The announcement of his name on Friday in Le Havre caused hysteria from the 25,000 spectators of Brazil-Ghana (3-0), and the Océane stadium gave him a standing ovation. The Seleçao is in the process of carrying out a French tour of rock stars: it attracts crowds around the hotels, journalists by the hundreds to its matches, and Neymar is the undeniable star.
Everyone wants to see the PSG striker, greet him, talk to him, touch him or take a picture of him, and it will be even more noise than usual this Tuesday evening (8:30 p.m.) at the Parc des Princes, against Tunisia . The 30-year-old experiences this with detachment and a certain tranquility. Moreover, it lends itself in selection to the media game with much more availability than in club.
In Le Havre, he stayed nearly twenty-five minutes in the mixed zone, stuck on 50 cm2 between a cordon and advertising panels, applying himself to answering everyone, smiling, before ending the exercise after a question on the latest statements from Kylian Mbappé.
A Silva-Marquinhos hinge
In Seleçao, PSG’s number 10 doesn’t have to worry about his club-mate’s mood and his technical relationship with Vinicius, for example, doesn’t suffer from any battle of egos on the pitch. The Real Madrid striker sticks to what he does best, running fast deep from the left wing, and that’s the smartest thing he can do with Neymar right behind him, at the pass. The former FC Barcelona player has been marveling since the start of the season in a role of playmaker, quite free in the left half-space, and he still distributed two caviars to Richarlison against Ghana.
His statistics since the resumption are breathtaking: 12 matches, 11 goals, 10 assists, in all competitions. He is the most decisive player in Europe and this proves Tite right, who likes to remind us that “Neymar is the bow and arrow”. The coach auriverde will obviously establish his leader, this Tuesday evening, but also Marquinhos, the captain of PSG, and Thiago Silva, ex-Parisian and wearer of the armband in Seleçao. The Parc des Princes is bubbling with impatience.