Neymar - The new Pele or just a YouTube sensation?

   

Neymar da Silva Santos Junior

    Neymar da Silva Santos Junior, or more commonly referred to as Neymar, is a player that has burst onto the footballing scene in the last five or so years. At just 21 years of age, he is already being deemed by some as 'the new Pele.' Although, the fact that he is currently playing his football for Brazilian club Santos, means many are yet to witness the young man's talent first-hand. The majority of football fans around the world have only seen Neymar's ability through the medium of YouTube. Therefore, this begs the question: Does Neymar truly have the potential to compete alongside the best in the world, or is he just a player that looks good on YouTube?

    Firstly, it cannot be denied that Neymar has bagged a serious amount of goals during his time at Santos. His record currently stands at 101 goals in 167 appearances for Santos. For the Brazilian national first team he has netted 17 times, earning 30 international caps. It is plainly obvious that these are impressive stats for a 21-year old striker, but they are somewhat marred by the fact that he is yet to be tested in a major international tournament and he is playing in a league that is arguably a lower standard than some European leagues. 

    With Brazil's participation in the Confederations Cup just around the corner and the World Cup being held in Brazil next year, Neymar certainly has a chance to prove himself to the world of football. With clubs such as Barcelona, Real Madrid, Manchester City and Chelsea all keeping tabs on the young Brazilian, he will not want to disappoint. Especially, seeing as the World Cup is being held in his own back yard, he should feel confident playing in front of his adoring fans. The term 'adoring' is not used lightly on this occasion, as Neymar is worshipped as a hero figure by the supporters of Santos. Fans have been known to wear face-masks resembling their talisman striker as a sign of their devotion to him. However, this was taken a step to far by Neymar himself when he decided to celebrate one of his goals by donning his very own Neymar face-mask, which led to him subsequently being given a second yellow card and being asked to leave the field of play. Certainly not one of his finest moments in the spotlight. 

    In terms of Neymar's YouTube presence, there are literally thousands of videos documenting the striker's prowess in front of goal, his silky skills and of course his self-indulgent celebrations. For example, Neymar's 2011 Puskas Award-winning goal which he scored against Flamego. This goal has been watched by football fans all over the world over and over again because of its sheer brilliance. It won the afore-mentioned 2011 FIFA Puskas Award, an award given to the best goal of the year. There are also many montage videos showing Neymar's best moments of his footballing career so far. Clearly, these clips show Neymar to have an impressive talent on the pitch but it still needs to be highlighted that these 'highlights' are in a less testing league than leagues such as La Liga and the Premier League. 

    Personally, I cannot see Neymar leaving Santos before the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, mainly because he is under contract until then. Also, because he is likely to want to prepare for the World Cup in a comfortable environment, which he is currently in with Santos. Until a big money move to Europe does occur, I do not think that Neymar can live up to compatriots such as Pele. For now he will just continue to be a player that pops up now and again on YouTube.

Odemwingie's Affair With Twitter

Now, we all know it's no secret that West Bromwich Albion's Peter Odemwingie has not had the best of starts to 2013. After unexpectedly turning up to QPR HQ on transfer deadline day and literally being refused entry into the building, he wasn't exactly the most popular striker amongst Albion staff and fans. 

This furor all began when WBA rejected a £2m bid from QPR. This prompted Odemwingie to take to the social networking site, Twitter, and publically criticise West Brom's actions. He tweeted: 

"I can understand the reaction of few Albion fans on my desire to leave the club. Real reason? Cos they once doubted my commitment."

Understandably, the club were extremely unhappy with Odemwingie's comments and rejected an improved transfer offer from QPR. Following on from the Nigerian striker's deadline day embarrassment, he apologised to the staff and supporters of West Brom, explaining the situation as a genuine mix-up. 

However, over 2 months on from Odemwingie's Twitter outburst, he has once again taken to the social media site and further criticised the club that pay his wages. This time he is unhappy with the club's unwillingness to give him any playing time. He tweeted: 

"Keeping me on the bench now is worst than what they did on the 31st. New advisers told me to take say its all my fault cos its better or me."

I think what Mr. Odemwingie is trying to say here, ignoring his hideous attempt at writing in the Queen's English, is that he is still unhappy with the way in which the club is treating him. West Brom have since told the media that they will deal with Odemwingie's actions internally. Whether this be by fining the player a few weeks wages or continuing to grant him any first-team playing time, it is clear that Premiership clubs are struggling to control the social networking discipline of some of their players. 

In my opinion, players need to understand that whatever they write on social networking sites can be hugely damaging to their own careers and the representations of the clubs they play for. Not to mention, letting the fans down that pay outrageous ticket prices to come and see them play week in week out. A player may want to push through a transfer or improve their contract situation, but what they forget is that Twitter outbursts are not forgotten by potential clubs that may be in the market for a new player. 

Overall, I feel for the clubs that have to deal with disrespectful players and their social media antics. I think that the players owe them a lot more than a cheap dig sent in the form of a tweet.