For the first time in about ten years, it must finally be relaxing to be a fan of the Brazilian national team. At the 2005 Confederations Cup, Brazil merrily captured the title with a squad containing the assurances of Kaka, Ronaldinho, Lucio and the phenomenal talents of Adriano and Robinho. That was the end of the fun.
A disappointing quarterfinal exit at the 2006 World Cup revealed cracks that weren’t repaired over the following decade. Talented Brazilian squads remained inferior when faced with opposition that had truly surpassed their own cliched levels of beauty — the Netherlands outclassing them in 2010 and Germany doing some truly awful things to them in 2014.
Whisper it now, but that inferiority complex appears to have all but disappeared under the brash new leadership of Neymar. It’d be one thing if Neymar was all swagger and Nike advertising hype, a legitimate criticism of previous Brazilian teams, but his numbers at 24 years of age are sensational.
Neymar for Brazil:
72 games
48 GOALS
27 ASSISTS pic.twitter.com/rkNRRw4LYH— Neymar Jr. (@NeyMarvellous) September 7, 2016
He now trails only Pele, Ronaldo and Romario on the list of Brazil’s greatest goal scorers. More importantly, his goals are coming at transformative moments for the whole of the Canarinho setup.
This is clearly his team. The question isn't can Neymar lead Brazil, it's how far. We know that Brazil craved the Olympic gold, Neymar delivered it. While the rest of the footballing world will quickly forget that achievement, it’s clearly catalyzed their national team.
Following his Olympic heroics, Neymar earned Brazil crucial 3-0 and 2-1 wins over Ecuador and Colombia in World Cup qualifying.
Neymar's winner for Brazil v Colombiahttps://t.co/cOo57nwZsC
— 101 Great Goals (@101greatgoals) September 7, 2016
Those victories shot Brazil above their hated rival Argentina in the CONMBEBOL table, an achievement that won’t so much as have Brazilians feeling good about their side as it will have them dreaming of a sixth World Cup triumph in Russia. That’s just how they roll.
It used to be terrifying cheering against Brazil — the whole task of rooting for the underdog they were up against seemed absolutely futile. It was like rooting against the USA in Olympic basketball, a waste of time.
With the demise of Brazil’s international dominance, predicting the outcomes of World Cups once again became an actual exercise. Neymar’s current level of play, along with the notion that he hasn’t yet reached his ceiling, could yet turn future World Cups into a training ground exercise for Brazilian excellence.
Follow me on Twitter: @ConmanFleming
