Barcelona face Santos in the Club World Cup final on Sunday in a match which pits South American superstars Lionel Messi and Neymar face-to-face for the first time ever at club level.
The two clubs are the apotheosis in terms of quality in both their respected continents with Santos having won their third Copa Libertadores this year whilst Barcelona conquered Europe on their way to winning the 2011 UEFA Champions League.
The two clubs are the apotheosis in terms of quality in both their respected continents with Santos having won their third Copa Libertadores this year whilst Barcelona conquered Europe on their way to winning the 2011 UEFA Champions League.
Of course the names besetting both squads is like a football roll-call of class, quality and skill, but two names in particular standout above all – namely, Lionel Messi and Neymar.
The South American duo are amongst the most talked about players in world football at present and the good news is that football fans the world over will get to see the pair up against each other for the first time ever in Sunday’s Club World Cup final.
Santos secured their place in Sunday’s final largely thanks to a brilliant individual performance from Neymar.
The 19-year-old Brazilian got the party going with a stunning left foot shot from outside the box – the first of Santos’ 3 goals.
The strike was his 24th of the year (the Brazilian season is annual), this coming after 46 matches giving him a goal average of less than 1 in 2.
Couple this with the 43 goals he got in 2010, in addition to 21 assists and suddenly it is easy to see why Neymar’s fellow countrymen have come to regard him as ‘the next Pele’.
15 caps for the Seleção have already been rewarded with 8 goals and some stellar performances in the famous gold strip.
The individual honours have also never been far and in the space of three short years, Neymar has bagged the 2010 Copa Libertadores Player of The Year, the Brazilian Golden Boot, the best Brazilian player as voted for by monthly Brazilian Sports Magazine ‘Placar’ and the Arthur Friedenreich outstanding black player award.
Little wonder than that all of Europe’s elite clubs, including the likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona, AC Milan and Chelsea are keen to secure the services of the Sao Paolo-born wonder.
Now what was Lionel Messi doing and more importantly what had the Argentine achieved at that tender age of 19?
It does beg the question, is Neymar actually better than Lionel Messi???
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