Neymar aiming to end Brazil’s wait for Olympic gold

Neymar aiming to end Brazil’s wait for Olympic gold

One of the finest players in the world today, Neymar will be the star act in a Brazil side. They will be heading to Rio 2016 with designs on winning the one major trophy that continues to elude the great footballing nation.

Neymar aiming to end Brazil’s wait for Olympic gold

Neymar is a pivotal figure in Brazil football history. After four seasons playing for Santos in the Brazilian top flight, he had signed for Spanish giants Barcelona. There he now forms part of the fabled “MSN” attacking triumvirate with teammates Lionel Messi and Luis Suárez.

Serving his country at every age level, he won the U-20 South American title back in 2011.

Next came a trip to London 2012, there he scored three times but could not find the net in a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Mexico in the final. He played the match in front of 86,000 fans at Wembley Stadium.

“London was so special,” he says, shrugging off that setback. “I had such an amazing time at my first Games and I’ll remember it for the rest of my life.”

He was the player of the tournament in the Seleção’s 2013 Confederations Cup triumph. Neymar went into the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil as the host nation’s most significant player.

It was a status he lived up to by guiding the team to victory over Croatia and Cameroon. It was in the group phase and Chile in the Round of 16.

His World Cup came to a premature end in the quarter-final against Colombia. He was with a back injury causing a national drama and ultimately ruling him out of the tournament.

Further grief was to come the home fans’ way when a Brazil side was defeated brutally. They were patently missing the influence of the forward crashed to a 7-1 defeat to Germany.