Luiz Felipe Scolari has hit out at the ‘special’ treatment he sees being dished out to Neymar and compared it to similar work on Cristiano Ronaldo.
Neymar was caught in the thigh during the second half of Brazil’s eventual penalty win over Chile in the World Cup Round of 16 on Saturday and is now a doubt to face Colombia on Friday in the quarter-finals.
For his Coach, it is the result of targeted challenges from opponents, which he has personally seen before in his career.
Luiz Felipe Scolari has hit out at the ‘special’ treatment he sees being dished out to Neymar and compared it to similar work on Cristiano Ronaldo.
Neymar was caught in the thigh during the second half of Brazil’s eventual penalty win over Chile in the World Cup Round of 16 on Saturday and is now a doubt to face Colombia on Friday in the quarter-finals.
For his Coach, it is the result of targeted challenges from opponents, which he has personally seen before in his career.
“I have already experienced this before at Euro 2004, when I was the Coach of Portugal,” Scolari is quoted by the Gazzetta dello Sport today.
“Then it was Cristiano Ronaldo in the viewfinder. Always subject to ‘special’ marking. I remember that in the semi-final against the Netherlands he was hit hard after just five minutes. And he was forced to quit in the second half.
“Neymar is undergoing the same treatment as Cristiano. Every game he ends with swollen legs. After five minutes of the game against Chile he was hit violently.
“I do not know how he managed to keep playing extra time and to not lose focus when he kicked the winning penalty.
“He has been a hero. But I do not know if he will recover for Friday against Colombia.”
Scolari considered the player’s focus during a tournament he is expected to shine in.
“He is a young man of 22, with the experience of a man of 35. He is mentally strong, he does not collapse under stress.
“He loves to play with the ball and this happiness helps him to experience in the right way these special moments.
“Neymar is playing as if he were taking a penalty kick with his shirt off playing on the beach in Santos during an afternoon with friends.”