Brazilian legend Cafu appeared on a Brazilian podcast program, during which he talked about the Brazilian national team and Neymar. He believes that Neymar has been carrying the burden of leading Brazil to win the World Cup alone for 15 years, without any teammates of matching level by his side to share the responsibility.
Host: “When we won the World Cup for the 5th time in 2002, the Brazilian team had 7 different players named Man of the Match in 7 games. I often study Neymar's matches with the national team, and he was the absolute core of the team at that time, participating in almost all aspects on the field. He even sometimes took goal kicks himself to initiate attacks. Then I discovered that surprisingly, no one really took on the leadership role like him, because Neymar was more efficient in the attacking third. This is my opinion, especially considering his current age. He can no longer run as much as before, nor can he dribble past everyone like he used to. In the 2002 Brazilian team, even though we had a core like Ronaldo, we also had Rivaldo and a younger Ronaldinho, who was also a star player at that time. However, the ball movement was not limited to them, but ran through the entire team. Ronaldo would not drop back to receive the ball; he always stayed in his proper position.”
Cafu: “This is called division of responsibility, where every player takes on their own responsibility on the field. To achieve this, you need a leader, a captain, who can make everyone feel important when welcoming victory. Can you tell me what the difference is between the 2002 team and the current team? It's very simple. In 2002, if Ronaldo was not in good form, Ronaldinho could step up. If Ronaldinho was also not in good form and Ronaldo was not playing well either, Rivaldo could step forward, and he really did. If all three of them were not in good form, Roberto Carlos would take charge of free kicks. If all four of them were not in good form during set-piece attacks, Roque Júnior, Lúcio or Edmílson could score with headers. We had countless ways to win matches.”
“For 15 years, we have placed all the burden on Neymar's shoulders. This is a fact, it's cruel, but this is exactly the crux of the problem. I feel a bit embarrassed to say this, but for 15 years, Neymar has really not had a single teammate of matching level by his side, someone who can share the responsibility with him on the field, someone who can say to him: 'Neymar, let me be the protagonist today, don't worry.' He doesn't have such teammates, because for these 15 years, he has been solely responsible for taking free kicks, taking corner kicks, arguing with referees, arguing with fans, arguing with coaches, and arguing with the media. He has shouldered the responsibility alone for 15 years, and this is not right.”
“Once, someone asked me on a program: 'Cafu, why do you say Neymar shouldn't be the captain of the Brazilian national team?' Because he shouldn't have to bear this responsibility. This kid just needs to play football. For almost 15 years, we have made one player solely responsible for winning the World Cup. And this simply doesn't work, as evidenced by the fact that he hasn't won the World Cup. If you don't share the responsibility with your teammates, it's useless. But is this Neymar's fault? No, this is not Neymar's fault. Unfortunately, Neymar was born in an era where his way of thinking is ten steps ahead of everyone else. Really, no one around him can keep up with his train of thought.”
“Now we have enough players who can support Neymar, players who can tell him: 'Just focus on playing football, leave the other things to me.'”
Host: “Raphinha, Vinícius Júnior—they are key players at their clubs, so why can't they do the same for the national team?”
Cafu: “The Brazilian national team is excellent. But back in 2002, we told Ronaldo and Rivaldo that if you are dribbled past from the midfield back, we will stop them; from the midfield forward, it's up to you. Now, the responsibility lies with us. Maybe this is what Neymar lacks, or rather, lacks someone willing to share this responsibility. Because from the moment Neymar took on the responsibility of being the protagonist of the Brazilian national team in every match and everything, he was destined not to succeed.”
