London 2012 Olympics: 10 Things You Need to Know About Neymar
By Liviu Bird
Neymar is one of the most promising young athletes in any sport at the 2012 Summer Olympics. The 20-year-old is already in the conversation for the greatest soccer player of all-time, even though he has only been a pro for three years.
He has been compared to both Pelé and Lionel Messi, even though he insists Messi is in a class of his own. That statement indicates a modesty that some of his other actions don't.
Still, as with any athlete or person, Neymar is a complicated human being. Let's see if we can peel back some of the layers on his personality.
1. Neymar Scored 40 Goals in 62 Appearances Last Year
In the 2011/12 season, Neymar scored 40 goals in 62 games across all competitions, including national team play. That comes out to 0.65 goals a game—an insane pace of better than a goal every two games.
His first national team goal came in 2010, in a friendly against the United States in New York (video above). Brazil beat the U.S. 2-0.
2. He Was a Celebrity Judge on a Freestyle Soccer Show
Neymar is known for his tricks and flair, as well as his bursts of speed that propel him past defenders. In October 2011, though, he was on the viewer's side of the ball when he was a celebrity judge at a Street Style competition in Rio de Janeiro.
Watch highlights of the competition here, and watch Neymar stand up to briefly offer his own juggling tricks near the end.
3. He Signed with Santos at Age 15 and Made His First-Team Debut at 17
The Brazilian youngster—he's still just 20, let's not forget—has been a Santos player since 2003, a professional since 2007 and made his first-team debut in 2009. Those milestones came at ages 11, 15 and 17, respectively.
4. Neymar Has a Good Relationship with Lionel Messi
Despite their two different personalities, Neymar and Lionel Messi get along just fine, Messi's father told a Catalan-language radio station in Barcelona. FromGoal.com:
Leo told me that Neymar is a good kid. They spoke with each other and they have a good rapport. In addition to being a good player, Neymar is also a good kid.
That's a good thing, if new reports that Neymar may be headed to Barcelona are to be believed. More on that later, but for now, imagine those two as teammates and the trouble they would cause opponents.
As if Barça weren't dominant enough.
5. Unlike Most Soccer Stars, He Dreams of Winning Gold
The reason the Olympics are an under-23 competition in soccer is because FIFA doesn't want the tournament to be considered on par with the World Cup. Add in the controversy of a Great Britain team versus England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland playing separately, and you've got a lower-profile tournament.
Nonetheless, Neymar wants a gold medal in London. Brazil has never won the Olympics, and it would be a good stepping stone for Brazil on the way to the World Cup it is hosting in 2014.
6. Neymar May Have a Discipline Problem
In Friday's exhibition game against Great Britain, Neymar exhibited what his critics love to harp on: Simulation and embellishment. Even Pelé has told the prodigy that he needs to clean up that aspect of his game (from the AP via Yahoo Sports):
He is a player with a body that can't take a lot of hits. A lot of times, he will fall because he can't do anything else, but he was overdoing it. Even when he is fouled, he can't make a spectacle out of it. I told him that he really needs to avoid that.
Neymar is about the spectacle of the game, and he is unapologetically full of flair. But this is one aspect of his game that needs to go.
7. Just What Does the Haircut Mean?
Before a Santos game in 2010, Neymar cut his hair into the Mohawk we see today. Sam Borden wrote in an excellent New York Times profile:
At the game later, Neymar Sr. had just settled into his seat when he saw his son—and his son’s hair—on the field. While he managed to restrain himself from running out there and wringing Neymar’s neck (a thought, he acknowledged, that crossed his mind), there was a conversation—the father’s word—afterward about Neymar’s impulsiveness.
Still, little could be done. After all, Neymar had scored two goals with his new haircut, so it was not going anywhere, and the haircut quickly became a national phenomenon. Children got the Mohawk. Adults got the Mohawk.
Perhaps Neymar's hair has a sort of Samson effect. There are other theories, though, such as Real Madrid officials who want him to find a hairstyle with a "greater seriousness" if they decide to sign him.
So which is it?
8. Neymar Is the 13th-Richest Player in the World
On a list of the highest-paid soccer players in the world, Neymar is No. 13. He is the youngest player in the top 20, earning a total of €13.8 million ($16.7 million) a year as of 2012.
However, Neymar isn't the highest-paid Brazilian. That honor goes to Kaka, who earns €15.5 million ($18.8 million) a year. The two of them combined don't make as much as Lionel Messi, who is on €33 million ($40.1 million) a year, according to the list.
9. He Is a Father
As a 19-year-old, Neymar announced that he would be a father, and the mother was a 17-year-old girl. The two were not in a serious relationship before the child was born, and they still are not.
Neymar announced the pregnancy via Facebook, later putting it on his official website, and he has said that being a father made him scared, excited and feel more responsibility all at once.
Being a father may ground him and provide him with that maturity that his critics say is missing from his personality.
10. Despite Europe's Beckoning, Neymar Wants to Stay at Santos for Now
Although the big money is in Europe, Neymar has no intention of leaving his homeland at the moment. Even facing FC Barcelona in the Club World Cup Final and losing 4-0 couldn't convince Neymar that he should leave.
''Happiness is everything, so when you are happy, there is no reason to change anything,'' Neymar said to the AP via Fox Sports. ''This is my country. My family is here. I have no intention of leaving.''
He has acknowledged that he will have to make the move to Europe eventually, but that time doesn't appear to be now.
source:http://bleacherreport.com