“Neymar is great. People have to accept this.” Not everyone recognizes Pelé’s record broken by Neymar
Polina Kuimova September 9, 2023, 13:00 Moscow time Audio version: Your browser does not support the audio element.
All this is due to different calculations.
The Brazilian team in the qualifying match for the 2026 World Cup defeated Bolivia 5-1; For the Brazilian team this is the 35th game without defeat in the World Cup qualifiers (only Spain and Germany had longer streaks). Rodrigo and Neymar shone in this match: they both scored a double and both also provided assists. Neymar could have scored more, but in the 17th minute he missed a penalty.
But this match went down in the history of Brazilian football, and it’s not even about the long unbeaten streak or the devastating score. For Neymar, the goals he scored against Guillermo Vizcarra were 78 and 79 with the national team, and this is a new record.
Until last night, the top scorer in the history of the Brazilian team was Pelé (he has 77 goals), but now history has been rewritten under the name of Neymar Jr. He scored his record goal in the 61st minute, finishing off a Rodrigo cross from the flank; With this goal it was beautiful to go down in history. The Brazilians celebrated more than usual: they hugged each other, rejoiced and then also gave Neymar time to share that moment with the stadium, which chanted his name. “Neymar is my hero,” Rodrigo said. “He will remain in my memory, it was a special day.”
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In the end, the Brazilian broke his own record: in added time, he shot from close range into the area from Raphinha’s low cross. The celebration was fun, as a response to all those who like to chat about the subject.
Neymar
Photo: Pedro Vilela/Getty Images
After the match, Neymar received a plaque commemorating his record. “He is a great hero,” said Brazilian coach Fernando Diniz. “People need to recognize it and accept it.” He doesn’t do anything special to deserve the adoration he receives from the public, it’s because of his natural talent.”
Neymar received a commemorative plaque for his record
Photo: Pedro Vilela/Getty Images
Neymar’s achievement was recognized by the Pelé Foundation: “Congratulations to Neymar Jr. for surpassing the king in goals with the Brazilian team in official FIFA matches. I’m sure Pelé will applaud you today!”
Neymar
Brazil national team striker
“Very happy. I never imagined that I would reach this record, but beating Pelé in goals does not mean that I am better than him or any player on the national team. I always wanted to write my name in the history of Brazilian football and the Brazilian team, today I do it I did. I am very grateful to my family and all my friends who are here.”
At the same time, the Brazilian Football Confederation (CFB) does not recognize the record: according to its calculations, Neymar has 16 more goals than Pelé. The fact is that FIFA only takes into account official matches and CFB, everything.
The 5 best scorers of the Brazilian team according to FIFA
PlayerGoalsGamesAverageNeymar791250.62Pele77910.84Ronaldo62980.63Romario55700.79Zico48710.68
The 5 best scorers of the Brazilian team according to the CFB
PlayerGoalsGamesAveragePelé951130.84Neymar791250.62Ronaldo671030.65Zico66890.74Romario56740.76
Pelé’s records and the confusion in the calculations are discussed in detail here:
They called Pele the “great deceiver.” All for the record number of goals.
The Brazilian media write with considerable reserve about the history and mention that the CFB believes otherwise. And also calculating that the King of Soccer needed fewer games to set the record. Neymar, however, cares little: for him and for the whole world it is already history.
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