Neymar broke an Olympic record on Wednesday by scoring the fastest goal in the football competition’s history to help secure a place in the final against Germany.
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Neymar had been much criticised for his lacklustre displays in two 0-0 draws to start the tournament, but his transformation from the nation’s whipping boy to golden boy was capped by his determination to open the scoring after just 15 seconds. A sea of yellow serenaded the 24-year-old with “Ole, Ole, Ole, Ole, Ney-mar!” Considering that the Europeans had shocked their old rivals 7-1 in the 2014 FIFA World Cup, the rematch of the semi-final two years ago is attracting the expectations from all over the world.
“He has the gift of playing football, he delights everyone with his talent”, said Brazil coach Rogerio Micale.
“For the time being, we have only the silver achieved”, Micale said.
“We didn’t play well”. There are a lot of pressures and demands on him, but he is handling it in a positive way.
For years now the senior side have played colourless football, they have been fearful, weighed down by the huge expectations every Brazil team carry on their shoulders.
The thermostat read 87 degrees. At the least, their most recent memory of the national team in a tournament on home soil won’t be embarrassment at the hands of Germany.
“We are very happy to be in the final and to have a medal”.
The dream of an Olympic title was too great for Neymar, who opted not to compete in the Copa America in favour of being involved in the Olympics. Besides the early goal, he converted a penalty kick in injury time after controlling the Brazilian offense throughout the game. Panic began to set in among the fans and Brazilian media. But the team suffered a blow the final group match when star striker Oghenekaro Etebo was injured. It eliminated Portugal 4-0 in the quarterfinals.
Nigeria captain Mikel Obi has blamed his side’s Rio 2016 men’s football event semi-final defeat to Germany on “luck”.
Neymar got things started by pressuring Honduran defender Johnny Palacios (younger brother of Miami FC midfielder Wilson) into making a weak back pass to goalkeeper Luis Lopez.
Neymar was a notable absentee two years ago but the Barcelona superstar made sure no-one doubted his presence against Honduras on Wednesday.
Neymar fell hard on the play, got up to celebrate and then slumped back down, writhing in apparent pain. However, he returned to the field just a few minutes later and would make his impact felt the rest of the game.
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Gabriel Jesus put his own very bad start to the Olympics behind him with two smartly-taken goals after 25 and 34 minutes, each time slicing the Honduras apart with exciting dashes in from the left.
