I twittered at the beginning of the London Olympics that the quality of national football squads should not be judged by the performance of the teams attending . I had in mind Spain as I suspected the non-informed might have been under the misapprehension they were about to see a repeat gala by the team that won the Euro 2012. As it turned out the Spain that came to the London Olympics had mostly different players, a different manager, a dysfunctional team, and yes- as Jorge Valdano had accurately predicted-did not even win a medal.
Somewhat different was the case of Brazil. Their Olympic team was not a second best, but the real winning formula or so it was conceived- made up of the best the country could offer, an enterprise already being oiled and branded for a starring performance as the host country of the 2014 World Cup. Here were not just the young bloods who had succeeded a generation of those burnt out too early (the likes of Ronaldinho, Kaka etc) , but the best that could be brought in from some of the top European clubs- the likes of Rafael, Pato, Marcelo. And at the heart of it all was the great hyped up potential of football today, by the name of Neymar, the 20 year old from Santos whose price value tag was expected to rise still further this summer amid an endless round of rumours linking him to FC Barcelona.
But for a few flashes of genius, the 20 year old Neymar has failed to star in these Olympics. In many ways he has personified a team that deservedly lost today’s final against Mexico, lacking coherence, spirit, or sufficient creativity and skill to overcome a very ordinary opponent. Barca, who is trying to reign in on reckless spending, must be struggling now to figure out just what is this player’s real worth, and indeed is he worth it-although it must tempting to think that Neymar could flourish, as he matures, surrounded by a different set of players at club level, just as Messi has.
Relative youngsters like Neymar remain Brazil’s great bet for the future- the calculation being that by 2014 they would have moulded and matured sufficiently to be the key to World Cup success. But this is a team that on its performance in the Olympics would have struggled to get through the group stage of Euro 2012. It is a measure of the huge challenge it will face in dethroning Del Bosque’s La Roja, a project of football excellence that has yet to reach the end of its era. Two years seems a short time for this Brazil to achieve greatness.
