Without Neymar – Brazil revisit World Cup nightmare
Shortly before the start of this summer’s Copa America, the Brazil coach Dunga attempted to argue that what happened to the Selecao in the World Cup last year was “something isolated”, “a freak” – but it is now in danger of becoming a troubling trend.
Consider the context of their final group game against Venezuela here on Sunday and the concerns about the team. Just a year on from the calamity of the World Cup, Brazil must again try to get a result in a decisive game without Neymar – and are in genuine danger of another humiliation.
While nothing will ever compare to the 7-1 semi-final crushing by Germany in terms of emotion and shock, going out of the competition to Venezuela would be hugely embarrassing in its own right. It would also prove that Brazilian under-performance is not freakish and springs from deeper problems that the Brazil Football Federation has failed to properly confront.
In that regard, this Copa America in Chile has been as bad as their underwhelming World Cup. In Brazil’s first game, a patchy performance against Peru was only saved by a moment of Neymar brilliance, his supreme through ball setting up Douglas Costa for a last-minute winner.
In the second game, the Barcelona forward failed to fire, and Brazil could not get past Colombia. They deservedly lost 1-0, before Neymar head-butted Jeison Murillo after the final whistle and received a red card which means he will be suspended for the vital game.
There are elements to all this, however, that are more troubling for Brazil than just the fact that their best player will be missing.
The first is the psychological effects of what has been called Neymardependencia, not least on the star himself. It is difficult not to think the head-butt was a subconscious response to the extreme responsibility he carries in the team. Some in Brazil have suggested that the weight of expectation on Neymar results in him reverting to the old immaturity that is now never evident at Barcelona. Then there is the juvenile response of the team as a whole. One reason they collapsed so badly against Germany in the World Cup was because so much energy was expended on lamenting the injustice of Neymar’s injury picked up in the quarter-final against Colombia. There may be a similar dynamic now.
The aftermath of Wednesday’s match with Colombia did not see any real scrutiny of Brazil’s poor play or rallying calls about how they can respond. It was instead dominated by complaints about the referee and coverage of the Brazil federation’s shameless attempts to have Neymar’s two-game ban reduced.
That may be futile if they cannot actually learn to play without the No 10 in the first place and get through to the quarter-finals.
Brazil are actually top of their group on goals scored after Peru’s surprise win over Venezuela on Thursday, but that fact is almost irrelevant given that all four teams are on three points.
To do that, they must learn to actually attack without him. That was what was even more troubling about the Colombia defeat. With Neymar looking so much off his game, the limits of Brazil’s creativity ended at repeated long balls and aimless crosses.
It was lamentable. It was also, as midfielder Elias argued, a source of motivation. The 30-year-old Corinthians player claimed the Colombia defeat may have come at the “right time” because there is still time to adapt and evolve. While Venezuela are an awkward team, they are very far from a Germany, and may represent the ideal opponents against which to try something different.
This could also be the opportunity for Philippe Coutinho to offer the creativity he does at Liverpool, to shine in the space just behind the strikers that is not usually available to him for his country.
Either way, it’s time for the dependency on Neymar to end or Brazil’s Copa America will finish on Sunday. THE INDEPENDENT