A fractured vertebrata in his spine means Neymar won’t be able to play for Brazil against Germany in the World Cup semifinal. Disaster? Well, according to some German players sounding off on the upcoming match, it’s actually an advantage.
Manuel Neuer, possibly trying something of reverse psychology, is making it seem like Neymar not playing actually works in favor of Brazil, instead of Germany.
Without Neymar they will spread their match on many shoulders. Until now, everything was focused on him. He is the star. Now the team is the star. It will be down to many factors, Brazil are fired up and so are we. It will be important to bring through our match, and moreover that this match is officiated by a good referee, because of the atmosphere, and the tough duels.
Clearly an attempt to affect the match before it even began. Sure, the injury could rally the troops together. But you need a leader for that, and Thiago Silva is out with a suspension, even though Brazil are ridiculously trying to appeal his yellow card in the win over Colombia. Maybe they’d also like FIFA to review the match and see how many times Fernandinho and others should have been booked for kicking James Rodriguez.
Another interesting apsect of the match will be the referee: Mexican Marco Rodriguez, who was terrible in the group stage match between Uruguay and Italy. He sent off without just cause Claudio Marchisio in that encounter, ruining the match, and allowed Luis Suarez to stay on the pitch despite biting (and Rodriguez saw it) Georgio Chiellini.