Through Barcelona and PSG, the two stalwarts carry the burden of two football-obsessed cultures, whose destinies are intertwined. The shadows of Lionel Messi and Neymar blend into one another, no matter how hard they try to keep them to themselves, like two enormous trees in a rare football estate. When Neymar joined forces with Messi in Barcelona, the Argentine calmed him down and formed one of the deadliest trios of this century with Luis Suarez.
Neymar assumed that Messi’s shadow had grown too long, so he moved to PSG so that he could succeed and experiment on his own. However, they reunited at the Paris club four years later, with Neymar playing the gracious host this time. We were meant to be together. The Brazilian had stated at the time, “I haven’t spent as much time with my family as I have with Leo.”
They might just have been created that way. Messi is five years more established than Neymar. Neymar burst forth when he was already a great leaping to the pedestal of an all-time great. The Brazilian was never a contender, however the inheritor. This was the way Barcelona wanted their lives to play out. In the spring, Messi would depart for Neymar.
But it didn’t turn out to be Barcelona’s best-written script, just like fate and destiny, human ambition, and the need to be the center of attention. However, in Paris, their paths reconnected, long shadows hung over one another, and an irresistible chemistry emerged once more. Together, they have played in 200 matches, played 15,865 minutes, and scored 67 goals.
They also spend a lot of time training and traveling together. Their families take vacations together, and they call each other brothers. It is a story about brotherhood but also about rivalry and the pointlessness of drifting apart. Theirs is an equal however intertwined storyline that continues covering, parts of one tree slithering into the other.
Neymar and Messi will be literally chasing each other’s shadows next week in the semifinals in what would be the most irresistible of showdowns, a fixture that squeezes in geographical, political, and linguistic tensions, in addition to their ravenous quest for footballing one-upmanship. Their shadows and destiny converge once more on Friday, 20 kilometers and an hour apart, as they lead their respective teams into the quarterfinals.
Argentina will play Croatia, Brazil will play Croatia, and The crushing burden that two football-obsessed cultures have placed on their shoulders is shared by both. Neymar hasn’t had to deal with the burden as long as Messi has. He has been through the heartbreak of losing in the final, the agony of losing in two quarterfinals, and the backlash of losing in the round of 16.
The Copa title was a reclamation, and from that point forward, the string of fate hauling Messi to the slippery World Cup in Doha has accumulated bass and volume. A sense that Messi is at his calmest yet fiercest during a World Cup is apparent. As if he had vanquished the burdensome rock as if he was no longer overly preoccupied with the World Cup or achieving Maradona’s stature in his home country.
He is not concerned about perceptions, legacy, or successes and failures. As if all he wants to do is enjoy the World Cup, which could be his last. He smiles more often, scolds more often, fights with backers, and expresses joy and anger more clearly. As if he has entered Middle Earth from his incomprehensible celestial bubble.
Additionally, Argentina has had moments, despite not being spectacular; Messi has moments of conjuration. What once appeared to be a burden now appears to be the fuel that propels Messi toward achieving his final wish of playing football. The glint that makes his halo look like a perfect circle.
However, he is placed in charge of Argentina’s fortunes.
He just doesn’t seem to be feeling the weight. Neymar, however, is not solely responsible for Brazil’s fate. The publicity machine didn’t derange whirr, he nearly remained unnoticed however for life-size enlightened outlines flashing on the exterior of Doha towers. His ankle injury did not affect the nation. Without him, Brazil won a match. It’s no longer just about Neymar.
Neymar-dependencia is no longer the focus. Richarlison and Vinicius Junior have also been discussed. about Casemiro and Thiago Silva as well. It was about the Brazilian team’s collective dazzle rather than an individual sizzle, about dance and dribbles, bicycle kicks and pile drivers, and about romance and flair, as it rarely happens.
Neymar has been liberated by the obsessive attention he has received from the media, fans, and even supporters. Unobtrusively, he appreciated one of his best World Cup games against South Korea, when he wound around and turned, pirouetted, and moved among protectors and safeguard lines. In the past, it wasn’t often like that. He was fouled so frequently at the most recent World Cup that he became overly concerned about being fouled.
Neymar lost some of his Neymar-ness and became increasingly belligerent. He would dribble and twinkle past a lot of defenders before suddenly stopping, assuming that the defender was making a mistake of his own, such as a hasty tackle or disgusting shove. As a result, he was engaging in reactionary football and degrading both his own performance and that of his team.
His fellow frontmen were frequently caught out of position as a result of the frequent start-stop routines. Brazil lost its cohesiveness as a result. Neymar’s sense of self-importance has also diminished. He is no longer desperate to win the Ballon d’Or, he is not arrogant enough to want the team to be built around him, and he prefers to set up goals than to score them. He exudes a refreshing maturity that may have always existed, but it is now more apparent than ever.