After Bruce Willis, now is the time to see Neymar also playing against the clock. 180 minutes (or more if extended) to live. Or rather relive, get back in canes and find a physical condition worthy of the name. Two matches, Wednesday evening in Lyon in the semi-final of the Coupe de France (9:10 p.m.), and Saturday in Strasbourg on the occasion of the 28th day of L1, this is the deadline, a bit tight, which the Brazilian has to recover a rhythm sufficient and meet the requirements of the challenge that awaits it next Wednesday at the Parc des Princes.
A week before the 8th final of the Champions League return against Dortmund, March 11, the star carioca is far from the mark. In addition to these slight curves, Neymar is mainly a victim of this month of February which saw him miss five of the last seven Parisian outings. The first four, due to a rib injury contracted against Montpellier on February 1, the number 10 in Paris did not really digest them. Arriving short of form at Signal Iduna Park, he had not been deprived of discarding himself on the club after the defeat at Dortmund (2-1) and his half-hearted performance, only saved by a capital goal.
"It was difficult to stay four games without playing but unfortunately it was not my choice," he said at the microphone of RMC Sport. It's a choice of the club, the doctors. They made this decision and I didn't like it. We had a lot of discussions around this because I wanted to play. I felt good but the club was afraid. "
"Find the right balance to sharpen it without tiring it"
Two weeks, a success (4-3 against Bordeaux), an expulsion and a suspension match later, the Brazilian seems to have gone down in temperature with the prospect of finding the ground. "Neymar is calmer than after Dortmund," Thomas Tuchel agreed on Tuesday at a press conference. I have a feeling it is good for tomorrow (Wednesday). I am happy to play with him in Lyon. The most important thing is that he has rhythm for the match against Dortmund. "
Just stay with the German coach to find the right formula to bring his crack to the top in the space of a short week. "No small task," according to Stéphane Wiertelak, former physical trainer of PSG. “Optimizing the state of form of a player of this type, extremely talented, but so illegible (physically) is almost a headache, confides the one who teamed up with Paul Le Guen. Taking the risk of overloading him by making him play two full games seven days before the target match seems risky. You have to find the right balance to sharpen it without tiring it. It is all the more complicated because when the mechanics are not ready, it is necessarily exposed to the injury. "