Hurting Neymar gets emotional
st. petersburg — Neymar is hurting, probably physically and almost for sure emotionally.
The Brazil striker, the face of the team at the World Cup and the one carrying the hopes of the nation on his shoulders, came into the tournament with a foot injury. And after a dramatic outburst late in the 2-0 victory over Costa Rica on Friday, he dropped to his knees and cried when the referee blew the final whistle. Neymar then lashed out on Instagram. “Not everybody knows what I went through to get here. Even parrots can talk, but to actually do it... few can!!” Neymar wrote alongside a picture of himself looking toward the sky.
“The tears were of joy, success, heart, desire to win. Nothing was ever easy in my life, it wouldn’t be any different now, right!! The dream lives on. No, not the dream, the GOAL!”
Neymar is one of the best players in the world, and that status has made him a target for opposing defenses.
In Brazil’s opening match against Switzerland, a 1-1 draw, Neymar was fouled 10 times. In the next match against Costa Rica, he complained to the referee frequently about not getting calls in his favor. Up next will be Serbia on Wednesday.
As time was winding down in Friday’s match against Costa Rica, and with the score still 0-0, Neymar started to show his emotions. He first flopped to the ground in front of goal, hoping to draw a penalty. He did, briefly, but video review showed the Paris Saint-Germain dived.
Neymar came into this tournament after needing surgery on a broken toe in his right foot, an injury he picked up in late February. He also had a scare in training on Tuesday, limping off with an apparent right ankle injury.
He left the last tournament, at home in Brazil four years ago, with a back injury. That ruled him out of Brazil’s semifinal match against Germany, a game that ended in a humiliating 7-1 loss. —