With the high pressing style that Chile used, Sanchez is a much better fit than it seems.
With the high pressing style that Chile used, Sanchez is a much better fit than it seems.
FCBarca
Mike the Knife
Tim Vickery's recent comments on Neymar are telling
It is just over two years since I first saw Neymar in the flesh. Recently turned 17, he came off the bench for the last few minutes with his Santos team leading Fluminense 2-1. By the end it was 4-1.
He set one up with a gorgeous, defence-splitting pass, and the other came from a rebound after the keeper failed to hold his shot. In between the two, his dribbling skills forced a red card for the Fluminense right back. It was a sensational seven minutes. Before long he was being proclaimed as a phenomenon and there were calls for his inclusion in last year's World Cup squad.
The problem here is that domestic Brazilian football dances to its own beat. The defensive lines play deep, so there is space on the field. Today's referees will give fouls for anything and diving is tolerated - a scenario which fills the dribbler with confidence. Take him out of the protective bubble and it can be a different story - Robinho is a perfect example, a player whose fighting spirit seems to shrink in front of your eyes when he does not get the fouls he used to be awarded in Brazil.
The problem here is that Neymar is a child of the contemporary criteria of Brazilian referees, a fruit of the poisoned tree. I have never seen a player who dives so often and so theatrically. This is clearly an impediment in his quest to reach the level of play that Lionel Messi showed on Saturday, and there is another one.
The Boy Prince of the Brazilian game, there is something of the spoilt brat about Neymar. He can scream and shout when he does not get his way, and also lose his focus. Against Argentina, in the big game of the recent South American Under-20 Championships, he was too busy diving and arguing to play much football.
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