Two days after a fight at Santos’ training center that had legal consequences, Neymar and Robinho Júnior went to the Monumental Río Parapití Stadium on Tuesday night (5), in Pedro Juan Caballero, Paraguay. Neymar scored in the 1-1 draw with little Deportivo Recoleta and hugged his young teammate in celebration.
In the 41st minute of the first half, the 34-year-old striker received a good pass from Argentine Rollheiser and hit the goalkeeper. He celebrated by winning the hugs of multiple teammates, starters and reserves. Robinho Júnior was one of the reserves. At the meeting, the 18-year-old boy received affectionate pats and a smile from his experienced companion.
The idea was to make the environment less dense, which was still complicated – the draw at the end didn’t help. Although the conflict that occurred in training was treated by those involved as something acceptable in the football environment, the boy was bothered by the veteran’s reaction and sent an extrajudicial notification to Santos.
The fight occurred during an activity last Sunday (3), at CT Rei Pelé, for players who had not participated in the 1-1 draw with Palmeiras the day before. After the young man dribbled at the veteran, he reacted, according to the extrajudicial notification, with “swearing”, “slapping” and “a violent slap to the face”.
In the notification, Robinho Júnior’s team demanded the opening of an internal investigation and the availability of images of the training, which, even though it is closed to the press, is always recorded. The club was forced to publish a note confirming the internal investigation and pointing out that “the club’s legal department is responsible for conducting the investigation”.
It was in this scenario that the delegation traveled to Pedro Juan Caballero, on the border between Paraguay and Brazil. While news was popping up about the possibility of contract termination and the possibility of Neymar going to the next World Cup dwindling minute by minute, Santos was preparing for a relevant game in the Copa Sudamericana.
The victory came in the final part of the first half, with a good exchange of passes taken advantage of by Neymar. In the final stage, Gabriel Barbosa, Gabigol, and Neymar, missed opportunities without a goalkeeper. On the other side, in the 41st minute of the final stage, in a set piece with successive errors, Fernando Galeano equalized.
Santos, therefore, is in last place in Group D, with zero wins in four matches in the Copa Sudamericana. In the Brazilian Championship, the only reason they are not in the relegation zone is because of the tiebreaker criterion of goals scored. There are also legal concerns, which were not resolved in a hug.
