Brazil’s newly hired coach, Dorival Junior, said that the squad must learn to play without its injured star, Neymar, and downplayed a previous quarrel he had with the player when coaching Brazilian club Santos.
Dorival, who left Santos in 2010 after benching Neymar, was appointed coach of the five-time world champions after interim coach Fernando Diniz was fired.
The new coach considers Neymar to be one of the world’s top three booters, but believes the squad must find a way to win without the Al-Hilal star.
Dorival, who left Santos in 2010 after benching Neymar, was appointed coach of the five-time world champions after interim coach Fernando Diniz was fired.
“Because Neymar is injured, Brazil must learn to move forward without him.” “We have one of the three best players in the world [Neymar], and we will rely on him,” Dorival remarked yesterday.
Neymar, Brazil’s all-time leading scorer, injured the anterior cruciate ligament and meniscus in his left knee while on international duty in October and will not be able to play again until August.
Dorival said that he is looking forward to the return of a fully healthy Neymar and that he has already buried the hatchet with the star.
“Neymar is a very important player, as long as he is recovered, fit and fully focused,” Dorival told reporters.
After sustaining a damaged anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and meniscus in his left knee while on international duty in October, Brazil’s leading scorer had surgery in November last year.
“I have no issues with Ney. The magnitude the crisis [at Santos] reached was far beyond what we imagined. The Santos board of directors made a choice, which I respected. That’s all there is to it. We never had any issues.
“Every time we met, it was a happy occasion.” Football is a pretty active sport in general. Heaven and hell are literally a stone’s throw apart.”