Brazil’s great footballer Ronaldo says Neymar and other Brazilian players should get psychological help to deal with the “disproportionate pressure” from the 2022 World Cup. Neymar is struggling to deal with his psychological pressure after the tournament.
After his team lost to Croatia on penalties in the World Cup quarterfinals, Neymar admitted that he was “psychologically destroyed.”
“I would advise having a psychological support to withstand this pressure, which is extremely disproportionate for human beings,” Ronaldo said.
“Neymar will come back with the same passion, with the same desire. But I wanted to reinforce this need to monitor the mental health of our players … It is very important for us to address this issue, especially when it comes to the World Cup, where the whole world is looking at the national team. The world was looking at Neymar.”
Neymar, 30, had recovered from an ankle injury sustained in Brazil’s group game opener against Serbia to participate in the tournament’s knockout round. He was aiming to win his first major trophy with Brazil.
After scoring in extra time against Croatia and Bruno Petkovic equalizing to send the match to penalties, the forward for PSG and Brazil equaled Pele as Brazil’s all-time leading scorer in men’s soccer with 77 goals.
“When I saw the [Neymar’s] interview saying that he was psychologically destroyed, it broke my heart in a way that I was also psychologically destroyed,” Ronaldo said.
“I wanted to find a way to help him. That help exists today. In my day it was little talked about.”
Neymar, on the other hand, said he wasn’t sure if he’d play again for Brazil.
Earlier in the tournament, Ronaldo said that he was “shocked” by the level of “envy and evil” Neymar was facing after getting hurt in their group game against Serbia.
Neymar advised the Paris Saint-Germain forward to “turn the hate” he was receiving “into fuel,” and some Brazilians celebrated Neymar’s misfortune.
Ronaldo advises Neymar not to be too hard of himself.
“There’s no risk of throwing away absolutely nothing you’ve done in your career,” he said.
“Everything you’ve done is done. Neymar is consecrated. Logically everyone wants to win the World Cup, and everyone starts to realise that it’s not easy. We have five stars [World Cups], we are the biggest winners.”
Meanwhile, Tite has confirmed that he will step down following Brazil’s World Cup exit after six years in charge.
Reports in Brazil named Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti as a possibility to take over from Tite as national team coach, with the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) saying they’ll hold on until the late spring of 2023 to designate the Italian.
According to sources, Ancelotti was unaware of the interest and was content at the moment in Madrid, where his contract runs out in June 2024. Ancelotti has previously stated that the position he holds at Real Madrid is probably his last before retiring.
On Monday, December 12, the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) issued a statement stating that they had “not authorized any person, inside or outside the confederation, to look for any coach or football professional to join the Brazilian Men’s Football Team.” An announcement regarding Tite’s replacement is not expected until January 2023.
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Rivaldo, a former Brazil international, believes that if a foreigner were hired as Tite’s replacement, it would be a “lack of respect” despite reports that the CBF is considering a non-Brazilian coach, with Pep Guardiola and Abel Ferreira also being rumored candidates.
Rivaldo asserts that the successor to Tite must have “Brazilian blood running through his veins.”
Rivaldo made the statement,
“I believe that we have coaches capable of taking over the Brazilian national team at this time and doing a good job,” Rivaldo said.
“Bringing in a foreign coach is not a certainty we will be world champions … Foreigners are undoubtedly very good coaches too, but the Selecao is ours, the nation’s and it has to be managed by someone who has Brazilian blood running through his veins.”
However, Ronaldo disagrees. He said:
“There are a lot of amazing names that would do a lot of good, Ancelotti, Abel, from Palmeiras, Mourinho, from Roma… They are incredible names. All of them with contracts. I don’t know what the CBF will do, but my opinion is that I would support a foreign coach.”
