Messi and the ball, Neymar and the grass – 10/22/2023 – The World Is a Ball

Days ago, in the South American round of the 2026 World Cup Qualifiers, two moments were remarkable, both on Tuesday (17).

In Uruguay 2 x 0 Brazil, in Montevideo, at the end of the first half Neymar caught the ball in midfield, tried to pass De la Cruz, was bumped and collapsed on the grass of the Centenario stadium.

Shortly after the fall, the images showed the national team’s number 10 screaming in pain and indicating that there was a problem with his left knee. The injury, it would later be seen, was serious.

Neymar had a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament and meniscus, will undergo surgery and will not play football for at least six months, possibly up to a year.

“It’s a very sad moment, the worst,” wrote the striker.

At a time after Brazil’s match, closing the day, Peru 0 x 2 Argentina at the National Stadium in Lima.

A balanced game until, in the 32nd minute, Argentina advanced from the left, and Nico González crossed into the area. The one who arrives in the race is Messi, who started the attack in the defense field.

He finishes and surpasses goalkeeper Gallese from the top, who, even at 1.90 m, cannot reach it. It would be just another goal from number 10, top scorer and captain of the current world champions, but it was not common.

The way it happened, the way Messi took his step, his effort was minimal in the movement of the shot with his left foot – as if the ball had chosen to arrive in a way that made the star’s life easier.

Upon seeing and reviewing the move, I wrote in a group of colleagues on WhatsApp: “The ball loves true and undeniable stars. It seemed like it ‘crossed’ Messi’s foot to cover up the goalkeeper. Wonderful.” Messi would still score the second goal of the game.

These events are a portrait of what sticks in the memory regarding the main players of Brazil and Argentina in the last decade, decade and a half.

Of Messi, 36, the immediate memories are of great plays, unstoppable starts, precise finishes. A star who led his country to win a World Cup.

The ball seeks him out and treats him like a son, giving him joy over and over again.

And he reciprocates: at Messi’s feet, the ball is majesty, it is always being revered, there is no (with very few exceptions) sloppy pass or shot.

Absolute compatibility.

Of Neymar, 31, instead of the ball, instead of goals and dribbles, the memories are of the grass.

There are several records of him falling on the field, either due to the constant injuries in his career (back in the 2014 World Cup, foot in 2018 and 2019, ankle in 2019, 2021, 2022 and 2023, but this one now, very serious, in the knee), or due to “cai-cai” that earned him a bad reputation.

As one of those stickers that circulates on the aforementioned app says, “it’s sad, but it’s true” for those who would like Brazil to be the owner of the best player in the world.

Messi, today in the kingdom of football, remains on the throne, next to the ball queen. Neymar, in this kingdom, becomes a viscount, at most a count.

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