A Rio pub seems hellbent on going under after a unique offer to customers for Brazil’s vital upcoming World Cup Group E decider was announced on social media over the weekend.
According to Sir Walter Pub’s post, a round of shots on the house will be offered every time that Seleção star Neymar goes to ground, leading some observers such as Messias Carvalho to comment that the establishment “should take care not to break” (i.e. go bust) and others like Willian Guilhereme to conclude that the bar “will go bust in 90 minutes because for 80 of them “Neymidia” (a nickname used by those that believe the player is obsessed only with his image and generating media hype) will be on the floor crying and complaining to the referee”.
This isn’t the first time that the PSG forward’s falls have become a source of irony during the tournament, with a wide range of memes having already circulated the web and one fan feeling inclined to call into Fox Sports Brasil and remark that the goalscorer “drops [to the floor] more often than the internet [connection]” does in South America’s largest nation.
While Brazilians see the funny side of things, as is often their wont in times of challenges and hardships, the excess of falls by the attacker has caused unrest among the foreign media with numerous publications branding Neymar “spoiled” and “dramatic” after the conclusion of play on Friday.
Perhaps this is a tad unfair, though. On one hand, it cannot be denied that the 26-year-old has been targeted by the opposition from the get go and against Switzerland, in Brazil’s Russia 2018 debut just over a week ago, the former Barcelona man was hacked on no less than 10 occasions overall, which made him the recipient of the largest amount of fouls suffered by a single player since France ’98 two decades ago.
By a remarkably-physical Serbia which needs a win to progress on Wednesday, it is expected that Neymar will again be singled out for rough house treatment by his opponents in their attempts to keep him at bay. Something possibly more worrying however is the likelihood of Neymar, already on a yellow card from his country’s previous two fixtures, overreacting to the Serbians’ constant hounding to the extent of lashing out and therefore missing Brazil’s likely Last 16 tie against the Germans next week.
