BRAZIL 2013 CONFEDERATIONS CUP FINAL: Neymar must show his class on the verge of history

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The 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup has given Brazil fans the opportunity to enjoy what Santos supporters have savoured over the last few years, and Barcelona fans will soon enjoy: the heightened sense of anticipation that comes with watching Neymar getting on the ball.
The star had the Seleção fans on their feet as early as the third minute of Brazil’s opening match against Japan, thumping the ball into the top corner from just outside the box. And he had them drooling again towards the end of the meeting with Mexico, when he somehow worked some space in the tightest of situations to lay on a classy assist for strike partner Jo.
In the build-up to Sunday’s final against Spain at the Maracana, however, it is the Brazil ace’s turn to feel the anticipation, as he prepares for quite possibly the most important game of his young career, one in which he will be under pressure yet again to perform.
“It’s a big final and it’s got all the makings of a historic match. We’re aware of that,” he told FIFA.com. “We hope to be able to write our name in the football history books, especially with the game taking place at the Maracana.”
The 21-year-old is sure to feel the pressure until the moment he steps out at the legendary stadium to face his Spanish idols, the team who have set the standard in modern football. Let no one be under the impression, however, that Neymar is in any way nervous about being in the spotlight.

We hope to be able to write our name in the football history books, especially with the game taking place at the Maracana.

Neymar, Brazil forward

Increasingly at ease with the growing media attention he generates, Neymar could not have been more relaxed as he spoke to the assembled press. He told reporters that he turned to team-mate Thiago Silva after Spain’s gruelling semi-final shootout win over Italy on Thursday and said he wished the final was being played on Friday and not Sunday. “We have to wait though, don’t we?” he joked.
History in the makingPlayers go through a whole gamut of emotions in the build-up to any final, and Brazil’s main man has been through a few of them with Santos and knows what such occasions demand. Yet this is no ordinary final, not when it’s being played at the Maracana, with him wearing Brazil’s feted No10 shirt, and with one of his favourite teams providing the opposition, a team he has selected and won with many times on the video game console.
“The whole world was expecting a Brazil-Spain final, us included,” he said, anticipating Sunday’s blockbuster. “We’re going to play against the best in the world, the best team in the world.”
He added that La Roja deserved to be considered favourites for the final, in recognition of their status as the reigning world and two-time European champions, a statement he qualified by saying: “We need to show respect, but we also need to impose ourselves on the pitch. Spain have brought their star players, and Brazil have brought theirs too.”
Warming to his theme he said: “What we have to do is play football, without relying on anything else. We’re going up against the best team in the world, with the best footballers in the world, but we’ve got more than our fair share of talented players. There’s a huge amount of respect and admiration too, but we play good football and we have faith in one another. I think we can play a great game on Sunday.”
As if there were not enough at stake on Sunday already, the big final will also be Neymar’s farewell match in Brazil, as a reporter reminded him during the press conference. After the Maracana it is destination Camp Nou.
“I hadn’t thought about that,” replied Neymar, somewhat taken aback.
He had said his goodbyes to the Santos fans following a Brazilian league match against Flamengo at the Estadio Nacional Mane Garrincha, the venue for the opening match of the Festival of Champions. On that occasion, he burst into tears while singing the national anthem, aware that an important phase in his career was coming to a close.
“I don’t know what it’s going to be like,” he continued. “I don’t know if I’m going to cry. I do know it’s going to be emotional, though.”
It will no doubt be hard for him to control his emotions. Quite apart from it being the last time he will see the Brazilian fans for while, it is, as he puts it, a game that could well turn out to be historic, and one in which he expects to make his contribution. And when he takes to the pitch, it will be the fans who are feeling the tension and not him.

Neymar shows his class

Sunday 16 June 2013

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It all happened in a flash, three minutes in. The whole crowd seemed to hold their breath as Fred, positioned just outside the box, chested down Marcelo’s cross and into the path of the oncoming Neymar, who arched his body to the left and let fly with a sweetly struck half-volley.
In conversation with FIFA.com after his side’s 3-0 defeat of Japan, the Brazil ace picked up the story: “You know straightaway when you’ve hit the ball right or not, and I knew I’d got hold of it well. I just waited to see if the ball went in, and it did.”
Neymar looked on with satisfaction as the ball arrowed into the top left-hand corner of Eiji Kawashima’s goal, leaving the Japanese keeper with no chance.
After teeing up his team-mate, Fred was in the perfect position to see the whole move, the Fluminense striker turning to watch Neymar’s effort fly goalwards and bracing himself in case it flew back towards him from the woodwork.
“When I laid the ball off to him I saw him shaping to shoot,” Fred told FIFA.com. “I could see that he struck it really well and I kept my eye on the ball to see if it would beat the goalkeeper or hit the bar and bounce back towards me. I got a good look at it and I can tell you it was a great goal.”

A lot of technique went into that. It was a very, very special goal

Maya Yoshida, Japan defender, who ended up on the losing side

Japan defender Maya Yoshida also had an excellent view. As someone who plays his club football for Southampton in the English Premier League, Yoshida is no stranger to seeing flamboyant pieces of skill. Though disappointed to be on the losing side on Saturday, he had nothing but admiration for Neymar’s stunning strike.
“Obviously we weren’t expecting a shot like that,” he said afterwards. “But it was a fantastic goal. A lot of technique went into that. It was a very, very special goal.”
For the former Santos prodigy it was an important strike for many reasons. Coming with only three minutes on the clock, it gave his team a welcome confidence boost at the start of a competition they are hosting. With expectations high as they stepped out on to the pitch, the Brazilians had their nerves calmed almost straightaway.
On a personal level it also allowed the goalscorer to allay the fears of fans and media alike, concerned at his run of nine games without finding the back of the net. During that barren sequence Neymar had repeatedly stressed that what really mattered was the team’s results, adding that he felt he was fulfilling his role in the side, a view backed by his coach Luiz Felipe Scolari. As far as the player was concerned, there was nothing to worry about.
He proved that with his goal and superb all-round performance and ball control, which had the fans on their feet. Was it a relief for him then, to be finally back on song? “It was fantastic,” came the reply. “It was a special day. The team performed really well and played a great game, and the fans were behind us all the way. All I can say is that the most important thing is not who scores but who contributes to A Seleção. That said, I am obviously very happy at scoring such a nice goal and helping the team out.”
It was such a nice goal, in fact, that like Fred and Yoshida, every member of the 67,000-crowd at the Estadio Nacional Mane Garrincha on Saturday will remember the moment they held their breaths for a split second and watched it happen before their eyes.