In the 90th minute on Wednesday night, Neymar did something no other player in the world would even attempt
The score was 2-1. Paris Saint-Germain were holding onto an important lead that would all but guarantee first place in this season’s Champions League’s group of death. Neymar had the ball in Liverpool’s defensive right-hand corner of the pitch. With two men closing him down, he had options. Did he make the simple pass back to Marco Verratti? No chance. That would be too easy. Neymar, being Neymar, decided to rainbow flick the ball over the diminutive Xherdan Shaqiri’s head, before running round him and inevitably being shoved to the floor.
It was a moment that perfectly encapsulated why so many love Neymar, and why so many others despise him. Some would say it’s disrespectful, others would argue it’s entertaining. You get the feeling that if it were someone else, Ronaldinho for example, doing outrageous flicks in the final minute of a game, it would be greeted with less vitriol and more adoration.
But Neymar has developed such a reputation that the Proper Football Men view this sort of showmanship as a step too far. How dare he? How dare he use his talent to pull of incredible pieces of skill that nobody else would even consider? Why can’t he be humble, wear black boots, run until it hurts and do away with the fancy flicks?
Because he’s Neymar, and that is what makes him one of the best players in the world.
The Brazilian is not without his flaws, admittedly. The theatrical rolls understandably aggravate people, but considering how often – and how aggressively – he is fouled, it’s forgivable. He is over-indulged at PSG, demanding to take penalties, flying home whenever he pleases, throwing himself a three-day birthday party, but this is simply a consequence of his entourage constantly reaffirming that one day he will be the best player in the world since he was a child. That sort of thing will inflate your ego.
Those who take an issue with his style of play, the colour of his boots, and tendency to showboat, labelling him ’embarrassing’ and ‘pathetic’, ought to redirect their frustrations towards those running PSG, rather than the players on the field. The source of the club’s riches is much more objectionable than the players they acquire with that wealth.
If those who’d rather every footballer was a clone of James Milner, just running really hard and over-hitting crosses for 90 minutes, got their way, they would soon miss the spark of excitement that players like Neymar bring.
It is an intriguing part of the British footballing psyche, the negative response to flair and arrogance. For all that we praise players who play ‘with a smile on their face’, there is a irrational desire to clip the wings of players who dare to be different, take risks, and show off just how good they are.
Neymar was widely criticised last night, but his performance against Liverpool was a perfect demonstration of what sets him apart from all but two players in world football. This is why PSG paid a world record fee for him – for his ability to carry a team through tough moments, which is often overlooked due to everything else that comes with it.
It should not be forgotten that it was Neymar, not Lionel Messi or Luis Suárez, who inspired Barcelona’s incredible comeback against PSG in the spring of 2017. It is Neymar who has scored 60 international goals at the age of 26. It is Neymar whose absence led to Brazil collapsing against Germany in 2014.
He is a product of a footballing environment that has allowed players to yield too much power, an industry that has allowed transfer fees to inflate beyond control and one in which the brand of the individual has come to mean as much to board members as the cohesion of a team. But football needs players like him.
Ultimately, we watch football to be entertained, so let’s appreciate the players who entertain us, rather than trying to drag them down at every opportunity.
