Rio de Janeiro: Brazil has barely got over its World Cup disaster and now it is counting on Barcelona star Neymar to finally deliver a treasured first football Olympic gold medal.
Olympic gold is the only international title to elude Brazil in an illustrious history that has seen A Selecao win five World Cups. And Brazilian football is in desperate need of a pick-me-up after the humiliating 1-7 semifinal defeat to Germany at their own World Cup two years ago and a group stage exit at the Copa America Centenario in June. Golden boy Neymar has been untarnished by the failures.
Two broken vertebrae in his back suffered near the end of a quarterfinal win over Colombia left Brazil without their talisman against the Germans two years ago.
And as part of an agreement between Barcelona and the Brazilian federation, Neymar skipped the Copa America — which sealed Dunga’s fate as Brazil coach for the second time — to ensure he is fresh for the Olympics.
Rogerio Micale will take charge after leading Brazil to the under-20 World Cup final last year. Like the fans he also expects Neymar to deliver. Brazil are strong favourites to end their wait as on top of home advantage, they also possess by far the strongest squad on paper.
