The following is a 2012 report about Neymar written by Sam Borden, then a columnist for the New York Times, and we may have a new experience through the text from 11 years ago.
【1】
"Velvet pants or ass out."
It's a Brazilian saying that football genius Neymar and his family often take pleasure in. When Neymar played on the streets of San Vicente, he was constantly asked "Are you really better than Messi?" His family would always mention it, and everyone would stop laughing.
This saying is difficult to translate directly, it is related to stakes, guts, perseverance, choice, testing whether you have firm beliefs.
Last month, the rising footballer's father, Neymar Sr., sat in the 25th-floor executive lounge of a Manhattan hotel, overlooking Central Park. Across the Hudson River, his son is preparing for a match between Brazil and Argentina, and tickets have long been sold out.
In addition to this, he is also preparing for the Olympics, where he will be one of the most dynamic players in the competition. In London, where the eyes of the world will be on him, Neymar will try to win a gold medal for his country, a major honour Brazil has never won.
Old Neymar: "He's living like this now, that's the saying we're talking about. ”
Mr. Neymar later tried again to sum up the essence of this sentence through translation, he went on to say that his son's success has always been based on risk, and that he needs to constantly find a balance between speed and slowdown, trial and caution.
Just 20 years old, Neymar is already Brazil's highest-paid footballer, and he is the face and future of South American football. Now the question is - when will Neymar move to Europe? This question is asked over and over again.
At the end of the conversation, the elder Neymar smiled, he determined the best way to express this saying. He sat up straight and explained: "There are really only two options in life, a person either lives their life in velvet pants or spends their life naked and exposed to air. ”
【2】
Neymar Sr. was a professional footballer, but he also admitted that he was "not a very capable player". In 1992, he played in the city of Moji das Cruis, about 25 miles east of São Paulo, where Neymar was also born. As his career came to an end, he returned to his hometown of San Vicente with his wife, Neymar and young daughter.
Neymar Sr. said: "We don't start from zero, we start at minus five degrees. It's easy to stay put, living in a humble house and raising children by the parents' side, we could have done that. ”
But he didn't.
He began to look for his "velvet pants" - the elder Neymar began to work three jobs at once. He was an auto mechanic, bricklayer, and company employee. At the same time, Neymar's mother also worked as a cook in a kindergarten.
The couple wore stars and moons for about four years, during which time when Neymar was seven years old — recruiters from a local indoor soccer team came to their home to find them.
People don't realize it, but that's the beginning.
With work all the time, Neymar didn't get much chance to watch his son play, but he heard people talking. At just five or six years old, Neymar has been playing street football with older boys. The goal is sandals, and the "football" is nothing more than a stone, but it doesn't matter.
Speaking recently in an interview at a New Jersey restaurant, Neymar said "I just want to play football," grabbing a small salt shaker from the table and placing it on a glass of water at least three times the size of the salt shaker. "They're water glasses, I'm the salt shaker," he says with a smile, "and the other boys were very disdainful, but when I managed to convince them to let me play, I scored and their attitude changed. ”
Later, there weren't enough games to satisfy Neymar – and when he was 11, teams all over Brazil were salivating over him. His father began his full-time career caring for Neymar, coping with the pressure of scouts and club representatives who came to try to sign him, one of which was Brazilian legend Zito, who scored 57 goals for Santos and won two World Cups with Brazil, and Neymar's support for Santos sweetened the relationship.
Neymar eventually joined Santos' youth team, but at the age of 14 he was offered the opportunity to play for Real Madrid, one of Europe's most famous clubs. Brazilian stars such as Ronaldo and Robinho have all played for Real Madrid, so Neymar travelled to Madrid with his family.
"The attraction in Europe is strong and I always dreamed of playing there," said Neymar, who could have stayed and started his new life in Europe, where no one in Brazil would be jealous of him using football as an opportunity to stay in Europe and start a career in the Spanish, English or Italian leagues. But the elder Neymar said the family ignored the sentiment.
"We come from a humble family and need to consider cultural values," said the elder Neymar, "and we think he has to grow up in Brazil, which is the first serious choice that must be made." ”
Neymar did not stay in Madrid and also lost the exposure of South American players like Messi growing up at European clubs. Neymar returned home and he rejoined Santos to start a life he never imagined.
【3】
Before a match in Santos in 2010, Neymar and his teammate Andres were ready to get a new haircut. Neymar's hairstyle had been a simple basic before, but the two decided to give Mohican a try this time.
Nestar Sr. saw his son on the pitch and his new hairstyle as soon as he sat down at the time of the match, and he tried his best to restrain himself as he wanted to run over and twist his son's neck (the thought crossed his mind as the elder Neymar admitted).
Neymar has scored two goals with his new haircut, and Mohican has quickly become a national trend. Children keep mohicans, adults keep mohicans, "in Brazil, only the president does not have a mohican hairstyle," sighed the elder Neymar.
Neymar's fame, especially within Brazil, is difficult to quantify. He returned to Santos at the age of 14 and scored 14 goals in one season for the first team at the age of 17. At the age of 18, he scored 42 goals in 60 games and led Santos to the title of São Paulo State.
It didn't take long for Neymar to barely get out of the house: he loved Italian and Japanese food, but going to restaurants became troublesome. He said a little embarrassed: "I only make scrambled eggs myself." ”
And the safety issue: While hooliganism is not as widespread in Brazil as in some European countries, public scrutiny of Neymar and his teammates seems endless. At one point, after Santos lost a match 2-6, fans were so angry that they threw eggs at players to show their anger.
Public scrutiny of Neymar may never have been higher than in 2011, when he was 19 and became a father. The elder Neymar had warned him that Neymar avoided the problem of alcohol or drugs, but his act of having children out of wedlock still caused an uproar.
Reporters inquired and fans speculated, and the TV program made a comprehensive investigation and report on this incident.
Neymar said the negative impact of the news of having a child has been overshadowed by the joy of being a father. His son, David, lives with his mother, but he also watches the children often. Inner Mar Sr. said Neymar and his sister often bought gifts for David.
"Everything in my life happens very early, both personally and professionally," Neymar said. I had to adapt. ”
Recently, attention has been almost entirely focused on where he plays. On 5 February 2012, on his 20th birthday, he scored his 100th professional goal and Santos turned down offers from several English clubs, including Chelsea, to try to bring Neymar to Europe.
This is not new.
The elder Neymar recalled that when Neymar was 16, a stranger confronted him at a grocery store and gushed criticism that he owed everyone — including Neymar, his family and the people of Brazil — that he should send him to play in Europe.
But the elder Neymar said he would stick to his plan: "It's hard to stay in Brazil, but we're getting there, at least until he matures." Then we'll go out and show the world what he's capable of. ”
【4】
Sometimes, the elder Neymar commented that his son felt a bit like Tiger Woods' father, Earl. Earl Woods is known for his (often rhetoric) professing Woods' importance and influence, and he has suggested that Woods had a greater influence on the world than Jesus Christ.
The elder Neymar is more cautious: he at least says his son is still growing, but he also says how Neymar will change the style of football around the world.
There is a video on YouTube, titled "Neymar is super passing", which contains footage from last year's match between Brazil and Argentina. There are no amazing goals, not even a single shot, just running and the most elegant dribbling action, and the video has been viewed more than nine million times to date. (Note: The video has been removed in 2023)
Ne Mar Sr. believes that this influence proves that the risk that his family took for Neymar was worth it: "If my son were not a footballer today, he would be out of work, he would not have any goals, there would be nowhere for him. ”
Today, people compare Neymar to Messi. Messi's former team-mate Henry believes the two are not comparable: "I think Neymar is great, but Messi is not just 'great'". There are also people like Pele, who may be the greatest player of all time, who said he thinks Neymar is technically better than Messi.
Neymar's assessment is sophisticated: "I still have a long way to go to really compare with Messi. ”
If Neymar and his father are to be believed, Neymar will leave London to return to Brazil after the Olympics as he intends to fulfill his contract with Santos, which will last until 2014.
Of course, there are also risks: Neymar could get injured, he could lose form and he could be overtaken by another football talent. And, as the man in the grocery store said years ago, how would his family feel if Neymar had never competed on the biggest stage of the sport?
Father and son said they didn't care, these were the opportunities they could seize, the choices they made, and their own path.
"Everyone thinks money is everything, but that's not the case," continued Neymar Sr., taking a sip of coffee. ”
He pointed out the window again: "Maybe this bold attitude of daring to say 'no' has some meaning to people all over the world." It represents something important, doesn't it? ”
After saying these words, old Neymar smiled, because he knew: the pursuit of that velvet pants will never end.