Brazil hosted the 2014 World Cup, and “Neymar is Brazil’s biggest star,” the Associated Press wrote in The Boston Globe. In the quarter-final against Colombia on July 4, 2014, “Neymar was kneed in the back by Colombia defender … in the second half of Brazil’s 2-1 win,” and he “was in tears when he was carried off the field on a stretcher.” “Team doctor Rodrigo Lasmar said Neymar broke the third vertebra in the lumbar region of his back,” ESPN reported, and “Neymar has been ruled out of the World Cup.” The defender, ESPN added, “said there was no malice in his challenge.”
“It is a difficult moment for me and it is hard to know what to say. My dream is not over. It was interrupted,” Neymar said in a video released by the Brazilian Football Confederation as he left the team camp, Malay Mail reported. Brazil played the semi-final against Germany without him, and he “had to watch his team get absolutely smoked, losing 7-1,” as Bleacher Report put it. Germany won by “scoring five goals in the first 29 minutes to put away the hosts,” MLSsoccer.com wrote, and “The 7-1 scoreline marked the largest ever margin of victory in a World Cup semifinal.”
“It would have been all right to lose, but not like this. It was unbelievable, inexplicable,” Neymar said at a press conference at Brazil’s Granja Comary training center in Teresópolis on July 10, 2014, the Associated Press reported on Fox News. Two years later The Irish Times still called it “a 7-1 World Cup semi-final shellacking that not only saw the Selecao lose the chance of winning on home turf but their dignity.”
“The Olympic tournament was the only major soccer tournament that Brazil had failed to win,” the AP wrote. In 2016 the Olympics came to Rio de Janeiro, Neymar was Brazil’s captain, and the final at the Maracanã was against Germany again, this time Germany’s Olympic team. “He delivered a perfectly placed free kick past Germany keeper Timo Horn to open the scoring in the 27th minute,” the AP reported, and the game “had finished 1-1 after 120 minutes,” FIFA wrote. In the shoot-out, Weverton saved Germany’s fifth penalty, and “Neymar then stepped up to take his country’s penalty shot,” NPR wrote.
“Neymar then took a halted run-up and blasted the ball into the back of the net before falling to his knees in joyous tears,” the AP wrote. Brazil won the shoot-out 5–4 after “an intense 1-1 draw at the magnificent Maracana,” The Irish Times said, and “Brazil claimed their first Olympic Football Tournament gold,” FIFA wrote. “That’s it,” Neymar said. “We made history.”
Fact check
The facts and where they come from
- His country lost 7–1 at its own World Cup while he watched with a broken bone in his back. Bleacher Report: he “had to watch his team get absolutely smoked, losing 7-1.” ESPN: “Team doctor Rodrigo Lasmar said Neymar broke the third vertebra in the lumbar region of his back.” The Irish Times: “a 7-1 World Cup semi-final shellacking that not only saw the Selecao lose the chance of winning on home turf but their dignity.” 327
- His name is Neymar. The Associated Press (The Boston Globe): “Neymar is Brazil’s biggest star.” 1
- In the quarter-final, a Colombian defender kneed him in the back. The Associated Press (The Boston Globe): “Neymar was kneed in the back by Colombia defender … in the second half of Brazil’s 2-1 win.” ESPN: “late in Friday’s quarterfinal victory against Colombia”; the defender “said there was no malice in his challenge.” 12
- He was carried off in tears, and his World Cup was over. The Associated Press (The Boston Globe): he “was in tears when he was carried off the field on a stretcher.” ESPN: “Neymar has been ruled out of the World Cup.” 12
- “My dream is not over,” he said. “It was interrupted.” Malay Mail (AFP, July 6, 2014): “It is a difficult moment for me and it is hard to know what to say. My dream is not over. It was interrupted,” he said in “a video released by the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) as he left the team camp.” 4
- Without him, Germany scored five goals in 29 minutes. MLSsoccer.com: “scoring five goals in the first 29 minutes to put away the hosts”; “The 7-1 scoreline marked the largest ever margin of victory in a World Cup semifinal.” 5
- “It would have been all right to lose, but not like this,” he said. The Associated Press (Fox News): “It would have been all right to lose, but not like this. It was unbelievable, inexplicable,” at “a press conference at the Granja Comary training center in Teresopolis, Brazil, Thursday, July 10, 2014.” 6
- Brazil had never won Olympic gold in football. The Associated Press (ABC7): “The Olympic tournament was the only major soccer tournament that Brazil had failed to win.” FIFA: “Brazil claimed their first Olympic Football Tournament gold.” 89
- Then the Olympics came to Rio, and Neymar was captain. The Irish Times (photo caption): “Brazil captain Neymar … in the shoot-out of the Olympic football final against Germany at the Maracana Stadium in Rio.” 7
- The final at the Maracanã was against Germany, again. The Irish Times: “with Neymar, ruled out of 2014’s meeting through injury, scoring the decisive penalty as Germany were overcome 5-4 in the shootout that followed an intense 1-1 draw at the magnificent Maracana.” NPR: “Brazil had beaten Germany on Brazilian soil, 1-1 (5-4).” 710
- He scored a free kick, but it ended 1–1. The Associated Press (ABC7): “he delivered a perfectly placed free kick past Germany keeper Timo Horn to open the scoring in the 27th minute.” FIFA: “following a game that had finished 1-1 after 120 minutes.” 89
- Penalties: Brazil’s keeper saved Germany’s fifth. The Associated Press (ABC7): Neymar “scored the winning penalty after Weverton saved Nils Petersen’s attempt in the fifth round of penalties to bring home the gold.” 8
- Now one kick could win gold, and Neymar stepped up. NPR: “Neymar then stepped up to take his country’s penalty shot.” FIFA: “with Neymar scoring the winning penalty.” 109
- It went in, and he fell to his knees in tears. The Associated Press (ABC7): “Neymar then took a halted run-up and blasted the ball into the back of the net before falling to his knees in joyous tears.” 8
- “We made history,” he said. The Associated Press (ABC7): “‘That’s it,’ Neymar said. ‘We made history.’” 8
Sources
- Neymar out of World Cup (July 4, 2014) The Associated Press, in The Boston Globe
- Brazil’s Neymar has broken vertebra (July 7, 2014) ESPN, on ABC7 News
- Neymar Speaks About His Injury, Brazil’s Collapse, 2018 World Cup and More (2014) Bleacher Report
- Tearful Neymar to Brazil: Complete our World Cup dream (AFP, July 6, 2014) Malay Mail
- Brazil 1, Germany 7: 2014 FIFA World Cup Semifinal Match Recap (July 8, 2014) MLSsoccer.com
- Neymar Happy Not To Be In Wheelchair… (July 10, 2014) The Associated Press, on Fox News
- Neymar delivers Brazil’s first Olympic football title (August 21, 2016) The Irish Times
- Neymar stars as Brazil finally wins soccer gold medal after shootout (August 20, 2016) The Associated Press, on ABC7 News
- Neymar’s golden penalty sees Brazil to victory (August 21, 2016) FIFA
- Brazil Beats Germany On Penalty Kicks, Winning First Olympic Gold Medal (August 20, 2016) NPR
Notes
His injury is given here only as Brazil’s team doctor described it to ESPN (“broke the third vertebra in the lumbar region of his back”); the Short’s “a broken back” follows that. No other medical details are given.
The Colombian defender is not named or shown here, as in the Short; the Short says only that he kneed Neymar in the back, as the Associated Press reported, and claims no intent.
“My dream is not over” was said as he left the team camp on July 6, 2014, two days before the semi-final; the Short doesn’t claim he was speaking about the Olympics. The sources don’t say where he watched the semi-final, so the page says only that he watched.
“Against Germany, again”: the 2016 final was against Germany’s Olympic team, not the 2014 World Cup side, and nothing here claims the same players.
Neymar is alive. Only his football record, published reporting on these matches and his injury, and his own published words are used; nothing here goes into his private life.
Pictures: no free photo shows the injury, Neymar watching the semi-final or his press conferences after it. Neymar is at a Brazil press conference on June 11, 2014, before the tournament began (Danilo Borges/Portal da Copa); pointing to the sky in the opening match against Croatia in São Paulo on June 12, 2014 (two photos, one from behind, Portal da Copa); and on the ball in the quarter-final against Colombia on July 4, 2014, the match in which he was hurt, not the moment of the injury (Danilo Borges/Portal da Copa). The 7–1 semi-final in Belo Horizonte on July 8, 2014, is seen in three photos by Marcello Casal Jr of Agência Brasil: Germany’s players celebrating as Brazil’s goalkeeper walks away, Sami Khedira and Miroslav Klose celebrating a goal, and Klose with Thomas Müller. All the 2016 photos are from the Olympic final at the Maracanã on August 20, 2016, by Fernando Frazão of Agência Brasil: Neymar with the captain’s armband, his free kick, Germany’s team arm in arm during the shoot-out, Brazil’s players kneeling, Neymar’s run-up to the winning penalty, goalkeeper Weverton hugging him, Neymar on his knees and in tears, and Neymar celebrating with teammates in medal jackets. The Maracanã is seen during Brazil’s Olympic semi-final against Honduras on August 17, 2016, three days before the final (Rafael Henrique Serra), and from the air on February 23, 2010, before it was rebuilt for the World Cup (José Fernandes Jr.). The other people in these photos are not named.
Photo credits
The archive photos in this story
The photographs and illustrations in this story are in the public domain or shared under open licenses; each one is credited below with its license. Tap one to enlarge it, or follow the link to its Wikimedia Commons page for the full record. The narration, captions and graphics in the Short are our own; its music and sound effects are credited below.
Music and sound effects
Music: Schumann, Kinderszenen, Op. 15: No. 1 'Of Foreign Lands and Peoples' (Musopen, public domain); Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition: IV. Bydlo (piano) (Musopen, public domain); Dvorak, Symphony No. 9 'From the New World': II. Largo (Musopen, public domain).
Sound effects: Freesound, CC0.
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