Opinion – The World is a Ball: Neymar’s back

“I went to the game, my back was locked, I couldn’t move properly, because I have a problem with my back since the blow I suffered in the World Cup. But you go to the dick, there’s nothing to do.”

When watching “Neymar: O Caos Perfeito”, a miniseries in three episodes on Netflix that recounts the career of the ace, the phrase that struck me the most was this one, said by the striker when commenting on the match in which Brazil was eliminated by Belgium from the World Cup of the World Cup 2018 in Russia.

In this World Cup, shirt 10 had a performance below expectations and his reputation as a “cai-cai” was enhanced.

I was surprised by Neymar’s statement, as he considered that his back had not been a problem for him for a long time.

The World Cup he refers to when mentioning the blow is the one in 2014, in Brazil, when the Colombian Zúñiga hit him from behind in the quarter-final match, at the Castelão stadium, in Fortaleza.

It’s sad to remember this move, which shows the best player of the Brazilian team sprawled on the lawn, screaming in pain, unable to move.

The load from behind Zúñiga, with his knee, caused Neymar’s third lumbar vertebra to fracture.

The star of the selection was there outside the sequence of the Cup – Brazil lost in the semifinal, by 7 to 1, to Germany, and after 3 to 0 to Holland in the dispute of the third place – and was very close to being paraplegic. He was saved by two inches.

Despite the huge scare, Neymar was not long away from football, compared to other injuries he would have.

A month and a half later, he was already defending Barcelona, ​​a club he left in 2017 to play for Paris Saint-Germain.

At PSG, Neymar had some bruises (on his foot) that took longer than the one on his back to heal.

Last week, he returned to training after two months out to recover from a sprained right ankle (with a ligament injury) suffered at the end of November.

The curious thing is that in this entire period, of seven and a half years, that has never been public knowledge (I looked for news and couldn’t find it), Neymar was heard to complain about a back problem.

Nothing that referred to any remnant of the knee in 2014, nothing could worry his teams, his fans, his friends. Nothing that caught the attention of the press.

In fact, I didn’t see anyone in the journalistic environment commenting on Neymar’s statement made in the second chapter of the series, which is still available on the streaming platform.

Nor did doctors from Barcelona, ​​PSG or the Brazilian national team disclose that the striker had any complaints in the lumbar region in the periodic exams he underwent.

I took my surprise to NN Colsultoria, which manages the athlete’s career, last week.

The following is a summary of the questions:

• What problem does Neymar have in his back?
• Are there any medical terms that qualify you?
• Does he have tests that prove this problem?
• Is there any treatment to alleviate the problem?
• How much does the issue affect game performance?

Initially, the company’s advice responded to my contact, made by email, saying that I would receive a response “soon”.

As nothing arrived after three days, I reinforced the order. Two more days with no response, another attempt in writing. Silence.

The last effort was made this Friday afternoon (4), in two phone calls to the advisor, with an interval of approximately one and a half hours between them.

In none of them, despite having answered, the interlocutor was available to talk. On the second call, she stated that she would call back, but that didn’t happen.

In this way, the mystery remains in the air, until someone – whether Neymar himself or his staff – decides to undo it.

Until then, we won’t know what Neymar, who turns 30 this Saturday, has on his back, a space that he, regardless of having a problem there, usually reserves for flashy tattoos.