“That’s it”, Neymar said. The Maracana, one of the most iconic soccer stadiums around the world, was sold out, and overwhelmingly so by the fans in yellow jerseys.
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All the troubles were forgotten when Neymar’s kick sailed into the net.
Neymar celebrates after scoring the decisive penalty kick to give host Brazil gold.
Pele played an integral role in three of Brazil’s five FIFA World Cup triumphs, but the nation had never tasted Olympic glory prior to their meeting with Germany at the Maracana. Fireworks burst over the stadium, vehicle horns blared and fans sang and tossed beer into the air.
“He’s a leader on the national team”.
All the talk in the lead up was about the 2014 World Cup semi-final, in which Germany humiliated a Brazil side missing the injured Neymar 7-1 in Belo Horizonte.
“The natural next step for him is to win a World Cup”. Germany hit the crossbar three times in the first half, with Sven Bender seeing his header come agonizingly close after 35 minutes.
Germany opened the penalty kick with a bang and it was at 4-4 apiece when one of its players Nils Petersen missed his kick.
The stop set the stage for Neymar, as if scripted.
They were nervy moments but Neymar’s attempted rainbow flick showed the hosts’ belief – a mentality put under pressure 15 minutes into the second half.
“I don’t have words to say anything”, Neymar said, sobbing.
“I can’t begin to describe my feelings”.
He just expressed gratitude to his teammates, family, and friends who were there by his team during the most hard moments. “God loves Neymar like he loves all of this team”. He did not elaborate.
Meanwhile, the story of the day for South Africa is Caster Semenya, who starts as a red-hot favorite to upgrade on her Olympic silver medal in the women’s 800 from London four years ago.
The Brazilians were on the verge of elimination, needing a win over France on the final match of the preliminary round to squeak into the quarterfinals with the last spot from Pool A.
“Beloved nation, the gold is ours”, Brazilian goalie Weverton said. “This ball is mine, it’s part of history. We responded as necessary and we did this in the short time that was available to us”.
However, following the victory, the 24-year-old announced he would no longer wear the armband, leaving it up to Brazil coach Tite to choose his successor. “We have replied with good football”, he said. “We have great potential and hope to achieve great things in future”.
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Neymar eschewed the Copa America to focus on the Rio Games.
