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[YouTube]odKluRs9X60[/YouTube]
Ok, so a season started.
I am probably biased since I am in the Ney-hate-camp, but in this video, we can see more or less everything why some of us dislike Ney's style of play and how he plays often for Barca.
In the first 30 minutes of this match, he is just hogging the ball for no reason (it seems even more than in previous seasons), without any end product.
Then he has a few good actions towards the end of a half.
In the second half, it seems as if someone clicked: "use tricks, level 100, whenever possible, in every single action".
So, suddenly, in the 2nd half, Neymar can't play a single simple, fast, shortpass anymore.
He played 6 backheel passes (if I counted correctly), tried 2-3 backheel-tricks-dribbles, hogged the ball in every opportunity and tried to dribble through 5 opponents (Adama's style) whenever possible and dribbling backwards in 3-4 actions towards his own goal, while hogging the ball for too long, as always.
(Riquelme played that way at Barca, when his every passed "needed" to be a deadly pass, a key assist or a goal.
Board and coaches from that era didn't like that style of play and wanted our players to wait for a perfect opportunity to make a killer pass, and not to try those in every single action)
I may be reading too much from this, but I get the impression that Neymar is hurt with press and media talking bad about his form/lifestyle/some comments lately and now he tries to prove them wrong.
But, as we know from the past, when he is hurt or when he is angry, he slightly loses a compass and tries too hard/is overcomplicating things etc.
This highlight video, at last for me is: tons of tricks, tons of attempts to please the crowd.
But zero end product.
Neymar had the best moments in Barca's shirt, when he wasn't the original/default Neymar, but when he was Neymar+IQ+simple and fast football with some tricks when needed.
So, he is the best then he is not "a natural" self, but when he plays it faster, simpler, more efficient.
When he goes back into his "natural" self mode, like in this video, we just get lots of show, and zero end product, more or less.
Some will reply: this is just a friendly, leave the guy alone.
But since Neymar is the most commented player on Barca's forum, I think that we are allowed to start to analyze his season 4 at Barca.
Good things: he is more motivated than in spring of 2016.
Bad things: he is trying too hard, and complicating way too much.
