Brazil U23 national team coach Rogerio Micale has called into question some of Neymar’s behaviour during the Rio Olympics men’s soccer competition, although he stopped short of criticising the player.
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Neymar could quit worldwide football with Brazil if the country’s fans fail to show him respect, coach Rogerio Micale has suggested. “I know that there have been times when he behaved in a way that we may not like but, at his age, wouldn’t we do the same things that he does, if we had everything he has?”, Micale was quoted as saying by goal.com on Tuesday.
“Nobody can work magic in two weeks, and the Brazil team always comes together at the last moment”, he continued.
Neymar was part of the Brazilian team that ultimately suffered a humiliating 7-1 defeat to Germany on home soil at the World Cup two years ago.
Manchester City’s new £27 million (RM141.26 million) signing Gabriel Jesus has also endured a nightmare tournament, missing gilt-edged chances in both games and insists he doesn’t care how Brazil go through as long as they finally find the net.
‘If we don’t respect our best players they might not want to be with us any more’.
“Neymar will one day become the best player in the world and we need to respect him”, the 47-year-old told a Press conference. “Neymar has had to live with the pressure of being a leader since he was 17-years-old”.
Brazilian fans heckled Neymar during the game against Iraq, chanting the name of women’s star Marta, the five-time world player of the year who has been thriving at the women’s tournament. Anyone searching for evidence of the current on-field problems of the Brazilian game need look no further than the matches against South Africa and Iraq. “We only need a simple victory to reach the next round and remain alive in the fight for a medal, ” he added.
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Brazil heads into its final group match against Denmark sitting second from the bottom of Group A with just two points from two matches. “We only depend on ourselves”.
