Neymar set to mark 100th game with Brazil

SAO PAULO— Ahead of his 100th game with Brazil, Neymar is adamant that he still deserves special treatment in the national team despite never having won a major title in his nine years wearing the famous yellow shirt.

The 27-year-old forward will reach the century mark in a friendly against Senegal in Singapore on Thursday, and defended his status as the team’s biggest star even though Brazil won this summer’s Copa America without him.


“I was always one of the main figures and one of those carrying it all on my back,” Neymar said at a news conference Wednesday when asked about getting special treatment. “I never ran away from that. I always played my role in the national team very well. When a player reaches that level it is normal that there is a different treatment.”

“I was in places that had players with more history than me and I had to respect what coaches did for them,” the Paris Saint-Germain striker added. “Messi has a different treatment at Barcelona. Is it because he is better looking? No. It is because he is decisive. He earned it. I don’t say that only about myself, but I say it about everyone that has performances at that level. That is normal in soccer.”

Neymar’s comments come at a time when some Brazil fans have accused coach Tite and the Brazilian soccer confederation of being too lenient with the striker over his problems off the pitch. Those include his altercation with a fan after the French Cup final in April; his insistence that his father-agent was allowed into Brazil’s dressing room during a pre-Copa America friendly; and a rape allegation that was recently closed by police.

Neymar is currently at odds with PSG’s fans as well after trying to force a return to Barcelona during the offseason.


And in Brazil, he remains the country’s most polarizing player.

His statistics with the national team are impressive: 61 goals and 42 assists in 99 games so far. That puts him one goal behind two-time World Cup winner Ronaldo, who is in second place on Brazil’s all-time list of top scorers with 62. Pele tops the list with 77.

With Neymar in the team, Brazil has 70 victories, 19 draws and 10 defeats. But aside from the 2013 Confederations Cup, no titles.

At the 2014 World Cup at home, Neymar injured his back in the quarterfinal win over Colombia and the team was humiliated 7-1 by Germany in the semifinals without him. At least year’s World Cup in Brazil he was far from his best after recovering from a foot injury, and made little impact as Brazil lost 2-1 to Belgium in the quarterfinals.

And this summer he had to miss the Copa America because of an injury he sustained shortly before the tournament.


Asked about his best memories with the national team, Neymar picked his debut, his World Cup debut in 2014 and the goal he scored in the opening game of the tournament against Croatia.

“There is a positive balance, but it isn’t all about victories in the life of an athlete,” Neymar said. “There are many disappointments, defeats and mistakes. But if you fight for it, in the end, you make up for your mistakes. I am very happy to reach that mark of 100 matches. Not even in my best dreams I thought this could happen.”

source: sports.inquirer.net

Luis Suarez, Uruguay crush 10-man Ecuador in Copa America

Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani were on target as Uruguay thumped 10-man Ecuador 4-0 in their opening Group C match at the Copa America on Sunday.

Nicolas Lodeiro opened the scoring after just six minutes before Ecuador full-back Jose Quintero was dismissed for a flailing arm.

With a numerical advantage, Uruguay ran riot at the Mineirao stadium in Belo Horizonte as Cavani and Suarez netted before the break. The rout was completed 12 minutes from time with an Arturo Mina own goal.

“We had chances in the first half, we managed to take them and that gave us the tranquility to manage the game,” said Cavani, who finally scored his first Copa America goal in his fourth participation.

“It was an important step.”

It was the ideal beginning for Uruguay in a tough Group C alongside champions Chile and guests Japan, who meet on Monday in Sao Paulo.


“We’re not as bad as that,” lamented Ecuador’s Colombian coach Hernan Dario Gomez.

“It was a match that got away from us, especially in the first half when it got away from us in every aspect.”

Uruguay were off to a dream start.

Suarez crossed from the right and Lodeiro proved the coolest customer in the Mineirao stadium as he beat one defender with his chest control, flicked the ball over another and then hit a crisp, low volley into the bottom far corner.

“We knew they would be very tough opponents. The important thing was start the game with maximum concentration and we managed that,” said Cavani.

Uruguay were rampant and had the ball in the net soon afterwards only for Cavani to be given offside in the build-up.

Ecuador brought a physicality to the contest that upset the Uruguayan players and Quintero was perhaps lucky to escape punishment when catching Diego Laxalt with an elbow in an aerial challenge.

But moments later, his arm made contact with Lodeiro’s face when challenging for another header, this time drawing blood.

Brazilian referee Anderson Daronco — whose bulging arm muscles put even Ecuador’s strapping players to shame — initially showed the full-back a yellow card but after consulting VAR he changed that to red.

That left Ecuador with a mountain to climb.

On 27 minutes, Alexander Dominguez made a brilliant low save to turn behind Cavani’s half-volley from 15 yards.

Paris Saint-Germain forward Cavani was denied again when Dominguez stunningly tipped his clever back-flick onto the post one-handed.

But it was third time lucky on 33 minutes as Diego Godin headed the ball into the danger area and Cavani acrobatically rasped a bicycle kick from seven yards past a helpless Dominguez, his 47th international goal.

Patient Uruguay

Nahitan Nandez wasted a good chance, shooting straight at Dominguez but Suarez put the game to bed a minute before the break, stealing in at the back post to poke home a flick-on from Martin Caceres. 



With the game all but over as a contest, the second half was a damp squib of an affair.

Uruguay had the ball in the net soon after the restart but Cavani was offside again.

Ecuador showed plenty of commitment, continuing to rough up Uruguay’s more technical players, but never looked like they believed they would get anything out of the game.

Uruguay looked content to play a patient possession game without pushing for more goals.

Cavani did send Suarez scampering in on goal after a defensive mistake but Dominguez was quickly off his line to snatch the ball off the Barcelona forward’s toes.

The fourth came in calamitous fashion as Gaston Pereiro tried to pick out Suarez from Cavani’s cross even though he was only six yards from goal.

His header dropped to Ecuador center-half Mina, who inadvertently volleyed into his own goal.

“The important thing was that the team won and now we’ll prepare for the next match,” against Japan on Thursday, said Suarez, who notched his 57th goal for Uruguay.

source: sports.inquirer.net