Neymar - The Middle Man
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Neymar is such a player that divides fans.
Either way, there isn’t really someone who is like “meh, Neymar is okay…”. People either love him or hate him.
I’m in the former.
I’m currently writing this about 11 hours before Manchester City take on PSG in the Champions League semi-final - and in about 13 hours when the game is done, people will be talking about Neymar.
Depending on his side’s performance, it’ll either be positive or negative.
When PSG broke soccer by spending €222 million on Neymar, they did it for matches like the Champions League semi final.
And, to his credit, when he’s available (more about that later), he’s been able to do that.
In fact, here’s a big call for you… If I was to go school-yard style, line all the players up against a wall and pick my team, Neymar might be the first player I’d choose.
Note: This completely hypothetical means players as they are now… Obvs prime Messi has me heart.
A lot of you will probably disagree with me, and that’s okay. Life would be shit if we all agreed on everything.
And besides, you’re entitled to your wrong opinion.
(kidding)
Still… In my opinion, Neymar gets overlooked. I think he’s fallen a bit between two eras. He’s too young to be in the Messi/Ronaldo comparison (and, to be honest, not at their level), and too old for the Mbappe/Haaland debate.
And one other thing he didn’t have… a rival, or player that he’s compared to at the same age bracket.
He’s soccer’s middle man.
Anyway, humor me while I gush about Neymar for the rest of this article.
Finishing and Creating
It’s funny… We look at all these fancy numbers when it comes to the sport, and it still comes down to a few key elements.
For attackers, the best players are the ones that create and finish the most chances.
Sounds pretty simple when you say it like that.
And Neymar is right up there when it comes to both.
In fact, I was playing around with Wyscout filters the other day and found something pretty cool.
Basically, I just put all the search parameters right up for players this season.
Averaging a shot assist a game
Averaging over seven passes into the final third a game
0.4 expected goals per 90
0.3 expected assists per 90
And only players in the top five European leagues
I thought I’d turn everything right up and then slowly adjust the filters down until I had a few players and see if anything was surprising.
Well. There was one surprise straight off the bat.
Neymar was already meeting those stupid filters.
Basically, he is elite at pretty much all aspects of chance creation and finishing.
His non-penalty expected goals per 90 is insane
He gets so many assists
He creates a lot of shots
Comparing Neymar to Europe’s Elite
I can throw around words like “elite” and whatnot until the proverbial cows come home - but I’d rather quickly prove it.
For this quick recap, I’m using FBRef’s player scouting report tool.
As you can see, Neymar’s numbers over the last calendar year are absolutely insane.
And when you look at Neymar as a forward, his numbers still stack up.
In fact, I’d think that Neymar’s defensive numbers might surprise a few. Neymar’s surprising defending quality is also picked up in SmarterScout, where he also ranks pretty high - and that’s with his numbers adjusted to Premier League standard!
Don’t get me wrong though - You’re not playing Neymar because of his defensive efforts from the left-hand-side - this isn’t a Mario Mandzukic type. Instead, his defending is a bit of an added bonus…. Especially when you consider that so many players with similar attacking profiles are almost a complete zero out of possession.
There’s also a few other things I notice looking at his numbers (and watching him play).
The Dribbling is Still A+
I shouldn’t really need to say much here - but Neymar’s dribbling is absolutely elite.
A lot will say it’s all stepovers and done for show.
But check out how effective he is. 6.29 successful dribbles per 90 is insane!
Underrated Passing
Again, Neymar’s progressive passing is top class along with his chance creation.
There was even a time at the start of this season where Neymar was playing as a CM, and he was fucking incredible. It really makes me think that he’ll continue to be an effective player as his career goes on - I can totally see Neymar playing CM somewhere at 31-32 and just bossing games.
The Best Ability?
Now, for me, where Neymar really lets himself down is in availability.
When you take his health, temper, and ability to seemingly always miss games around his sister’s birthday, he isn’t on the park as much as you like.
However, I’m sure as far as PSG are concerned, if he’s fit and firing on all cylinders in the Champions League semi final against City - I doubt they’ll care about Neymar missing some league matches and taking a while to get back to fitness.
Having said all this though, I am a City fan - so I hope he has a fucking stinker.
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