LUIZ: WE’LL WIN IT FOR NEYMAR
We’ll win it for crushed Neymar, vows Luiz
NO Neymar means no trophy and no trophy means no escaping the nightmare which has haunted Brazil for 64 years, ever since the last time they failed to win the World Cup on home soil.
That appeared to be the consensus as celebrations that followed a 2-1 win against Colombia in a pulsating quarter-final were tinged with sadness. Neymar’s injury had swiftly been confirmed as a broken vertebra, an X-ray was broadcast on television to prove the point and president Dilma Rousseff took to social media to offer her best wishes for a speedy recovery.
‘Forca Neymar,’ she tweeted, as did others such as model Gisele Bundchen, Miami Heat basketball star LeBron James and German footballers including Mesut Ozil and Lukas Podolski, who must have been secretly delighted to learn Brazil’s best player cannot play against them in Tuesday’s semi-final.
Hundreds of bright yellow replica No 10 shirts on market stalls and hawked by street sellers seemed to sag in disappointment, crested hairstyles drooped around Brazil and bookmakers, for the first time, decided the hosts could no longer be considered favourites to lift the trophy.
Neymar will not play again in this tournament. The initial diagnosis predicted an absence of about six weeks from football and, while parallels can be drawn with Pele — the original No10 who also hailed from the Santos club and was kicked out of a World Cup, ending Brazilian hopes in 1966 — others tried to lift the gloom.
Leading the campaign was David Luiz, climbing the popularity polls with a statesmanlike air. Not only is he scoring precious goals, like the brilliant free-kick against Colombia, but the centre-half betwixt Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain has a knack for connecting with the masses. ‘ To play in a semi-final of the World Cup is a dream,’ said Luiz. ‘When I was young, I dreamt of days like this, but I am sad because Neymar is out of the competition. He is like my brother. He is a great
guy, a great person and a great player who brings the good things to football: happiness and magic.
‘Brazil will suffer a lot from this loss but Neymar will help us with his happiness. We have made a pact to support him. He will grow taller from this moment. It would be great if we could win it and celebrate with him.’
Inside the squad, Neymar is so much more than an icon of youth culture. You can see the warmth and affection colleagues reserve for him is genuine when you watch them training, where he laughs if one of his tricks fails and he is teased like anyone else.
True, he is their most gifted creative force, capable of lifting them out of the ordinary, but he also grafts and offers more humility than you might expect for a diamond-studded 22-year-old.
‘Neymar is a boy who fights a lot,’ said Luiz. ‘He dreamed about playing in a World Cup and now he is out because of a foul the defender probably should have avoided.’
Colombia’s Juan Zuniga is Brazil’s new public enemy, the man who rammed his knee into the base of Neymar’s spine as they contested the ball near the end of the quarter-final.
Luiz Felipe Scolari claimed his star man had been ‘ hunted’ by opponents after his terrific start to the tournament.
Neymar suffered a knee injury against Chile when he was cut down in full flight.
The Brazil manager, however, swerved the fact that his own side had employed strong-arm tactics in a bid to silence James Rodriguez of Colombia.
‘I never crucify players,’ said Luiz. ‘You do things when you are emotional and don’t think. I will just say, if he did it with bad intentions because he wanted to do injure him, then I think he will feel sad. If he just tried to stop the game that’s natural, that’s football.’
Brazil captain Thiago Silva offered support for Zuniga. ‘I know him from Serie A and he does not have any nastiness in him,’ said PSG defender Silva, who was formerly at AC Milan.
The challenge now is to prove there is life after Neymar for a team which has come to rely rather too heavily on his invention. They will fret about how much they can create from open play.
Against Chile and Colombia, the goals came from centre-halves Luiz, who scored twice, and Silva, all from set-pieces. Who wins most of these free-kicks and corners? Neymar, by dribbling at defenders.
In his absence, there will be a greater onus on others. Oscar is expected to return to a central role, which he will relish, and his Chelsea team-mate Willian is among the candidates to come in against Germany in Belo Horizonte.
Almost as bad for Scolari is the absence of Silva who is suspended.
His loss will be eased a little by the return of defensive midfielder Luiz Gustavo after a one-match ban.
‘This is the moment to show the strength of the squad,’ said Silva. ‘This moment could mark the start of a revolution for us. We have proposed to win the World Cup for Neymar because of the injury he suffered. This could unite us.’