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When Brazil and England contest a highly anticipated international friendly Sunday at Rio de Janeiro's Maracana Stadium, the match will feature an almost absurd amount of world-famous names from Europe's best and most respected leagues. But the player receiving the most attention will almost certainly be a 21-year-old who hasn't yet played professionally on the continent.
This is no normal 21-year-old, of course.
For the past couple years or so, Brazilian forward Neymar has been one of the planet's most famous footballers while playing in his homeland for Santos. Eye-popping skills generated the initial hype, and a FIFA Puskas Award for the world's best goal in 2011 confirmed it: Here is a special player surely bound for great things.
Lintao Zhang/Getty Images "(Neymar) is a player who has everything needed to be the best in the world," veteran Brazil international Ronaldinho, a two-time FIFA World Player of the Year winner said recently, per Goal.com. With 20 goals in 32 senior appearances for Brazil, Neymar has already suggested as much. And beginning later this year, he'll have the chance to prove it on a grand stage.
After years of speculation and incorrect reports, Neymar this month signed a five-year contract with Barcelona, home of tiki-taka, Lionel Messi and a bursting trophy cabinet. With the deal complete, the tributes started pouring in.
Barcelona forward David Villa called Neymar's impending arrival "a great piece of news for all of Barcelona’s fans," and manager Tito Vilanova called it a "dream" to see Neymar join Messi in Barca's attack. “If they say that Neymar is a 'Youtube player,' it’s something good because he plays great football and scores great goals,” said Vilanova, per the Globe and Mail.
Neymar's story so far reads alternately as that of the mythical departing hero, destined for a triumphant return, or of a precocious youth coming of age, spending one final summer in his beloved homeland. Either way, the narrative points toward next summer, when footballing glory and immortality will be at stake on home soil in the greatest of competitions, the FIFA World Cup.
First, though, there's the business of this summer. After Sunday's glamour friendly with England, the Selecao will feature in the FIFA Confederations Cup, also in Brazil. For Neymar, it will play out like one big, summer-long farewell tour, and that makes Sunday's anticipated friendly a stepping-off point.
Valerio Pennicino/Getty Images With his Barcelona move confirmed, Neymar likely will be the center of attention Sunday. It's a role he has become accustomed to over his 32 senior caps for Brazil, and it's a role even his teammates are playing up.
"Neymar is a big player and his arrival at Barcelona will only increase the level of his game," Brazil midfielder Oscar said, per the Daily Mirror. "That will be very good for Brazil in a year's time. He is a spectacular player and moving to Europe will only help him develop his skill, ability and make him even better."
Oscar added: "This is a special game and he will look to put on a special performance to show the world. It is a great occasion for us and we will look to show what we can do against England."
England, too, will be wary of Neymar's threat. Coming of a 1-1 draw at home with the Republic of Ireland, manager Roy Hodgson's assistant Gary Neville told Sky Sports the Three Lions will be facing a "completely different" challenge.
"You understand when you see a player like Neymar that he can turn a match in one moment because he makes football look so easy," Neville said. "It can be so close for 90 minutes and then he does one thing and you lose 1-0, so we have to be very concentrated."
It won't just be England, though. Like so often over the past two years, Neymar will have the world's attention Sunday.
Follow @MikeCummings37
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