Neymar Controversy Points to Bigger Problems for Brazil at Copa America

It is never the sign of a good game when the referee is one of the key topics of conversation in the post-match analysis. But events at the end of the ill-tempered Copa America encounter between Brazil and Colombia on Wednesday night have forced both Neymar and Chilean official Enrique Osses into the limelight for all the wrong reasons.

The 23-year-old forward, who endured one of his most disappointing performances in a Selecao shirt, did not mince his words when speaking with the Brazilian press afterward. Coach Dunga and right-back Dani Alves also waded in, as Colombia recorded a first, and thoroughly deserved, victory over their neighbours since 1991.

Neymar, in a television interview after the game, made it clear that no player is irreplaceable, and he has full faith in his team-mates getting a positive result on Sunday without him. That, however, will be easier said than done.

But the tone of the contest was marked from the start, and, as has so often been the case over the last two years or so, a large part of the opposition’s game plan was to mark Neymar as rigorously as possible within the confines of what the referee would allow.

The one clear chance he was afforded, a header from a Alves cross smartly saved by David Ospina, ended in the Brazil forward being booked for handball, something the player denied after the final whistle. But that snapshot of the match summed up Neymar’s night—even when it looked like it might go right, it went wrong.

By the end, frustration got the better of the Barcelona man, ending in a melee that had threatened to spill out since the opening exchanges. That moment of frustration and anger at the ill treatment from overzealous defenders with enthusiastic studs was not just about Wednesday night.

Since his early days, when his reputation suffered for a habit of going to ground too early, opponents have targeted Neymar. Now, with Brazilian football arguably at its lowest ebb, the youngster, who already has 44 international goals to his name, carries the torch for the nation.

It is an awful lot for one man to bear, and the suggestion has been there since he reported for Copa America duty that all is not well. There have been complaints against fans, after the win over Honduras in Porto Alegre, complaints against referees and an uncharacteristic, if albeit understandable, aggressive reaction after a hugely unproductive night for both Neymar and his team-mates.

Clearly, his reaction at the final whistle cannot be condoned, and now his team have been left with the proverbial mountain to climb. But there is bad blood between Neymar and Colombia, Juan Zuniga being the player who ruled the Brazilian out of the World Cup last year with a well-timed knee to the base of his spine.

One can only speculate whether that was weighing on the player’s mind throughout last night’s aggressive affair, but his post-match comments spoke volumes of the injustices he clearly feels come his way inside the white lines on a regular basis, routinely ignored by officials.

Everybody has a breaking point. It would appear that Neymar reached his on Wednesday night at the Estadio Monumental, as he expressed his frustration with Osses, per Terra Esportes.

Natacha Pisarenko/Associated Press

It should also be pointed out that referee Osses has history with South America’s biggest nation, having sent off two Corinthians players in a Copa Libertadores clash against Paraguayan outfit Guarani earlier this year, and his performance being called into question is nothing new in these parts.

But for Dunga and his coaching staff, there is little use in crying over spilt milk. Sunday’s game against Venezuela now takes on huge importance, and the task must be completed without Neymar. With a two-game suspension already confirmed, and a further hearing with CONMEBOL, the South American football confederation, Brazil run the risk of losing their star man for the remainder of the tournament.

Lest it be forgotten, the last time Brazil played competitive fixtures without their No. 10, they lost 7-1 and 3-0 against Germany and the Netherlands respectively.

For a team crowned world champions a record five times, any defeat is seen as catastrophic. But the theme of “Neymardependencia” is growing, and his worth to this side has become ever more apparent since success at the Confederations Cup two years ago.

It is no secret that this is far from the best Brazil side to have ever graced the planet. But Neymar, at times single-handedly, has kept them in contention for honours. His reaction last night is not laudable, but the bigger picture remains that Brazil must prove that they are more than a one-man band.