Dubai: Trepidation is that one word that may well sum up the current status of the Brazilian faithful as Neymar da Silva Santos Junior or simply Neymar goes through the pangs of recovering from injury.
Born on February 5, 1992 the star striker from French side Paris St-Germain has been struggling to recover post-surgery on his right foot following a fracture on his fifth metatarsal bone.
However, there is a hope in large doses. Or so it seems when doctors and Brazilian football authorities have been persistent in assuring that Neymar will be ready for yet another World Cup next month.
Like many of the well-known names in Brazilian football in the past, Neymar came into prominence at an early age while at Santos where he made his professional debut at just 17 years. He went on to help his club win two successive Campeonato Paulista championships, a Copa do Brasil and the 2011 Copa Libertadores — the first title for Santos since 1963. Eventually, the European lure caught up and Neymar relocated to Spain as part of Barcelona’s attacking trio alongside Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez, but only after twice being named the ‘South American Footballer of the Year’ in 2011 and 2012.
In Europe, the famed ‘MSN’ combination flourished as Barcelona went on to record a continental treble of La Liga, the Copa del Rey and the Uefa Champions League in the 2014-15 season. But in mid-August last year, Neymar moved to PSG in a transaction worth €222 million, making him the world’s most expensive player till date.
With 53 goals in 83 matches for Brazil since debuting at age 18, Neymar is the fourth-highest goalscorer for his national team. He was a key player in Brazil’s victories at the 2011 South American Youth Championship, in which he finished as the leading goalscorer, and the 2013 Fifa Confederations Cup, where he won the Golden Ball as player of the tournament. His participation in the 2014 Fifa World Cup and 2015 Copa America was cut short by injury and a suspension respectively, but the next year he captained Brazil to their first Olympic gold medal in men’s football at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games on home soil.
Known for his dribbling, finishing, and ability with both feet, Neymar has earned comparisons to former Brazil and Santos forward, Pele. Off the pitch, he ranks among the world’s most prominent sportsmen with SportsPro naming the Brazilian as the most marketable athlete in the world in 2012 and 2013, and ESPN citing him as the world’s fourth-most famous athlete in 2016.
Russia 2018 will be Neymar’s window of opportunity as Brazil try to lay their hands on a trophy they had last seen in 2002.
