When Neymar scored his second goal of the night against Atletico Madrid, he felt like rubbing it in a little. A hand to the ear. A look that says, “what?”
It was nothing that hadn’t been done before, but that didn’t stop it from rubbing members of Atletico Madrid the wrong way. After the game, rival midfielder Cani had this to say:
“He will have problems throughout his career. He has this style of play, nutmegs, a lot of talk… It’s his way of playing. Some day he will have a problem, like he’s had today, but if that’s what he likes…it’s his way of playing.”
Cani saying that Neymar will have “problems” throughout his entire career makes him come off a little like an out-of-place Italian gangster who is used to charging people for “protection.” Except this time, he is looking up to Neymar instead of down. What may have been a real threat is now just empty talk.
Those “problems” Cani is talking about are things that he, and every other one of Neymar’s opponents, can do little about. His way of playing? A lot of talk? Nutmegs? Please, if anyone could do anything about Neymar nutmegging them, they would have already been bought for an ungodly amount of money by Real Madrid.
Neymar is entering the point in his career where he can do whatever he wants, and he knows it. He enjoys it. That’s why he talks on the pitch, taunts the crowd after scoring, and tries to embarrass as many defenders as he can.
Prowess can often be measured by the amount of loathing it inspires. Or, simply, the great get all the hate.
Well, Neymar is about as great as it gets.
