Such is the lot of the modern superstar that their great on-field performances come and go in the blink of an eye. Take Neymar da Silva Santos Junior. Score a hat-trick, celebrate with Lionel Messi, take some photos for Instagram, pack for the flight, shoot an advert for your personalised line of Nike boots, move on. Just a regular week’s work. If this was Hollywood, he’d also have time to make the fair maiden swoon.
Instead, it’s the Barcelona fans he’s wooing. Neymar’s performance on Saturday was mesmerising, claiming three goals among the 6-0 hiding of Granada. The visiting defenders didn’t know what hit them. Such has been Barca’s dominance in La Liga this season that the goal fest is met with a casual raised eyebrow, and attention turns to the next fixture. In this case it is understandable – a mid-week date away to Paris Saint-Germain will have fans from Brazil to Bhutan tuning in.
But back to the performance at hand. It’s easy to dilute a player’s rating when thrashing one of the smaller teams of the Primera. However, this Granada outfit have proved very organised and defensively sound this season. Before the weekend’s mauling at Camp Nou, Joaquin Caparros’ men had not conceded more than one goal in any game – three in five games overall. After drawing a blank against Malaga the in the previous fixture, a goalless opening could have made for a tough afternoon for the Catalans. But not when Neymar is on form.
Brazil’s favourite son opening the scoring on 26 minutes. An Ivan Rakitic header, and another clever Neymar finish just on half-time, and the game was as good as over. A second half strike on 66 minutes meant a first La Liga hat-trick for the man from Mogi das Cruzes.
Saturday’s performance is part of a blistering start for Neymar in the 2014-15 season. His performances are all the more remarkable considering it is barely three months since he was stretchered off the field after suffering a serious back injury at the World Cup quarter-final.
Reports at the time suggested that if the kick from Colombia’s Juan Zuniga had been two inches higher, Neymar could have been paralysed. Whether or not this was true or a slight overreaction, it’s testament to the ex-Santos player’s determined character that he has seemingly fully recovered from what could have been debilitating injury. A bad back is not a niggle that can be easily ignored.
Therefore, all football fans, Barca or otherwise, should rejoice in Neymar’s recovery. A player who almost single-handedly tried to keep the joga bonito in Brazil’s World Cup campaign is a player to be treasured – even more so when his Brazilian instincts dovetail so wonderfully with Messi’s magic. There are few better sights in world football.
It’s quite staggering that a player who could still theoretically qualify for his country’s Olympic under-23 team – which he dutifully played for at London 2012 – has 56 international caps, more than his appearances for his current employers. But with Neymar outwardly fully fit, and also cosseted from Luis Enrique’s rotation policy, he can expect lots of game time, especially with fixtures coming thick and fast.
He will soon reach 50 appearances for Barcelona. With six League goals already this season, the goals stats will soon be catching up.
