In the first minute of the second half of the match between Santos and Botafogo, Neymar fell on the lawn. He had just taken the field when he took a jackpot in the groin region. The attacker had not even touched the ball yet. For the relief of the Santos, it was just a fright.
On the day he turned 33, the star defended again on Wednesday (5) the team that revealed him to the exact 4,273 days after his last game for the club, in 2013, in a 0-0 draw with the club Flamengo, for the Brazilian Championship.
This time, his reunion with the Santos fan was in a confrontation for the Paulista Championship. He entered the field when the team of Vila won 1-0, goal of Tiquinho Soares. In the final stage, however, the Ribeirão team managed to get the draw and frustrated the party of the 15,377 fans who went to the village, especially to celebrate Neymar’s return to Brazil.
“It’s hard for you to find words to express the feeling of loving someone. I love Santos and I have no words to describe what I felt today,” said shirt 10 after the match. “I almost scored a goal, I missed the kick. I need minutes, games, I’m not 100%. I didn’t imagine it was going to run so much, dribbling so much. I think in four or five games I’ll be better,” he added.
Although happy with his first participation, he regretted the result. “It is a sadness to finish the birthday with the bitter taste of the draw. Just ask for patience for the fans, because this team will improve and give joys,” he said.
Before his return, the star lived the best moment of his career in Barcelona, with which he won the Champions League and the Club World Cup. He also defended Paris Saint-Germain, but without the same brightness, until he moved to Al Hilal, where he lived the worst phase of his journey.
In a year and a half, he played only seven matches on the Saudi Arabia team and suffered the most serious injury of his trajectory, in the anterior cruciate ligament of the left knee. The bruise left him a year away from football and abbreviated his spell at Al Hilal.
Back in Brazilian football precisely to meet again with his best version, Neymar began the match against Botafogo on the bench. It was from there that he saw Santos suffer from the visitors’ marking and create few clear chances of goal until the penalty score opened.
At 35 minutes, referee Matheus Delgado Candançan was called to analyze a possible touch of Wallison hand with Guilherme. In the bench, Neymar and his companions saw the bid for a monitor. Shirt 10 made a gesture indicating that, besides the touch, the striker would also have suffered a foul. The referee then confirmed the penalty, but by touching the hand.
Three minutes later, Guilherme took the ball and called Tiquinho Soares to charge. Shirt 9 that had not scored in the state still moved the goalkeeper and opened the scoring.
The partial victory was the ideal scenario for Pedro Caixinha to launch Neymar on the field in the second half. He entered shortly after the break. In the first few minutes, it has already suffered from marking the opponents. Two hard faults made him lying in the field. Even without the optimal rhythm of play, the star moved freedom in the attack.
At 15 minutes, he had his first big chance after cleaning two opponents and demanding a great defense of the goalkeeper with a shot from outside the area.
Precisely the moment Santos had more offensive volume, but Botafogo reached the draw with Alexandre Jesus. He scored headlong after 21 minutes after a corner kick.
The reaction of the visitors, however, lasted shortly, since four minutes later the Ribeirão team ended up with one less after Wallison received the second yellow in the match.
In numerical advantage, Santos began to press even more in search of victory. The lighter opportunities always emerged from the left, where Neymar and Guilherme performed. Shirt 11 hit a ball in the post in the best chance.
With one less, Botafogo started to play practically with 10 players in their defense field and created a block that Santos could not knock until the end of the match.
