“This is one of the happiest things that have happened to me”.
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“Beloved nation, the gold is ours”, Brazilian goalie Weverton said. For Neymar, it was a seminal moment.
Germany’s players pose with their first ever gold medals after their team’s victory over Sweden during the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
“That was the World Cup, this is the Olympic team”, Brazil coach Rogerio Micale said.
“It demonstrates maturity on Neymar’s part”.
The U.S. has won back-to-back world titles since London and, with a team led by former Olympic champion LeShawn Merritt, it is hard to see the United States of America fluffing their lines here.
“This phase has passed”, said Micale.
Arguably, the most captivating photo of the Olympics.
The entire nation came to a standstill as people gathered to watch the game, erupting in cheers as Neymar clinched the gold.
Having eventually claimed the gold medal at the Olympics, Neymar had a message for all those who criticised him and his team.
The Barcelona star scored the winning penalty in a shootout victory against Germany on Saturday at the Maracana Stadium, much to the delight of the home crowd.
Tellingly, it was also the most treasured medal of an at times troublesome Olympic experience for the hosts.
Brazil arrived as the main title-favorite but struggled in the beginning, being held to scoreless draws against South Africa and Iraq and becoming in danger of failing to advance past the group stage. Neymar was taunted with fans shouting Marta’s name at his matches, while Marta was honored with fans chanting “Better Than Neymar!” at hers.
Neymar has never been a unanimously popular choice as Brazil captain.
But they found their feet against Denmark and then overcame Colombia in the quarter-finals and hammered Honduras in the semis.
“We unfortunately had to bow down to the Brazilian audience”.
“If we had won the penalty shootout in the end it would all have been fine, it would have been a nice feeling.”, he said. Schough had a great chance to level the scores three minutes from time but her shot was blocked just yards from goal.
(Left to Right) Brazils Walace, Gabriel Jesus, Neymar, Gabriel Barbosa and Rafinha celebrate with their gold medals following the football final at the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday.
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Whether it was just bad luck or the early nerves of dealing with the pressure it was concerning to Brazilians. “That’s the way we are”. We go to extremes.
