This is my second article on the 2014 FIFA World Cup. It's also my second article which features Neymar at the top of the list. If you've read my first one, you'll know why- not that it takes a genius to figure it out. Neymar, in many ways, IS the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Or, at least, that's what the press want you to believe. With such status comes two things: 1) an absurd amount of pressure he must carry on his young shoulders and 2) a demand for him to not only carry it but run with it. Nobody and I mean nobody will feature as many close-ups, as many newspaper photos, as many mentions in the columns and articles or as many discussions by terrible pundits on annoying panels of experts all over the world as Neymar will. Every aspect of his performance, including how he handles the inevitable defensive scrutiny he will receive from opposition teams will be analysed and discussed until it's beyond reasonable proportions. Perhaps already the hype is well beyond anything any one man could ever fulfill in the modern game. The fans and the press in Brazil are calling upon this man to dominate games and opposition teams in the classic image of a Jairzinho or a Garrincha, ignoring the fact that such players did so in vastly different footballing times, where defending players were so much slower, less intelligent and less fit. Neymar is faced with the prospect of trying to appease such expectations without ruining the tactical build-up of his team, perhaps an impossible ask. Neymar's performances at the 2013 Confederations Cup don't help either, during which he was electric and dynamic. An injury-plagued season at Barcelona has occurred since then, plus now, the stakes are legit. It will be interesting to see if he is the same player whom inspired a nation one year ago. If he is and he can fulfill even half of the expectations people have for him World Cup super-stardom awaits. If not, who knows? Maybe another chance will come. Maybe not. One thing is for sure, it wont come again in Brazil.
Betting on being a brilliant brother to Bodhi since 2008 (-1 Asian Handicap). Find me @LiamJJohnson on Twitter where you might find some wonderful pearls of wisdom in a stout cocktail of profanity, football discussion and general musings. Or you might not. Depends how red my eyes are.
