Football and Mathematics do not usually go but there are certain unwritten formulas that plenty of people insist should be treated as law. One of which is, talented youngster + Brazilian nationality = future Ballon D`or winner. Many take it as a given that any young samba starlet is seemingly pre ordained to bestride the footballing world.
The latest in this line of prodigious and hyped youngsters is the 19 year old Neymar. Such is the youngster’s already considerable reputation that the past year he has seen him been linked to Madrid, Chelsea and Barcelona. Apparently he turned the first two down and now is destined to end up at the Nou Camp.
So far nothing new about this, after all Keirrison recently trod a familiar path before being loaned back to Cruzeiro. However even by Brazilian standards the hype surrounding Neymar is reaching fever pitch.
One of the main subplots of this weeks Club World Championships has been the intriguing prospect of Messi and Neymar in direct confrontation. Santos and Barca meet this Sunday and all eyes will be on the pair. It would be one thing to proclaim Neymar as the successor to Messi but apparently the Brazilian has already reached the Argentines level and is on the verge of surpassing this.
Click HERE to win two tickets to two Chelsea games!
If it sounds ridiculous to you that a player who has never graced a top European league or a major international tournament can be compared to La Pulga, then I am glad your sanity is still intact.
It would be one thing to proclaim Neymar as the heir apparent to Messi but to suggest he is already on that plateau is sensationally ridiculous. It appears people have grown tired of pitting Ronaldo against Messi and seeing the Portuguese finish perennially second, so now they have thrust Neymar as the main challenger.
Wading into this debate has been Pele who unsurprisingly claims Neymar could be better than himself and is already more complete than Messi. Pele has made the most outrageous predictions this side of Nostradamus, so everything he says is now greeted with a chuckle and derisive snort.
Yet because Pele said it, it automatically permeates the media and opinion starts to disseminate. The Santos coach Muricy Ramalho attests that Neymar is the third best player behind Ronaldo and Messi, which from a self confessed Barca admirer is somewhat insulting to Iniesta and Xavi.
Neymar himself has remained somewhat modest when presented with these claims; he insists Messi and Barca are the worlds finest and that he would at present struggle to gain regular playing time with the European Champions. His decision to stay with Santos at least until 2014 is admirable although the extravagant wages Brazilian clubs can now afford has undoubtedly played a huge part.
So how good is Neymar? Well most of us in Europe will not have seen him regularly enough to make a complete assessment and much of my initial judgment is based on video evidence, match reports and respected opinion. Last week I wrote that his goal against Flamengo should win the Fifa goal of the year award. If you take that goal as your starting point and then watch some more you should be able to discern Neymar’s talents.
Abviously neymer is an upcoming world champion but mesi,Rolnaldo are senior men.