Why Barcelona's Neymar Must Control His Emotions to Realise His Potential

Neymar proved with his performances for Barcelona throughout the 2014/15 season that he does have what it takes to make it at the highest level.

Lionel Messi aside, there's little doubt that the Brazilian was the best player in the side, and his 39 goals. per WhoScored.com, has only been bettered on a small number of occasions.

What a shame, then, that at times Neymar still allowed his performances to be overshadowed.

While accepting he is still young and therefore has much growing to do, both as a person and a professional, there is a side to the player that urgently needs addressing if he wants to realise his full potential.

Neymar can be very emotionally immature if the mood takes him, and this will often underscore a performance.

Take the incident for Brazil at the Copa America against Colombia as a prime example.

The role of captain of your country includes behaving responsibly at all times. Being the exemplar, if you will.

If kicking the ball directly at an opponent wasn't bad enough, Neymar added in a head butt for good measure.

Per L'Equipe (h/t Tony Mahoney of Goal), Brazil technical co-ordinator Nilmar Rinaldi even noted how the youngster went completely against his advice at the time of the incident:

"

I told him to be careful because he is responsible for his own actions.

Neymar told me it was fair for him to talk to the referee, but I told him that it wasn’t the right time.

But this is a learning process. I participated in his nomination as captain and I have no regrets. I have to prepare a great captain.

"

In any event, playing for Barcelona also brings with it a responsibility. And there too the Brazilian let himself down on a few occasions during the season.

The away game against Manchester City in the Champions League saw a City fan goad Neymar after his substitution; the Brazilian took it upon himself to confront them at the final whistle.

Although it didn't lead to a charge by the governing bodies, the fact is it could have, which could have harmed Barca's chances later in the competition.

Despite the pettiness of the situation, Neymar still reacted. He has to learn to walk away.

His displeasure was also clear when Barca boss Luis Enrique substituted him during a match against Sevilla in April.

It's true no player likes to be subbed off, but it's part and parcel of the game. The manager's decision is final, and it threatens discord in the dressing room to react in such a manner.

Santi Gimenez of AS noted in a headline at the time: "The attitude of Neymar is a problem for Barcelona."

When viewing the accompanying video of the incident at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan, it's understandable why Gimenez would have drawn those conclusions.

If we want to look for an example of how to behave as captain, then Neymar should aspire to be like Carles Puyol and Xavi Hernandez.

Puyol certainly never stood for any nonsense, as seen here:

And while it was almost certainly exuberance on Neymar's part, Xavi's admonishment of him during the end-of-season victory parade is yet another example of the type of behaviour needed at all times at this level.

Per Sport (h/t Vaishali Bhardwaj of the Evening Standard), Xavi noted:

"

[Neymar] was trying to take my shoes off and pushing me when I was on the edge of the bus.

I said that they should stop messing about and concentrate on the people that had come out to wave as the bus passed.

These parades are for the people after all. It’s okay to have three or four beers, but the parade is for the people and it’s the chance for us to thank them for our support.

You can’t just do what you want to do.

"

Wise words indeed, and something for Neymar to take on board in his quest to become the best player in the world.