The Return of Nilmar

The Return of Nilmar

The Return of Nilmar
The Return of Nilmar “ By Gordon Fleetwood
”
“Don’t they have anyone better than those two?”
This question and its variants were prevalent during the World Cup as bewildered fans gazed upon host nation Brazil’s less than glamorous forward line. Given...
The Return of Nilmar “ By Gordon Fleetwood
”
“Don’t they have anyone better than those two?”
This question and its variants were prevalent during the World Cup as bewildered fans gazed upon host nation Brazil’s less than glamorous forward line. Given...
The Return of Nilmar “ By Gordon Fleetwood
”
“Don’t they have anyone better than those two?”
This question and its variants were prevalent during the World Cup as bewildered fans gazed upon host nation Brazil’s less than glamorous forward line. Given...
The Return of Nilmar “ By Gordon Fleetwood
”
“Don’t they have anyone better than those two?”
This question and its variants were prevalent during the World Cup as bewildered fans gazed upon host nation Brazil’s less than glamorous forward line. Given...
The Return of Nilmar “ By Gordon Fleetwood
”
“Don’t they have anyone better than those two?”
This question and its variants were prevalent during the World Cup as bewildered fans gazed upon host nation Brazil’s less than glamorous forward line. Given...

The Return of Nilmar

By Gordon Fleetwood

“Don’t they have anyone better than those two?”

This question and its variants were prevalent during the World Cup as bewildered fans gazed upon host nation Brazil’s less than glamorous forward line. Given a response of a binary nature, “no” would be the closest answer to the truth.

Outside of the mostly ignored Diego Costa (until he decided to play for Spain that is) there were few names with the shine capable of obscuring Fred and Jô in Luis Felipe Scolari’s vision. The presence of Diego Tardelli as the foremost replacement in Dunga’s new-look Brazil only underlines the current lack of quality in the position. Those capable of ably carrying the burden of Brazil’s number nine shirt in this era faded away long before the World Cup.

Now, months after Brazil’s ignominious exit from the competition, one of these dimmed lights has returned to the country from a luxurious, self-imposed exile. After five years on the road, Nilmar is home, not just in the land of his birth, but at Internacional, the club where he is an idol.

Watching Nilmar stroll around on the Beira-Rio pitch surrounded by a herd of cameramen, it was hard to use him as a point of reference for the passage of time. His boyish face gives him the look of a fresh youth team graduate rather than the seasoned veteran that he is at 30 years of age.

Nilmar is fresh off a patchy spell in Qatari football, an adventure he didn’t enjoy much beyond the look of his bank account, and one which killed his significance at the international level. There are questions about the wisdom of the investment by Inter as his high wages, age, and history of injuries form a highly volatile combination. However, based on the reaction of the thousands who showed up to his European style presentation, none of these factors was overly concerning.

Inter fans sang lustily and let off smoke bombs as Nilmar made his way to the stands. Up close there were only smiles as the club’s new (and old) number seven posed for pictures with several supporters. They watched him come up the youth ranks and play for the senior side. They saw him go off to Europe, come back to Brazil to play for Corinthians before returning to Inter, and then head off to Europe again. Now he is back where he started, ostensibly for good, and they couldn’t be happier. The fans love him, and from Nilmar’s comments, the feeling is mutual.

 Despite the risk involved, Nilmar’s talent is arguably worth the gamble. As a striker, his preference for the number seven shirt hints at his style. He is a hybrid of sorts, capable of operating wide as well as up front, and utilizing his speed, dribbling, and intelligent movement to destabilize defenses. He is equally comfortable going it alone, and being a functional cog in an intricate passing move. The zenith of these skills was on show in his first two seasons at Villarreal where he formed one of the most exciting attacks, not only in La Liga, but in European football.

It’s a version of Nilmar as close as possible to that manifestation that Inter want to see as they fight for the title for the first time since 2009. The challenge for the league trophy is bit of a strange occurrence. They have the third best defense in the league, but the back four can sometimes give off the aura of men who met at a pickup game. They have the fifth best attack in the league, but their two main strikers, Rafael “He-Man” Moura and Wellington Paulista, have only combined for a little over a quarter of their current tally of their 35 goals in 25 games (perhaps this says more about the league as a whole, though, where both creating chances and finishing them have become rare commodities).

Where the team’s deficiencies are compensated for is in midfield. There, Alex and the sublime Andres D’Alessandro (the club’s top scorer) form a dual creative hub, Charles Aranguiz plays the role of a suave handyman in a three-piece suit, Willians matches his proficiency at losing the ball with his ability to win it back, and the likes of Alan Patrick and Wellington provide able backup. With this unit behind him, it is highly probable that a fit and sharp Nilmar will readily add to his 64-goal tally at the club, and spearhead an even stronger push for the title.

Fit and sharp are the operative words here. Nilmar hasn’t played much football in 2014. He was used sparsely at his old club, and hasn’t kicked a ball competitively since July. Consequently, no word of his debut has been announced as he slowly works his way back to match fitness. Inter will have to keep up with leaders Cruzeiro and hold off the teams around them for a while without him. It is a task that Abel Braga’s men are doing well. They current sit second, six points off top spot and four above third placed São Paulo.  

In a perfect world for Nilmar, he would come back raring to go, scoring goals at a clip to win the title for Internacional, and then to earn his first call-up to the national team since 2011.

For Internacional fans, his goals and a first national title since 1979 would be enough.

This piece was written by Gordon Fleetwood, a Senior Writer for AFR. Comments below please.