Between genius and madness: a Neymar who excites them all

Between genius and madness
A Neymar who excites them all

By David Needy, Leipzig

Neymar is the most stimulating figure in football. As a guest at RB Leipzig, he once again pisses off opponents, fans, teammates and the referee. Only very rarely does his genius flash, what his team suffers from. 90 minutes with the PSG star.

In Paris, only the Eiffel Tower sparkles in the evening, maybe the illuminated Louvre. The performances of the best Parisian football team, however, do not inspire anyone. Where the results are right, Paris Saint-Germain lacks the magic everyone has been waiting for. How did the world go on its knees, how did the social networks explode when it became clear in the summer that Lionel Messi would form a magical super team with Neymar and Kylian Mbappé. MNM- the three-devil storm would conquer the world, many were sure of that.

Where did the magic go? PSG lead Ligue 1 and are clearly on course for the round of 16 in Group A of the Champions League, but they don’t scare the big teams in Europe with their style of play. Shine, galactic or divine flashes only very rarely. The Brazilian superstar Neymar is symbolic of this this season. So also at the Champions League game of his Parisians in Leipzig. The 29-year-old has only scored one goal and three assists in ten competitive games – and his genius only rarely comes to the fore in the 2-2 draw against Saxony. Instead, he teases, laments, or trots across the square. Sometimes he just stands still.

First of all: Superstar Messi is also not shining with a few exceptions this season. The 34-year-old can no longer dominate a game alone like in his prime at Barcelona. But they hadn’t expected in Paris that he would creep across the lawn so weakly. Messi is “a shadow of the genius that he is,” wrote the French sports magazine “L’Équipe”. But Messi is not there in Leipzig at all, but sits injured in front of the television at home. That’s why all eyes are on the two most expensive footballers in the world: world champion Mbappé, who is the only one of the big three to score consistently this year, and Neymar.

Neymar plays its own game

The Brazilian, who will now advertise Puma instead of Nike and should collect 100 million euros with an eleven-year contract, skillfully warms up. Not only watching football amateurs envy him for his technique, but certainly also some professionals. Probably not about his attitude. When shooting in, he bolts most of his balls over the goal far too casually.

Then the Neymar games begin. Right at the start, it fouls two PSG tenners (the second is more of a gentle pluck than a real offense). Neymar falls and rolls. The fans whistle and boo. A standard sequence in games with the Brazilian by now. Hardly anyone is so easily declared a figure of hatred by the opposing audience. Hardly anyone excites fans and opponents as much as he does.

Fifth minute, Neymar is laid for the third time. Again there is a free kick, again what must follow from the stands. That repeats itself a few more times, the fans quickly got upset against the Brazilian at operating temperature. He himself gets the balls in midfield, is doubled by Leipzig and pushed backwards. The artist – like his entire team – does not develop at all in this phase of the game.

But then RB leaves the 29-year-old too much space and his footballing genius flashes immediately. A wonderful and determined combination begins over the Brazilian when he, with presence of mind and at the perfect time, passes out to Mbappé on the edge of the box and plays it straight into the middle, where Gini Wijnaldum completes the 1-1 draw. After all: a hockey assist who won’t appear in the statistics.

The Leipzig audience hates him

27.Minute: Neymar stands in front of the ball with an RB free kick from the half-field and demands – without success – that it be executed a few meters further back. The next whistle concert is the result. Then there are two cheers. First of all, the ten is allowed to go to Wijnaldum’s second goal. Then the Leipzig audience after a Neymar who rushed up in an unusual way is played out by the RB defense.

Shortly before half-time, the offensive artist is standing with legs wide apart near the center circle, while RB combines forward and remains completely motionless for almost half a minute. But he runs a counterattack over Mbappé again and helps the Frenchman on his feet after his missed chance. With the last action of the first half, Neymar hits a corner kick (loud whistles before the execution) directly at goalkeeper Péter Gulásci. Thunderous applause breaks out in the arena.

After the break, Neymar sneaks – of course, I almost have to write here – casually as the very last on the pitch, the Leipzig professionals have been waiting there for over a minute. In the 48th minute, the attacker, who had just been tired, made a brilliant stroke of genius for Ángel Di María, who started off and cut through the entire RB defense. A murmur goes through the round. But off the beaten track.

Shortly afterwards, Nordi Mukiele lies on the ground and needs treatment. Neymar is one of the first at Leipzig, although he has nothing to do with the situation, and pats the youngster on the head. This is also Neymar, a sportsman. One who knows what fouls feel like. 54th Minute: Neymar lost the ball, Leipzig countered – but the Brazilian simply stood still and was likely to have irritated his teammates as much as the fans before. In a promising position, the Brazilian gets the ball a little later, dances a little on the six-yard area and then loses the play equipment much too casually.

Back to the Eiffel Tower

Now Neymar is tricking again, tunneling his opponent in such a way that football hearts beat faster. Then he wants to have a foul, but referee Andreas Ekberg does not take the whistle. Frustrated, Neymar pulls back – this time the whistle sounds – and raises his arms apologetically. The audience is raging. The referee shows Neymar yellow, jubilation surges through the stadium. Neymar laughs and gives the referee malicious applause. A little later, the Brazilian shoots a ball away, the stadium calls for yellow-red.

80th Minute: Oops, all of a sudden Neymar can be found on his own sixteenth. He runs over half the course, almost to the baseline. But do not worry, defense over the entire football field or even an aggressive approach to ball possession Leipzig still does not take place in the Neymar house. The tenth just wants to have a serious word with Dani Olmo after a previous foul. Then he completes a counterattack over Mbappé extremely sloppily and falls down. Frustrated, Neymar hits the pitch, symbolic of his current situation at PSG.

There are penalties for Leipzig in stoppage time, the entire PSG team complains angrily, only Neymar trots around alone in the middle of the pitch. 2: 2. Final whistle. End of the Neymar games. The superstar claps briefly at the two opponents in his vicinity and leaves directly and within seconds – as the very first even – the place he was the last to enter 45 minutes ago. Completely lackluster. Back to the sparkling Eiffel Tower.

.
source site