Neymar made his professional debut when he was just 17 years old. He was still a kid, with idols and a need to prove himself, and probably had no idea how much success he would eventually see. Seven years later, Neymar is a part of one of the greatest teams of all time, and has done enough to surpass Neymar’s greatest idol as a child: Robinho.
We learned of Neymar’s idolization of Robinho during a recent interview with Goal.com. The conversation touched on a number of topics, including Neymar’s introduction to football, which transitioned into his fascination with Robinho.
“When I started following Santos, Robinho was my favourite player. He is my greatest idol. Today, I have a lot of them, after learning more about football, but back then I was a huge fan of Robinho’s.”
"I was always trying to do what he did: his dribbles, plays and goals. And I started practicing so that, someday, I could become as much like him as possible."
Robinho and Neymar played together at Santos when the former had returned from Europe and the latter was just getting started. Photo: @Ultimo_Diez | Twitter
"I've learned my tricks watching videos on the internet with friends. I’m always trying to copy what I've seen at home, what I learned from my friends. But you have to repeat it again and again to get it right on the field.”
It is no surprise that Neymar has developed the playing style he has today if he did indeed try to mimic Robinho as a child. Robinho was famous for his elaborate dribbling displays. Furthermore, while not exactly groundbreaking, it is interesting to hear that Neymar is exposed to new skills the same way many children are, by watching videos on the internet.
Unlike most children, Neymar was able to take those moves he learned on the internet and use them effectively. He has become the face of Brazilian football, something that many Neymar’s greatest idol, Robinho, was destined to be for some time, and perhaps for a moment he was.
Robinho was once was once just as hyped as Neymar. He was the latest Brazilian that exemplified everything that the nation of Brazil prided itself on on the field. It was thought for a while that Robinho would be the superstar that Neymar is today, but for all of his big money transfers (to Real Madrid and Manchester City) Robinho could never deliver in the same way Neymar has.
Still, Robinho had his fare share of highlights during his career.
Interestingly enough, Neymar made some comments about the effectiveness of his game during his interview with Goal.com, and they hint at what might separate Robinho and he.
"I've done some tricks that people started talking about," said Neymar, speaking about certain moves he performs, such as the rainbow kick, that some see as disrespectful to the opposition. "Some caused controversy among people who dislike the 'futebol arte'. But I don't care about this. I always dribble for a reason and I always head for the goal."
He seems to understand that without purpose, his dribbles don’t mean much. He still has that same appreciation for embarrassing his opponent that Robinho had, but his awareness of the need to “dribble for a reason” shows how much he understands that he must produce results on the pitch, not just Vines.
Let’s hope that the next Brazilian superstar, the one growing up in Brazil somewhere today, idolizing Neymar, understands that as well.
Follow me in Twitter: @yetly
