Neymar and El Matador: Los Jugadores Más Peligrosos

Our ‘What To Watch For In Copa América" compilation of vignette-esque perspectives from our friends that manage some of the best football sites around continues. This time we focus on two of the most dangerous players in the Copa with Ben Shave, co-editor of In Bed With Maradona while writing for his personal site Cahiers Du Sport along with an array of other sites (PortuGoal, ITV…) and Beyond The Pitch’s Anto.

Ben Shave on Neymar

Given the level of unknown exoticism that South American football has traditionally held for the European viewer, the Copa América is always an endlessly fascinating experience, on and off the pitch. But this year one player stands head and shoulders above the rest, not (yet) for his ability, but in terms of scrutiny and intrigue. Neymar is many things: a spellbinding talent; a compelling performer; a cheat; a boy in need of a haircut. What we don’t yet know is whether he can reproduce his often-fantastic form for Santos in what will undoubtedly be the most pressurised environment that he will have experienced in his young career. The initial signs are contradictory: whilst he might well have been sent off against Peñarol in Montevideo, there was also his opener in the second leg - a goal which displayed levelheadedness beyond his years. Whichever Neymar emerges over the next month, he’ll be worth watching.

Anto on Edinson Cavani, El Matador

Destiny is an overused word in sport. But in one case it would seem almost fitting purpose that Aurelio De Laurentiis would find deliverance in the leading man figure known as El Matador. Surely, the president of SSC Napoli could be forgiven for not recognizing this at the start - almost everyone else missed it as well - but Uruguayan striker Edinson Cavani seems to have arrived both with the Partenopei and at this Copa América as if sent by central casting. Seemingly chiseled from granite or about to be, half Messiah and half Antonio Banderas to the Napoli faithful who have found their personal savior with each moment of brilliance this past season. His magical ride would launch Napoli to its first date with Europe seven years removed from bankruptcy and Serie C, so the question for many is whether Cavani can provide even more divine inspiration for his country seeking to best Argentina’s 14 triumphs in this tournament.