Following Brazil-Mexico pre-quarter final match, USA Today published a report with the following headline: “For all his talent, Neymar is an embarrassment to soccer.”
The article further elaborates by saying that “you know the ones, where he gives a bloodcurdling shriek that points to mortal peril. Or writhes on the ground, squirming as if his organs are shutting down and his capacity for normal function has left him. Only to find himself, moments later, back on his feet and sprinting at full tilt.
A newcomer to the sport must marvel that he has remarkable powers of recovery. He doesn’t, of course.”
“He’s just a faker, a diver, a simulator, a play-actor, or any of the other words soccer uses to gloss over the fact that someone is trying to blatantly and shamelessly cheat by conning the referee into punishing an opponent.”
Flamboyant Neymar Vis-à-Vis Picture Perfect Messi
But despite his antics, he delivers on the pitch with the yellow Brazilian jersey.
Not only has he become the third highest goal scorer for Brazil behind legendary Pele and Ronaldo, his success rate as a player with the national team is second to none. Brazil has had a success rate of 71 percent whenever Neymar has been part of the starting line-up.
And his team suffered a shocking 7-1 defeat against Germany in the semi-final of the last world cup in front of the home crowd at Belo Horizonte when Neymar had to sit out of the match because of an injury.
Lionel Messi, on the other hand, comes across as a picture-perfect player – most gifted yet least flamboyant, subdued in celebration and a total team player who is never seen to be placing “I” before the team. Despite his prodigious skill, his national Argentinian side suffered a humiliating defeat against inexperienced France in the World Cup pre-quarter final last week. With this loss, his dream of becoming the world champion is all but over.
As opposed to his impeccable record with the star studded Spanish football club Barcelona, his association with the national team has been nothing but ordinary, with a success rate of mere 60 percent.
He has often been blamed for shining with other stars while playing for Barcelona but failing to inspire a team of average players.
And on this count, he is different from his legendary predecessor and supremely talented fellow countryman Diego Maradona and contemporary Neymar. But why?
Maradona’s Exceptional Skill on the Pitch, Countless Controversies Off It
Michel Platini, himself a gifted midfielder and acclaimed Football French star of his time, is reported to have once highly praised Maradona.
Diego was capable of things no one else could match. The things I could do with a football, he could do with an orange.Michel Platini, French legend and ex-UEFA President
He won the World Cup almost single-handedly for Argentina and inspired a nondescript Italian club Napoli to the pinnacle of success at the club level.
Maradona is also credited to have scored the FIFA goal of the century and also the most controversial goal ever scored – both within a space of just four minutes against England in the 1986 World Cup quarterfinal.
Controversial affairs, drug abuse, expulsion mid-day through the 1994 World Cup because of failed dope test and unwarranted statements at times – these are some of things that took the sheen away from Maradona’s superstardom. But despite his seeming personal flaws, he had the exceptional gift of inspiring a team of mediocre players.
Was his anti-hero persona the reason? Was his ‘I don’t give a damn as long as results are coming my way’ trait that produced exceptional results even with ordinary teams? Is Neymar modelling himself on Maradona to produce the same kind of results?
Neymar is known to lead a flashy lifestyle, very much like a Hollywood superstar. And his antics on the pitch has invited more derision than adulation. But he has been effective and has produced results for Brazil.
Messi, on the other hand, is a reluctant leader and a loner who reportedly dreads the idea of giving a pre-match speech to his teammates. And he has failed the team when it needs his inspiration the most.
Like a failed penalty kick in the opening match against Iceland this time. And he failed to convert a spot kick in the 2016 Copa America final as well. Is he too normal to handle pressure and expectations of millions of fans?
Messi comes across as someone who comes closest to the skill Maradona possessed. He is capable of matching Maradona’s FIFA goal of the century. He has scored many memorable goals for Barcelona. But the fact that he has delivered very little for Argentina definitely calls for some attention.
Perhaps a lesson from the life of “flawed genius” (one headline of a leading website called him just that) called Diego Maradona would have helped him handle pressure and expectations. And Neymar’s antics? Perhaps, as diversionary tactics.
I don’t know how fans and critics would have reacted to Messi’s antics if he had ever attempted any.
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