Brazil’s Olympic coach Rogerio Micale says he is confident captain Neymar will one day be the best player in the world, but warned Brazilian football that it must show the Barcelona star more respect or they risk losing him.
Neymar’s Barca colleague Lionel Messi retired from international football in June after enduring a fractious relationship with fans and media in his native Argentina for the best part of a decade.
And after Neymar was booed and jeered in Sunday’s goalless draw with Iraq, with fans in Brasilia calling for him to be replaced by women’s team captain Marta, Micale has sprung to the defence of his captain.
"Neymar will become the best player in the world, so we need to respect him more," Micale said.
"He is still young. I know that there have been times when he behaved in a way that we may not like but, at his age, wouldn't we do the same things that he does, if we had everything he has?
"If we don't respect our best players, they might not want to be with us anymore.”
He added: “Marta is how old? 31?... We can say that she is a sensational player, and she rightfully has all our recognition, but Neymar is a future world beater.
"Marta and Neymar are two great Brazilian footballers. But Neymar is 24 and still hasn't' fully matured.
“A player generally peaks at 28, both physically and mentally. Neymar has had to live with the pressure of being a leader since he was 17-years-old."
Despite two bitterly disappointing goalless draws in Group A so far, Brazil know victory over Denmark on Wednesday will guarantee their place in the second round.
“There have been questions asked, but I still think we have some great players,” Micale said.
“We need to work hard because we depend only on ourselves for qualification.”
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