Neymar is already everything: the slandered Brazilian ignores the noise and arrives in Haifa in top form
After a summer in which doubts were raised about his continuation at Paris Saint-Germain, the star opened the season with a storm, and Christophe Galtier meanwhile manages to control the conflict between him and Mbappe.
It is not clear how long the idyll will last, but those who wanted to see a show in Haifa benefited
Michael Yochin
13/09/2022
Tuesday, September 13, 2022, 3:00 p.m
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Tikteknu, today's summary clip 13.9 (Sport1)
"Neymar is one of the best players in the world," said coach Christophe Galtier after the Brazilian scored another fine goal and led Paris Saint-Germain to a 0:1 victory over Brest.
It won't be easy to argue with the fact these days, when the star has 10 goals and 7 assists in 9 games in all formats since the start of the season.
Neymar arrives at the meeting with Maccabi Haifa in fantastic personal form, as the top scorer and second in assists in the French league, perhaps on his way to the best season in his tenure in the City of Lights - and we haven't even talked about the World Cup, which was and remains his main goal this year.
It was not particularly expected.
Since the high-profile move from Barcelona in 2017, which was intended for Qatar's public relations ahead of the home World Cup, and was supposed to help the Brazilian get out of Messi's shadow and improve the chances of winning the Ballon d'Or, his productivity has steadily decreased.
29 goals in all competitions in the debut season, 23 goals in 2018/19, 19 goals in 2019/20, 17 goals in 2020/21, and only 13 goals last season.
The motivation was not always there, the injuries were numerous, his sister's birthdays were in the negative headlines, as were the other scandals in which his name was involved.
Arguments and conflicts with his teammates became an oppressive routine, and relations with Kylian Mbappe reportedly hit rock bottom.
His departure was supposed to solve the problem.
Mbappe with Neymar (Photo: GettyImages, Alex Grimm)
Mbappe's safe departure to Real Madrid was supposed to solve this particular problem, but the opposite has happened.
The French chose to break the promise to Florentino Perez, stayed with the Qataris, and greatly upgraded his power within the club.
It was claimed in the press that he was granted extensive powers in determining the roster, and he even submitted a very long list of candidates for screening.
Neymar starred, naturally, in this document - even if his very existence was never proven.
One of the first questions addressed to Galtier when the job was delayed for many weeks was about the Brazilian's future - and the coach preferred not to address it immediately.
"We don't discuss the construction of the staff publicly," he commented.
Galtier is an excellent professional, who proved himself at Saint-Etienne, and especially when he led Lille to a sensational championship win at the expense of Saint-Germain in 2021.
However, when it comes to managing superstars with monstrous egos, his experience tends to zero.
The players he nurtured were never as well-publicized as the Qatari front trio, and the challenge he faced was enormous.
The tabloids enjoyed celebrating the internal rift that apparently occurred in the dressing room - Messi wants Neymar to stay, Mbappe demands that he be thrown out.
What could be better in terms of media hype?
Well, it is very possible that the big explosion is yet to happen, but the first weeks of his term Galtier passed with great success.
He had positive talks with Neymar, recruited him to his side, and refused to cooperate with gossip hunters in regards to locker room tensions.
The Brazilian's season started off on the right foot in Bloomfield, when he scored a brace in a 4-0 win over Nantes in the French Supercup, including a penalty that Messi allowed him to take, and the momentum didn't stop.
Neymar allowed in every league game he started, and in industrial silence made the decision to bench him against Nantes at the beginning of the month.
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He has already starred in Israel this season.
Neymar (Photo: Kobi Eliyahu)
"There is always a danger of undermining the dressing room if a player does not agree with instructions, but I spoke with Neymar in advance, and he understands the considerations. He suffered a few tackles in the previous game, and needs some rest," said the coach.
The Brazilian did enter only in the 63rd minute, in place of Mbappe who managed to score twice, and the conduct was matter-of-fact.
Three days later, Neymar already scored for Lamba in a 1:2 victory over Juventus at the opening of the group stage in the Champions League.
On the other hand, Mbappe did not inform Neymar that he was in front of an empty net, and the incident allowed journalists to try and open the issue of cooperation between the two.
"The relationship between them is good, and I'm not just saying that. They train and warm up together, and talk about a lot of things. They've already talked about this miss as well. Mbappe didn't see Neymar when he advanced to the goal, and these are decisions that are made in a split second. When you see the pictures, It's a simple matter. He's just focused on the ball. Everything's fine, I have no doubt that they'll score a lot of goals for each other later this season," Galtier said.
It is also possible that the change of method introduced by the new boss contributes to the improvement of Neymar's performance.
With Mauricio Pochettino, Saint Germain played mainly in a 3-3-4, or 1-3-2-4 formation, when the Brazilian was mainly deployed on the wing, and an attempt was even made to get him to do defensive work.
This season, the team switched to a formation with three defenders, and the line is mainly plowed by the player who is defined on paper as a defender, usually Nono Mendesh.
He is placed in a much more attacking position on average, and as a result, Neymar has fewer tasks at the back, and he is also much more inside the box.
The point trio is more flexible than before, the exchanges of places are more frequent, and each star reaches the hatching positions more frequently.
The opening whistle of the World Cup is around the corner.
Neymar (Photo: GettyImages, Kenta Harada)
So Neymar is enjoying himself in the meantime, and his balance is getting better and better.
This period is too short for it to be possible to jump to far-reaching conclusions, and the explosive dressing room of Saint-Germain could catch fire at any moment with nonsense, as we have seen many times in the past, but as of now he is flourishing, and that is what interests the fans ahead of his intriguing game against Maccabi Haifa.
This is a good sign for those who want to see a fine Brazilian show, and a slightly less encouraging signal for the Greens' defense.
This may also be Neymar's only game against the Israeli champions this season.
As we get closer to the World Cup, it is likely that he will prefer to divide the forces, and avoid injuries as much as possible.
At the end of October, when Saint-Germain host Barak Becher's side at Princes Park, the opening whistle in Qatar will be around the corner, and the stars may be rested, especially if qualification for the last eight is already assured.
In this context, it is blessed from the point of view of the Israeli audience that Neymar's visit is already happening now, in the second round.
He is healthy, focused, goal oriented and in a great mood.
And this is really not a common sight during his tenure at Saint-Germain.
As far as the show is concerned, this is the ideal situation.
You can enjoy it.
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