Olympic pressure on Neymar 'inhumane'
Brazil national team coach Tite insisted the country's hopes of a maiden Olympic football gold medal do not hinge on Neymar.
|||Rio de Janeiro - Brazil national team coach Tite has described the expectations on Neymar as “inhumane” and insisted the country's hopes of a maiden Olympic football gold medal do not hinge on the Barcelona star.
Neymar will be the marquee name for Brazil at next month's Rio Games as the hosts attempt to win the only major international football title to elude them.
“The collective is what gives potential to the individual and it's inhumane to place all of the pressure on one player,” Tite told reporters on Thursday.
“Obviously the technical quality of an individual is important but you can't expect one player to do everything.”
Tite met Neymar for the first time on Thursday during a lunch with Brazil's Olympic squad at their Granja Comary base in Teresopolis, near Rio de Janeiro.
Brazil will be coached at Rio 2016 by Roger Micale, who assumed the role after Dunga was sacked as national and Olympic team boss following the Selecao's group-stage elimination from the Copa America last month. Tite said Brazil would not be thinking about “past disappointments or successes” during the Rio Games.
“Sometimes you do a great job and don't win,” he said. “We are going to try to perform as well as we can, without trying to change history.”
“To play well and get results already carries a big responsibility. But we can't talk about history. We have to create our own. We will be striving for a gold medal.”
Micale's side will fine-tune their preparations for the tournament with a friendly against Japan in Goiania on July 30. Brazil will debut at the Rio 2016 Games against South Africa in Brasilia on August 4.
Meanwhile the Brazilian football confederation on Thursday announced former Arsenal, Barcelona and Manchester City left-back Sylvinho as one of Tite's assistant coaches. Sylvinho, who retired as a player in 2010, has been part of Inter Milan's backroom staff since 2014.
Xinhua