Neymar Breaks Down At Press Conference, Visits Brazil Training Camp To Support Team
When Brazilians were mourning the loss of superstar Neymar for the semifinal against Germany, nobody could have imagined that it was the least of their worries. After Brazil was crushed 7-1 in the historic match, the only ones that escaped unscathed were Neymar and Thiago.
Neither one of the players could have thought they would be thanking their lucky stars for missing the 2014 World Cup semifinal, between Brazil and Germany. After all, everyone that goes to the tournament and reaches the final stage, wants to go all the way.
According to reports from Spain and Portugal via Bleacherreport, Neymar was watching Brazil’s match on television, with his family — while recovering from a fractured vertebrae — when Germany’s attack began. By the time Germany scored the seventh goal, Neymar was so disgusted that he stopped watching and began playing poker.
The Spanish publication Marca Neymar supposedly said: “I don’t want to watch this s***! Let’s go and play poker.”
The report indicates that Neymar’s mom was in tears, as Germany continued to walk all over Brazil and he missed Oscar’s “honor” goal. However, the 22-year-old injured star and his dad were simply shocked and could not believe what they were witnessing.
Germany demolished the heavy favorite, the host, Brazil, who had waited 64-years for a chance to win the World Cup title on home soil, after being denied by Uruguay at the 1950 Maracanazo. If fans thought the legendary match was bad, they were in for the shock of their lives.
During a press conference on Thursday, Neymar recalled the horrific injury he suffered at the hands of Colombian defender Juan Zuniga in the quarterfinal, rendering him unable to continue playing in the 2014 World Cup. Barely able to complete his thoughts, an emotional Neymar Jr. said:
“God protected me, by…because…I could have ended up in a wheelchair…In such an important moment in my career…and I ended up suffering like that…but that’s part of sport.”
Neymar was visibly affected during the press conference and between his devastating injury and Brazil’s loss, it appears it was all too much for the young star. But Neymar was very much a part of the semifinal, as his teammates Julio Cesar and David Luiz held his #10 jersey, while passionately singing the national anthem, before the match.
In the end — and despite the severity of his injury — Neymar was lucky not to play in the semifinal. We will never know what would have happened had he and Thiago been available that fateful day, but both players escaped with their reputations unscathed, which is not the same the rest of the team can say.
[Image via Twitter]
