Neymar Junior: a successful career in Brazil and Spain

Neymar Junior or simply Neymar, is the current captain of the Brazilian national football team at 24 years of age and one of the forwards of Barcelona a Spanish team. Son of a mechanic and a housewife, he was born in Mogi das Cruzes (São Paulo), and began his career as a junior member of Portuguesa Santista at 6 years old.

In 2003 he was transferred to Santos, where he joined the first team at 17 years old. In the premiere, he was appointed as the revelation of the São Paulo Championship. The following year, was the top scorer of the Brazil Cup (11 goals) and the best player in São Paulo Championship (42 goals).

At 19, Neymar won the South American Footballer of the Year Award of 2011 and was in tenth position in the list of World’s Best Player – nonetheless took the Goal of the Year Puskás Award by the goal scored in the game of Santos against Flamengo for the Brazilian Championship.

He was also key player in Santos winning the Libertadores, which gave him the right to participate in the Club World Cup. It was at this moment, with the victory of the 2012 Recopa, that he began to be approached by Barcelona, ​​culminated in the signing of a contract with the Spanish club.

 

Transfer to Barcelona

nd secured the team championship win with nine goals), until he reached the professional team.

 

Participation in the World Cup 2014

His first call to the official team was to the FIFA Confederations Cup 2013, already wearing the number 10, in which was victorious and the best player of the tournament. In 2014, he participated in his first World Cup, and was a great prominence until suffering an injury in a vertebra in the quarter-finals, forcing him to leave the competition early.

Nonetheless, he was the third top scorer in the 2014 World Cup with four goals scored and led to Bronze Shoe as the third top scorer of the event. He was also indicated as one of the members of the “dream team” formed by the eleven best players of the competition.

Currently, Neymar is the fifth leading scorer in the history of the National Team, with 60 goals in 85 games, despite having participated in only one World Cup. To move up this list, he will have to face the legendary marks of Pele, Ronaldo, Romário and Zico.