NEYM AND BLAME
Tite: I won’t hold back Neymar and I won’t try to change him. He’s a genius
BRAZIL coach Tite has warned the world he will stick with “genius” Neymar and unleash his attack against Costa Rica.
The five-time champions’ Paris Saint-Germain star limped out of training during the week with an ankle problem. It came after they were held in a shock draw against Switzerland. However, Tite intends to field an unchanged side and has vowed to stick to the attacking principles that have made them the most feared nation on the planet. He said: “I will not hold back Neymar or
any other player in the final third. We have to respect the characteristics of Brazilian football.
“We want to win, it’s a World Cup, but the coach is not going to risk a player’s health by being dishonest to him. That’s a price that’s too high to pay.
“There was an eagerness within the team in the first game and also from the coach, who’s only human.
“But now even I have a better understanding about the tournament. The whole team has a better feeling on what to expect and to look for the goal.”
Tite also rejected claims that he pulled Neymar to one side during training after last weekend’s debacle to implore him to be more of a team player
He said: “Absolutely not. That didn’t happen.
“All the players have the responsibility of playing for the team and also being individuals, some with some specific characteristics.
“I’m not going to take away from Neymar’s initiative in the last third of the pitch. He’s a
genius. We just have to be more effective and convert scoring chances into goals. In defence, we did a good job to control them. We didn’t allow that many chances”.
Barcelona star Philippe Coutinho has admitted the Brazil team need to do more to take the burden off Neymar, who is also the subject of rough treatment from rival sides.
He said: “We know that Neymar gets targeted, but there is not much we can do about that. We are used to it, he is even used to it, we just have to trust the referees to do their job and protect him.”
The two sides are heading into their third meeting at a World Cup, but, so far, Costa Rica have had little to cheer about.
Brazil came out on top in 1990. Twelve years later, the eventual champions earned a 5-2 win.
Coutinho added: “The Brazilian people always think we will win the World Cup, so there is always that expectation. We are OK with that, we believe that we can do it.”
SAMI KHEDIRA has called on his team-mates to become warriors and make Germany great again.
The Juventus midfielder delivered a brutal assessment of the failings against Mexico as the tension increased ahead of tomorrow’s potentially-decisive showdown with Sweden. Joachim Loew’s squad came out fighting the tide of criticism that is showing no signs of slowing. Former Real Madrid star Khedira said: “If we play with the same intensity as against Mexico we’re going to need Usain Bolt and Carl Lewis to cover the holes. We played like schoolboys.
“And of course there’s been tension. We’re the world champions and the mood isn’t going to be great when you’ve lost your first match.
“We need to get back our mentality of being 11 warriors. That’s what made Germany great.”
The backlash has been fierce. Midfielder Julian Brandt was panned for taking a selfie before walking off the pitch at the Luhzniki Stadium. Mesut Ozil’s body language was likened to that “of a dead frog” and numerous explayers have demanded a change to Loew’s line-up.
Much of the flak was directed at Ozil, who found an unlikely ally in former Liverpool midfielder Didier
Hamann, who accused others of allowing the Arsenal man to be a convenient target. He said: “It’s OK for some players to hide behind him. If they win, everyone’s happy – if not, it’s, ‘Blame Ozil’.
“There’s been too much talk about tactics. The fact is no one on the German side was bothered when we didn’t have the ball.”
The players were keen to make their feelings known yesterday. Stuttgart striker Mario Gomez was not alone when he hit out.
Gomez said: “I believe everyone is free to say what they want, especially after such a damaging defeat when we didn’t play well. But things have got personal very quickly.
“It’s no problem if we’re criticised but I get the impression some people were waiting for us to fail to settle scores. It’s OK to say, ‘That guy was rubbish’ or, ‘He’s not running enough.’ But to get personal isn’t right.
“I watched Spain eliminated four years ago and people said nothing. I didn’t see them writing, ‘Sergio Ramos – what a loser’. All this is just firing us up.”
Germany will know before kickoff at the Fisht Stadium tomorrow night if defeat means they become the third winners in succession to exit at the group stage following on from the embarrassments suffered by Italy and Spain.
Mexico and South Korea, who play in the afternoon, will need to draw for that to be the case. Gomez added: “We need to stay cool-headed. We have to believe in ourselves.”