September 26, 2013. The Camp Nou crowd falls silent as Lionel Messi lies on the ground clutching his left knee, just three minutes in to Barcelona’s fixture against Las Palmas. The Argentian superstar tries to continue but to no avail. Messi is substituted and immediately transported to a nearby medical facility for scans.
The Catalans go on to win the game 2-1 thanks to a Luis Suarez double, but all anyone can think about is Messi. More specifically, Messi’s left knee.
News soon breaks that the reigning champions will be without their star man for approximately eight weeks due to a collateral ligament tear, making him a doubt for November’s Clasico against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu. Now, this Barca side is a talent-rich collection of international stars, but any team would be impacted by the loss of the world’s greatest player. The Camp Nou faithful are, justifiably, feeling a little anxious.
Step forward Neymar da Silva Santos Junior.
The 23-year-old has been outstanding of late, scoring 10 goals in his last seven games. The young Brazilian has taken up the mantle of being the Blaugrana’s creative hub in Messi’s absence. Everything good that Barcelona have produced in the last six weeks has had Neymar’s stamp on it, whether it be scoring or laying on assists for his Uruguayan partner in crime, Luis Saurez.
Statistically speaking, Barcelona’s number 11 is putting up the kind of numbers usually reserved exclusively for Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, with 13 goals in 14 games across all competitions so far this season, also topping La Liga’s scoring chart with 11.
With his propensity to entertain with moments of outrageous skill and trickery, Neymar is inviting comparisons to another famous Brazilian, Ronaldinho, who once awed the Camp Nou in much the same way on a regular basis. And the buck-toothed former World Player of the Year would surely have been proud to score a goal like the one Neymar netted against Villarreal on match day 11.
Collecting the ball from Luis Suarez, Neymar flicked it over Juame Costa’s head with the outside of his right boot before spinning around the Villarreal defender, and volleying the dropping ball past Alphonse Areola. A stunning display of skill that only a player at the very peak of his powers would even think to attempt.
Even in a supporting role with Messi in the team, Neymar’s performances had been on a steep upward curve.
Upon joining Barcelona in 2013, Neymar was immediately a key player and regular starter, racking up a very respectable 15 goals in 41 appearances in his debut season. He went on to more than double that tally last season, finding the net 39 times in all competitions, including goals in each leg of the Champions League Quarter- and Semi-finals, as well as a decisive third in the 3-1 defeat of Juventus in the final.
The fact that Neymar is currently thriving as Barcelona’s leading man should come as no surprise, it is a role in which he has plenty of experience.
Before joining the Catalan giants for €57.1m (the allocation of which is still under investigation, with allegations of imbezzlement levelled against the deal brokers involved) Neymar was the focal point of a successful Santos side back in Brazil, for whom he made his professional debut in 2009 as a skinny, but obviously gifted, 17-year-old.
Hailed as the new Pele, in 2011 Neymar led the Alvinegro Praiano to their first Copa Libertadores title (the South American equivalent of the UEFA Champions League) since the great man himself wore the famous white jersey in the early 1960s. The flamboyant youngster was also already in the habit of scoring spectacular goals; his outrageous solo effort in a thrilling 5-4 victory over Flamengo won the 2011 FIFA Puskas award for the year’s best goal.
Neymar also serves as the focal point for the Brazilian national team, captaining the side since September 2014. Since making his debut for the Selecao in 2010, the Barca star has amassed 67 caps and scored an impressive 46 goals, representing a remarkable strike-rate for international football.
With the hopes and expectations of a nation on his shoulders, Neymar excelled as Brazil’s only true attacking star during the 2014 World Cup on home soil, scoring four goals to carry his golden-shirted countrymen into the quarterfinals to face Colombia. However, Neymar’s tournament was to be cut short after he sustained a fractured vertebra against the Colombians. Brazil’s talisman was stretchered from the pitch in tears, and with him went any hope of the home nation securing a sixth World Cup.
Luis Felipe Scolari’s men progressed through to meet Germany in the semi-final. But without their precocious number 10, they were desolate, deflated, and ultimately defeated. Humbled 7-1 by the eventual winners. No Neymar, no good.
Whether or not Messi will recovery from his injury in time to play a part in Saturday’s Clasico may not be known until days, even hours, before the 17:15 (GMT) kick-off. But Barca’s fans will not be feeling quite as anxious as they were six weeks ago, as even without Messi, on Neymar’s current form, they can quite reasonably claim to have the world’s best player on their side.
The Euro Football Blog 