Brazilian striker Neymar has become a global joke, a somersaulting clown, a diver and a prima donna.
In a sport where being in the vertical should be a distinct advantage, Neymar, sometimes Neymar Junior (full name, Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior), has accumulated a reported 14 minutes in the World Cup competition thus far, writhing about on the deck in horrible pain, before getting lightly to his feet, sprinting off and scoring yet another goal.
Certainly, if Neymar, was an AFL player, he’d be dragged, forced to sit on the pine and think about what he did. In rugby, he’d be stomped mercilessly at the breakdown. In NRL, he’d almost certainly be killed. In soccer, or football at the insistence of my editor, he’s a gun and may one day become the greatest of all time.
SBS commentator, Craig Foster, declared him “a genius”, albeit a flawed one. Mozart was a genius. Michelangelo, too. No doubt. Unless Neymar is scribbling down a piano concerto in A Major or resolving the intrinsic paradox of transcendental bijection in the spacetime continuum before banging the ball into the back of the net, I suspect he comes up short in the genius stakes.
Full column here.
And out goes Uruguay, another one on my list. I missed that game to get up to see who will be B1 or B2 and would like to see Belgium get up. Now there is a nation that takes bier seriously!
Don’t know how Lucy and Foz manage the odd hours.
France creeping forward with minimum fuss.
If France ends up winning, Milton, I, Henry Donald J Blofeld, will eat a freshly baked plate of Garden Snails. Cheers
Tomato or BBQ sauce Nossy?
surely it would be garlic butter
Hilarious JTI
I went off watching soccer when Australia was lost due to the acting of, I think, the Italian team years ago – they would have made the quarter finals.
As to FIFA – they make the Olympic committee look like , look like , come to think of it, who does run an honest show these days?
Still, I guess, it is better than what the Romans used to get up to.
Speaking of the World Cup, I’m thinking that England are not without a chance. Now, this is the weird thing: if we’re talking about cricket, I want to see them all out for nought. Rattled and maybe a bit bruised. But I grew up in a royalist household M’lud. Our first loyalty was to Scotland via my Mum’s side, but when the Scots inevitably got the boot (if they were even there), we transferred out loyalties to the Poms. After all, what soccer was on the TV? The Big Match from England and maybe Match of the Day. We watched it religiously every week. There was a picture of the Queen on the lounge-room wall, mounted side-saddle at Trooping the Colour. We were British to our lickspittle colonial bootheels. And in the absence of a Socceroo side (usually not a problem) went for England. Still do. I mean, really, what else would one do? They won the World Cup in ’66, as was only natural, given that they had invented the game (and most of the others). Whereas the opposition are usually a collection of brigands, malcontents, ungrateful former colonies or uppity nations that have started unjust wars Jerusalem!
Big chance. I’d be surprised if the don’t make the final. They have to get past Sweden and then Crotia (or Russia) to make the final. No walk in the park but a lot easier than Belgium, Brazil, Uruguay or France.
Not a good record against Sweden https://www.standard.co.uk/sport/football/worldcup/england-vs-sweden-head-to-head-history-and-stats-ahead-world-cup-2018-quarterfinal-a3879601.html
I think England will go out tonigh they’ve played well, Southgate has the beginnings of good team in the time he has been there but still lacking in cohesion maybe the Euro’s in 2020
So many years of disappointment in WC footy with bigger stars than this bunch but the team has done England proud this time round, and the penalty hoodoo broken.
Yes, Sweden are a bogey team for England but this mob of poms for mine are better than some of the ‘stars’ and their ‘wags’ that have gone before. The Swedish defence is bloody good but so is Kane, and Deli Alli is a goodun too. For maximum pain i’d like to see them go out in the next round against (hopefully) Croatia!
btw England’s Maguire has a dodgy temperament and red card material.
Eyes are close together. Picked up a yellow bt scored a good goal.
Sweden schmeden.
Who rolls over more than once when they’re hurt? Even once stretches it. It takes an effort to do it anyway – that would hurt more! It’s simply not what happens. Should be more cards given out for it.
I’ve been thinking that we ought to start using ‘Neymar’ as a replacement for ‘hyperbole’. Quicker to say than ‘over the top’.
Haha, Jack. At first I thought you had meant ”diva” and not ”diver”.
But both apply! Really funny.
Well it’s Russia tonight. That will be interesting
He’s obviously an athlete as most people couldn’t do as many revolutions or gather as much speed rolling down K2. I’d prefer Messi any day.
Neymar is not just a footballer, he is a deeply sensitive soul, a beautiful man who embodies all that is divine abut the beautiful game. It is not the physical pain to which Neymar is responding, he literally feels the mental vibrations of the vicious intent in his opponents minds as they seek to cut him down. He competes at a spiritual level.
Neymar does not agonise for Neymar, Neymar expresses his existential pain, he grieves for what could be, gorgeous balletic movement unsullied by coarse hooligans with base intent.
It is a miracle and speaks volumes for the courage of the man that he recovers s quickly as he does from such traumatic assaults, or attempts at such on his very soul. One day Neymar will be bought down and he will not rise. He will have died of a broken heart on hallowed grass.
He will be made a Saint and then and only then will people begin to understand, not just Neymar and his closeness to God, but football itself.
Goodness me, Mr Baptiste, you had your humble correspondent in tears here with that write up on Neymar. Now could you do a similar one on POTUS Trump, please? Donald, of course, off to the UK next week to show those Brits where they are going wrong. Cheers
Thank you so much Henry. A beautiful man, Neymar, the Prima of all those Prima Donnas.
I shall do my best for you, an ode to Trump will require a little thought and this weekend is full but I expect the theme will be something on the lines that God is vengeful with a sense of humour and some very strange angels to send down.
I cant imagine Trump would try to tell the Brits where they have been going wrong, viz being shafted Royally by the USA since about 1940. Because you can always tell a Pom, but you cant tell them much.
Give ’em heaps Henry.
Heres the current World Cup Soccer Table, Mr Insider as we get set to move into the Quarter Finals. My “new” Team, Russ-ia, going so well, goodness pre World Cup they had lost the last 7 games straight and were the Wooden Spooners. ‘”Vlad’s Impalers” surely don’t deserve to win the World Cup but in this exciting World stranger things have happened. Cheers
https://tinyurl.com/y8jq4s7n
Great sporty read, Mr Insider. Yes, Neymar a “Barry Crocker” and should at least win the Soccer equivalent of an Oscar for acting. We do find in many sports a bit of “theatrics” so I do suppose it all adds to the entertainment spectacle of the game. As you say in your full column: “In the jaw-dropping, mind-boggling, eyebrow-raising, rolling obscenity of wretched excess in football, Neymar earns almost $A2 million a week in salary alone” so do suppose we must expect some “value” for the $$$$$’s
Taking a dive… I remember Wally Lewis in a New Zealand/Australia League test back in the late 70’s or early 80’s. New Zealand were on the try line with a couple of tackles to go, certain to score with only about 4 Kangaroos in front of them when Wally took a dive. The ref stopped play and as soon as Australia were all back on side Wally made a miraculous recovery. New Zealand went on lose. They probably would have lost any way without Lewis’s egregious sham but like the underarm incident it rubbed salt in the wound.
Red cards for obvious fakes’s, the sooner the better.
King Wally, Uncle Quentin, one of our brave QLD Football players, skilled, resourceful and a legend here in QLD, a Brisvegas lad. Cheers
Says it all about Queenslanders
Within the rules. If McKechnie was any good he would have hit a for six. He was not. Get over it. Trevor suffered for Greg’s genius.
Precisely. McKechnie was not any good, he knew it, we knew it, I bet Greg knew it too. If OK why was the rule changed virtually the next day?
The worst thing about it was that it gave Kiwis something to whinge about. For ever. And as we can see, some won’t miss any opportunity to bring it up. Never give a sucker…
I will always harbour a grudge against Greg Chappell for giving them the ammunition.
Re dives, check Gavin Cooper’s in the last State of Origin when Roberts got binned. The arms go out after Roberts let go. He deserved to be binned but a dive in SOO!? Perish the thought! (Queenslander!)
Au contraire! The best thing about it was that it gave the Kiwis something to whinge about. There is nothing more satisfying, more pleasing to the soul than guffawing loudly in the face of a Kiwi bleating about the underarm ball. Followed by ones own clenched fists under ones own jaw, eyes closed exclaiming “Yes yes yes!” “God made him do it.”
They don’t like it up them you know.
Go and wash your typing hand with soap and water. Our Wally…take a dive !! Never. Haha, what about that tackle on Darrell Williams eh!! haha