Before now, Brazil who are five-time world champions never had the pleasure of winning the Olympic football gold.
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At the end, it was the hosts who emerged champions; beating Germany 5-4 at the Maracana stadium late Saturday night.
Pele, arguably Brazil’s greatest footballer, described the country’s historic first Olympic men’s football triumph as the “perfect ending” to the Rio Games.
“The natural next step for him is to win a World Cup”.
Earlier, the Brazilian skipper put his side in the lead with a superb free kick in the 27th minute of the game before Germany skipper Maximilian Meyer came with an equaliser just before the hour to force the extra period.
In the video above, Neymar can be seen exploding in a fit of rage as he rants at two fans following Brazil’s Rio 2016 final win over Germany.
Although the “Selecao” has been competitive in every tournament since, the team was humiliated by a 7-1 loss to Germany in the semifinals at the last World Cup, which was also hosted by Brazil.
But after scoring Brazil’s first goal in the gold medal game as well as the shootout victor, Neymar, once again, had become Brazil’s favourite son, dropping to his knees in both prayer and elation following the match.
“Beloved nation, the gold is ours”, Brazilian goalie Weverton said.
As Germany’s Nils Petersen took his shot, Weverton guessed correctly, stretched out, and stopped the ball.
Neymar was instrumental as a Brazil captain.
“This is one of the best things that has happened in my life”.
‘This is a contribution to the national team but the situations are different, ‘ said Olympic team coach Rogerio Micale after his side beat Germany on penalties following a 1-1 draw in Saturday’s final.
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With Olympic gold finally in hand, the pressure is squarely on Brazil’s senior team now. “There are some things that need to be fixed, but today we were able to make our people happy”.
