Santos make their highly-anticipated debut at the Club World Cup today when they face plucky Japan champions Kashiwa Reysol, but all the focus is on one man: Neymar.
Santos will be relying on the highly talented 19-year-old forward to shoot them to a probable final showdown with Barcelona, while Kashiwa’s Brazilian boss, a former Santos player and coach, must try to stop him.
Arguably the most high-profile name after Lionel Messi at the intercontinental championship in Japan, Neymar, who has been linked with a big-money move to Europe, said he wanted to write his name in Santos folklore.
“I’m very happy to have this opportunity to play at the Club World Cup and very happy to have the chance to be a new name in the history of Santos. It’s an honour for me,” he said.
Santos coach Muricy Ramalho said Neymar should stay and develop his game in Brazil until after the World Cup there in 2014.
“He’s a young player but he’s got a lot of experience in football, he’s a person who’s responsible and he’s prepared to take responsibility,” said Ramalho on the eve of the tie with Kashiwa and their coach Nelsinho.
“Though Neymar’s under huge pressure, it doesn’t have a negative impact. He’s used to being under pressure.”
Barcelona take on Al Sadd, of Qatar, in the other semi, tomorrow, in a match they will be fully expected to win.
There is similar pressure on Santos back home in Brazil, where the Club World Cup is regarded as a major trophy.
Ramalho said he believed he was under even more scrutiny than Barca boss Pep Guardiola.
The 61-year-old Nelsinho said Neymar had the potential to be the best player in the world.
“He’s an outstanding player with huge, huge potential. Of course, we will have to be cautious not only of him, but of the whole Santos team,” he said.
Nelsinho rolled off the likes of striker Borges, who scored a prolific 23 goals in 29 games in Brazil in 2011, and Ganso, who has also been mooted for a big-money move to Europe.
Nelsinho, who has been hailed for his “Nelsinho magic” after steering the side from Chiba to the most successful spell in its history, said it was probably the biggest game of his long career.
“The match is extremely important for my career. Barcelona and Santos are favourites but we have the opportunity to play them so for any professional this is an extremely big chance,” he said.
Kashiwa defeated Auckland City and then survived a nail-biting penalty shoot-out against Mexico’s Monterrey to reach the last four.
Playing today
Match for fifth place: Monterrey vs Esperance.
Semi-final: Kashiwa vs Santos.
Tomorrow
Semi-final: Al Sadd vs Barcelona.