Neymar Jr Leads Brazil’s Identity Crises As Drought Hits 24-Years

Speaking in the aftermath of Brazil’s shocking defeat to Croatia, a devastated Neymar Jr was unclear on his future.

“Honestly, I do not know. I think talking now is bad because of the heat of the moment. Maybe I’m not thinking straight,” the Brazilian told the media.

“To say that this is the end would be rushing myself, but I don’t guarantee anything either. Let’s see what happens going forward.”

Talk of retirement from the 30-year-old doesn’t come out of the blue, ahead of the 2022 tournament the Paris Saint-Germain forward said he was considering quitting the international game.

“I think the Qatar World Cup will be my last,” Neymar told DAZN last year, “I don’t know if I have the mental capacity to continue playing football.”

Ever since he emerged as a teenager from the same youth system as Pelé the precocious talent has been compared to Brazil’s greatest-ever player.

His goal against Croatia in extra time equaled Pelé’s ‘official’ goalscoring record of 77 goals for the national team, but as far as World Cup performances go, Neymar has never got close to the man who was a champion on three occasions.

The 2026 event in the US, Canada and Mexico would be Neymar’s fourth with the Selecao and undoubtedly the last chance for glory.

It would be unfair to compare him too much with Pelé given the sides the legend graced were far superior.

Neymar’s near misses

In 2014, Neymar was the star of an otherwise fairly functional Brazilian team aiming to deliver the crown at the first-ever tournament on home soil.

But things disastrously unraveled when he suffered a fractured vertebra in a quarter-final victory against Colombia.

Without their talisman, the team endured the most humiliating night in its history losing 7-1 to the eventual champions Germany.

In Russia 2018, things were supposed to be different, buoyed by new coach Tite the side was undoubtedly more competitive.

However, Brazil regressed failing to make it past the quarter-finals with a 2-1 loss to Belgium.

The squad the Selecao took to Qatar in 2022 was meteorically better than both of those teams.

Many pundits tipped them as favorites for the crown and it was hard to disagree, only at full-backs were the options not of world-class quality.

At 30, Neymar could still be considered within his peak years, albeit at the back end, another factor in Brazil’s favor.

Perhaps that’s why defeat on penalties stung so brutally for the PSG striker, this time he was supported by a far stronger team.

“It is an awful feeling. I think this is a worse feeling than what happened at the last World Cup,” he reflected after the game.

“It is difficult to find the words to describe this moment. We fought and I am proud of my teammates, proud of the character they showed to step up and take penalties.”

One person we know the curtain has fallen for is coach Tite who stepped down from his role post-game.

His words, more so than Neymar’s, suggested a rethink was required from soccer’s most well-established international powerhouse.

“It is a painful defeat but I go in peace. It is the end of a cycle,” he said.

“I already said that a year and a half ago. I didn’t come here to win and then turn around and say I was going to stay. People who know me know that.”

A familiar 24 years of hurt

Exiting two consecutive tournaments at the quarter-final stage Brazil finds itself in an identical position to where it was in the early 90s.

Defeat in the round of 16 at the 1990 event meant that going into the first World Cup on North American soil it had been 24 years since Brazil had been successful.

The patchy performances in the more than two decades which had followed the 1970 win, which was the third triumph in four editions, had not been without their charm.

Neutrals were often wowed by the attacking verve of players like Socrates, but the feeling was Brazil often had a soft underbelly and lacked the grizzled defensive tenacity that powered winners in the 1980s like Italy and Argentina to the crown.

So in 1994, against the will of the Brazilian public, Carlos Alberto Parreira built a sturdy defensive team led by industrious midfielders like Dunga.

It wasn’t pretty, but, with the help of the best striker in the world at the time Romario, the World Cup was delivered.

The star man wasn’t keen on these tactics at the time, but in reflection, he accepts it was the way to do it.

“Parreira had to win the World Cup, so he formed the team the way he wanted,” Romario said “It’s not necessarily the one the fans or me liked, but it did the trick.”

Indisputably success in 1994 brought Brazil back to the top table of world soccer.

The Selecao lost in the final at the next event in 1998 and recaptured the crown four years later on both occasions playing with far more flair than the 1994 victors.

But since that 2002 win, the side has rarely threatened, the 7-1 humiliation to Germany the closest it has come since then.

Throughout the baron period, the criticism is less that Brazil possesses a weak underbelly, and more it has forgotten how to win.

The dull performance in the 2010 World Cup, led by 1994 captain Dunga, was criticized for being too conservative.

It’s serendipitous that Brazil heads to the USA once again in search of its first crown in 24 years, the question is what will the identity of the side be?

Relying on a 34-year-old Neymar would be foolish, but, as bitter rivals Argentina has demonstrated with star Lionel Messi, finding a way to maximize your greatest asset can work even with an aging talent.