Neymar is in physiotherapy 24 hours a day.
When Brazilian defender Marquinhos announced this at the press conference, at first it seemed that he is saying this to show Neymar’s desperation to return to the World Cup. ’24 hours’ must have been just a figure of speech.
But that’s not true. He literally meant ’24 hours’. To recover from his ankle injury, Neymar is currently staying at the physiotherapy room. He is even sleeping there.
The lavish Westin hotel, situated at the heart of Doha, is the Brazil team’s address for the World Cup. From Sunday noon, there was a sea of yellow right outside the hotel. But the Brazilian fans hadn’t flocked to the hotel to catch a glimpse of their favourite players but to get an update on Neymar’s injury.
That update came at the Brazil team’s press conference. After Marquinhos, Brazil coach Tite spoke with the reporters. There was only one question about their opponents in the second match. There were a couple of questions on other topics as well. The rest of the 35-40 minute-long press conference was spent talking only about Neymar.
Right after the match against Serbia ended, coach Tite had announced that Neymar will play in the World Cup. On what basis did he say that, does he still feel the same, when could he return if he does in fact return- Tite had to answer many such questions at the press conference.
Tite stayed firm on his previous statement. But as expected, he couldn’t specifically say when exactly Neymar would return.
Brazil is set to play a World Cup match after Neymar is out with an injury. Does this remind you of anything? Perhaps, the nightmare at Belo Horizonte?
Neymar’s World Cup ended after getting injured in the quarterfinal. What happened after that in Brazil’s semifinal match is an anomaly in FIFA World Cup history.
I don’t think any more hints are needed to remind you of the match that ended with a 7-1 scoreline. It’s also evident why the incident of the 2014 World Cup is being brought up again and again. Brazil is set to take the field against Switzerland in their second match of the World Cup without an injured Neymar.
Germany and Switzerland are not the same team. They maybe neighbours, but in terms of footballing pedigree and heritage, the difference between them is huge.
The Belo Horizonte match was a semifinal and the match against Switzerland is a group-stage fixture. Brazil have also showed signs that they will maintain their glittering record at the group-stage with their win over Serbia in the first match. Moreover, Tite has no shortages of options.
But is it really so? Maybe the team is not as dependent on Neymar as it was in the 2014 World Cup, but still, is there really a replacement for Neymar in the Brazil team? Possibly there isn’t.
Neymar’s performance in the first match wasn’t spectacular, but Tite reminded everyone about his contribution against Serbia. Richarlion’s first goal came from a rebound after the Serbian goalkeeper saved Vinicius Junior’s shot. But in the buildup to the goal, something else had happened.
Neymar’s run into the box and his movements created the space for Vinicius to reach the ball. To explain Neymar’s importance, Tite also added that talented players like Neymar create two-three such moments in every game which can make all the difference.
For now, Tite has to sketch his battle plans without Neymar. Tite is optimistic that someone from the next generation will step up to the occasion. He also said the names of the players who could step up. He spoke about Vinicus Junior, Richarlison, Gabriel Jesus and even Raphinha.
Tite will, of course, be optimistic. The players he spoke of also have the capability to meet his expectations. Still, Neymar is Neymar.
The Brazil camp is also feeling some guilt. Neymar continued playing for 11 minutes against Serbia after getting injured. This, surely, worsened the state of his ankle.
Tite accepted the blame of not taking Neymar off the field immediately. Though, he repeated said, “I didn’t even realise he was injured. Nobody told me. I realised only after he fell to the ground.”
In that match, 12 fouls were committed against Brazil, nine of which were against Neymar. Tite is also fuming about that. But more than anger, Tite was unhappy as according to him, “If you want entertaining football, you need to think about such fouls. A certain player is being targeted. This is really unfortunate.”
Not just Neymar, right back Danilo also suffered an injury against Serbia. He also has hurt his ankle. The only consolation for Tite is that both Neymar and Danilo got injured in the first match. So, he can be hopeful of getting them back before the trial at the knockout stage.
*This report appeared in the print and online edition of Prothom Alo and has been rewritten for the English edition by Ashfaq-Ul-Alam Niloy