Neymar scored with a superb free kick in regulation and converted the decisive penalty in the shootout after Brazilian goalkeeper Weverton stopped Nils Petersen’s shot.
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The Barcelona forward scored a stunning free-kick to put the Selecao ahead in the first half.
However, Germany captain Max Meyer enjoyed a special celebration of his own as he taunted the raucous 78,000 crowd at the Maracana by kissing the number seven on his shirt when he swept home Jeremy Toljan’s cross just before the hour mark.
With Brazil’s dreams of gold in danger of being shattered, Neymar came close in the 77th minute with a little jink and a shot from the outside the area.
Brazil clinched their first ever Olympic football title – the only major prize to elude the five-time World Cup winners – by beating Germany 5-4 on penalties at the Maracana on Saturday. Two goals for Gabrial Barbosa and one each for Gabriel Jesus and Luan was a good sign that they could get the job done without Neymar. “Now they’ll (the critics) have to swallow what they said”, he declared after the final. However, the game’s biggest drama was saved for the 24 year old Neymar, who blasted the ball to the top-left to send ripples of impact to the net and of delirium to the crowd.
“It demonstrates maturity on Neymar’s part, he is a leader in the national team, he is dedicated”.
At the Olympics, Neymar was one of three overage exceptions for Brazil in a tournament for under-23 teams and served as the team’s captain.
Yet he succeeded where more illustrious colleagues such as Mario Zagallo, Dunga and Mario Menezes, all coaches of the senior team who took on the Olympic role as well, had failed.
“If we had won the penalty shootout in the end it would all have been fine, it would have been a nice feeling, we unfortunately had to bow down to the Brazilian audience”.
For Brazil, the win goes some way to eradicating the painful memories of their home World Cup two years ago when they were humiliated 7-1 by Germany in the semi-finals.
Sports desk – The Barsa star fired his country Saturday to win the medal it wanted most for years. “We see that not all was lost, our football is still alive”.
With an unforgettable kick in a thrilling summit showdown at the Maracana stadium, Neymar, probably Brazil’s biggest soccer star, gave his countrymen a moment that they will remember and cherish for the rest of their lives.
Neymar again played in Anderson in the second period of extra time, but Horn made the save.
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Perhaps not surprisingly amid such high expectations, Brazil began poorly and were booed off the park after 0-0 draws against South Africa and Iraq.
