His eye for the game unveils his maturity as a footballer and I believe he could have the potential to be as secure of a player as Andrea Pirlo one day. In Dunga’s eyes he had his chance and lost it.
But I cannot say I am comfortable for Brazil to have Neymar as their leader. It makes sense in the way that the team idolized his presence on the pitch. What he does for the Seleção as a player and a home grown star. Yet, these things are very fragile confidences to base a team off of. If perhaps Messi can teach Neymar his modest leadership and be the kind of player that shifts the focus of the team onto themselves as a whole versus themselves serving their leader, perhaps he could prove me wrong.