So the Neymar show has come to the Nou Camp and with it a lot of money going into a few pockets and in a way that is about as transparent as the sea off the Costa Brava after a stormy night. Beyond the razzmatazz, only time will tell whether the money spent on this boy from Brazil is worth it.
For now, let me say that I have my doubts. I watched him play in last summer’s Olympics and more recently against England at the reopening of the Maracarana, and he didn’t exactly set the world alight- as Pele and Maradona both did at a younger age.
That said, after Pele, every major Brazilian star became a better player thanks to playing in Europe, and FC Barcelona has a track record of getting the best from most of its Brazilians, before they drift into the Mediterranean night and fall away. If the publicity machine surrounding Neymar is to remain credible it will have to be well oiled in the coming season with impressive performances by the boy not just in La Liga, but in the Champions League, not to mention in the warm-up games the Brazilian national squad will have to show improvement in as they prepare to host next year’s World Cup.
I incline towards an optimistic spirit, so my hope is that Neymar find his true genius playing for FC Barcelona, bringing a necessary dynamism to a team that needs to recover the magic and joy that helped it win so many millions of supporters around the world in the heyday of its success.
For there is no doubt in my mind that there are some problems at Barca the symptoms of which include Pujol’s long-term injury, Messi ‘s failure at Munich and his growing moodiness, Pique’s distraction, Valdes’s long anticipated threat of departure, Villa’s evident disfunctionality, and last but by no means least Tito Villanova’s periodical health checks. A worrying air of uncertainty predominates at FC Barcelona.
With Neymar`s signing, Barcelona continue the decades old policy of buying the best players to build their side around. The amount spent over the decades has helped build up their massive debt, which wasn’t helped by 70 million euro flops such as Ibrahimovic. But they still continue to spin the Masia legend, when a close look reveals a very different picture.
Maybe Neymar will triumph like Messai (another purchase, albiet a cheap one), if not, then out comes the (Caixa backed, JGeneralitat underwritten) cheque book and we will see more stars flooding Barcelona’s way….
For the good of the game, we should have a cap for transfers & wages so clubs such as Barça, Real Madrid, Manchester City & Utd, Chelsea, etc cannot buy their way to win silver….
This is a really good read for me, thank you!