Why Neymar is not captaincy material for Brazil

Can Neymar be trusted to lead Brazil with his attitude on the pitch?

When Juan Zuniga planted his right knee into the back of Neymar during Colombia’s World Cup quarter-final with Brazil last summer, the home nation fell into a state of high alarm. As the Selecao’s star man collapsed to the ground, writhing in agony, thousands of fans came to the dark realisation that Brazil’s highest performer in the tournament was to play no further part. This was because Neymar had been the talisman for his country at last summer’s World Cup.

The 22-year-old harnessed the extreme expectations of the entire nation and produced a string of gutsy, effective performances, propelling a team that, under Luiz Felipe Scolari, would have failed to set the tournament alight. Indeed, in the proceeding semi-final with Germany – widely regarded as the gloomiest day in the history of the Brazilian national team – the absence of Neymar was seen as a pivotal factor in the systematic capitulation of the Samba stars.

As the horror of that 7-1 defeat fuelled a nation’s anger, Neymar could only watch on from the stands of the Estadio Mineirao in Belo Horizonte, shattered by the fractured vertebrae that ended his tournament. Shattered too, by the humiliating demise of his country’s involvement at the 2014 World Cup.

Since that scarring night against Colombia, Neymar has been the guiding light under the not so new coach Dunga, who named him as the new captain back in September. However, this Copa America tournament has taught us one thing about Neymar; he may be a superstar, but he is not captaincy material.

In a crucial Group C showdown marred by tension, bad blood and red cards, Neymar exhibited behaviour that suggests he has a lot to learn about the mental side of the game before he can successfully take on the burden of being the Brazil captain.

When you look at players like Carlos Alberto, Cafu and Thiago Silva, you see a lion-hearted warrior ready to rally the troops. They command respect and receive it without hesitation from their peers. Their presence is undeniable. Neymar, however, does not quite live up to the grade in that respect and, against Jose Pekerman’s men, he portrayed exactly why stripping Silva of the captaincy in favour of the Barcelona starlet was a foolish move from Dunga.

Neymar’s dark side comes to the fore against Colombia

At the end of a tempestuous affair, Colombian defender Jeison Murillo approached Neymar in a manner not appreciated by the Selecao striker. His reaction – which appeared almost instinctive – was to headbutt Murillo, failing to control his anger through the rising tide of red mist. Carlos Bacca may have been equally imprudent in shoving Neymar in the back, but the damage for Brazil had already been done.

Neymar was sent-off and slapped with a four-match ban, effectively ending his participation in the Copa America. In the fallout from the mass brawl, the most striking quote came from the mouth of Bacca’s mother, who waded into the debate with no shortage of partisanship.

“If I’d have been in the stadium I would have taken off my high heel and hit Neymar; I know many women in the stadium would have joined me,” Bacca’s mother Eloísa Ahumada

All this in a game when he apparently showed the world that he had not graciously accepted the apologies of Zuniga from last year’s incident, appearing to remonstrate a phone call while uttering the words “then you call me to apologise, you son of a bi**h,” as reported by Marca.

Neymar is a combination of brilliance and petulance

There were warning signs in Brazil’s Copa opener against Peru, too, despite most of the headlines showering praise on Neymar for a wonderful individual performance. He scored and notched a beautiful assist as he constantly looked like producing something up front, but he also looked, at times, worryingly close to losing his temper. He received a yellow card for wiping away the referee’s white spray at a free-kick in what was another silly reason to go into the book.

But that’s what Neymar gives you; brilliance and petulance, sometimes in equal measure. Neymar is the type of player who, through his blistering pace and dazzling array of trickery, is destined to draw several fouls per game. In response to constantly being impeded, the natural tendency is to formulate a self-defence plan. Unfortunately, for Brazil, his method of guarding himself involves lashing out at the opponents.

Neymar’s propensity for peevishness may have done little to hamper the progress of a player already considered to be one of the most gifted of his generation, but choleric disposition has done enough to confirm that a Brazilian national team with him as the captain is destined to crash and burn.

Not sure what has happened here. pic.twitter.com/b5j9qL26P3

— Sportskeeda Football (@SK_Football) June 21, 2015

The comparisons between Neymar and Real Madrid’s Pepe are indeed startling, as a player who is constantly reviled as the one of the most ill-tempered in today’s game can actually lay claim to a cleaner disciplinary record than the Brazilian. With 101 yellow cards and six reds since 2009 for Santos, Barcelona and Brazil, Neymar’s proclivity for bouts of irritability is a problem emanating from the earliest stages of his career.

From elbowing Luka Modric in the World Cup opener to exaggerating embarrassingly after being challenged by Celtic’s Scott Brown in the Champions League, Neymar needs to learn to mature. Judging from his growing list of indiscretions, he has a long way to go.

If Brazil are to return to the apex of the footballing world – which they will have to do after emerging from an emotionally and physically gruelling South American qualification campaign for Russia 2018 – having Neymar as the captain looks to be fraught with a potential for disaster. He may have apologised in the wake of being handed the four-match ban against Colombia, but it is not his words he needs to change, it is his actions.