nytimes world cup 2014_ neymar's injury dampens brazil's win over colombia
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4/7/2014 World Cup 2014: Neymar's Injury Dampens Brazil's Win Over Colombia - NYTimes.com
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/05/sports/worldcup/world-cup-2014-brazil-beats-colombia-in-quarterfinal.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&versio… 1/4
Germany 1 , France 0: World Cup
2014: Germany Defeats France in
Quarterfinal Match JULY 4, 2014
Brazil Comes Around as the World
Cup Play s On JULY 3, 2014
World Cup 2014: Brazil's Fans
Nervously Ey e ColombiaJULY 3, 2014
RELATED COVERAGE
FORTALEZA, Brazil — It was an enormous win for Brazil, but it came at a
gigantic cost.
Brazil on Friday powered to an impressive 2-1 quarterfinal victory over
upstart Colombia at Estádio Castelão, setting off another round of raucous
nationwide partying. But the noise and jubilation proved short-lived, as it
was revealed after the game that Neymar — the country’s best player and
biggest star — would miss the rest of the World Cup after injuring his back in
the dying minutes of the hugely physical game.
The Brazilian team has had only one goal this summer: to win the country’s
sixth World Cup trophy while playing on home soil. The victory on Friday
was an important step, setting up a semifinal next Tuesday against the
powerful German squad.
Luiz Felipe Scolari, Brazil’s
coach, said he and his players
always expected Germany
would stand in their path to the
trophy. But the challenge
appeared to become much
steeper late Friday night as the
extent of Neymar’s injury was
revealed.
“He was crying out in pain,” Scolari said of
Neymar. “It won’t be easy for him to recover,
based on what the doctor told us and the pain
he’s in.”
Minutes after Scolari’s postgame news
conference, the team doctor Rodrigo Lasmar
said that Neymar had sustained a fractured
vertebra in his lower back. Lasmar said the
injury would not require surgery, but would
take three to four weeks to heal.
It was a huge blow to the team, the country
Juan Camilo Zúñiga’s knee
collided with Ney mar’s back
on the play that caused
Ney mar’s injury .
Manu Fernandez/Associated
Press
4/7/2014 World Cup 2014: Neymar's Injury Dampens Brazil's Win Over Colombia - NYTimes.com
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and the tournament. Neymar, 22, who plays
for Barcelona, has had his face plastered on
billboards and shown in television commercials since well before the
tournament. For such a young player, he was shouldering a huge amount of
responsibility.
But he had delivered on the hype. Neymar
scored four goals in the tournament, and he
provided the assist on Thiago Silva’s opening
goal in the seventh minute Friday night.
Brazil doubled its lead on David Luiz’s free
kick in the 69th minute, and held on after
James Rodríguez’s 80th-minute penalty
kick for Colombia.
It was a high-stakes game, and play grew
increasingly intense as the game wore on, with both Neymar and Rodríguez,
another 22-year-old attacking star, who finished the tournament with six
goals, taking several hard fouls. There were 54 fouls called in the game, the
highest total of any match in the tournament. Scolari acknowledged that
both teams probably played with too much physicality, but he said the
referee, Velasco Carballo, did not do enough to control the tenor of the game.
With about five minutes left to play, the Colombian defender Juan Camilo
Zúñiga went airborne on a loose ball and ended up driving his knee into the
lower back of Neymar, who immediately crumpled to the turf in pain.
Neymar’s teammates could be seen signaling to the bench for a substitution
as a stretcher was brought onto to the field. He was taken to a nearby
hospital, where a crowd of fans soon formed.
Colombia Coach José Pékerman said the physical play was the product of
two evenly matched teams playing a critical game.
“It seemed to me the same thing happened with both teams,” Pékerman
said. “We lost the fluidity to the game because of that friction and intensity.”
Scolari said he thought his team still had the capacity to win the tournament.
“There are seven steps, and we’ve already climbed five,” he said after
delivering the news about Neymar.
The injury dampened what had been a stirring night for the team. After a
deafening rendition of the Brazilian national anthem, there was hardly a
break in the noise as Brazil snatched the lead.
Interactive Graphic: T opT eam s’ Hopes Riding ona Single Play er
4/7/2014 World Cup 2014: Neymar's Injury Dampens Brazil's Win Over Colombia - NYTimes.com
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RECENT COMMENTS
ATOM 26 minutes ago
To those of you complaining because the ref did notpenalize Colombia enough, what game were youwatching? Just to give an example,...
Peisinoe 26 minutes ago
Zuniga should catch a plane back to Colombia assoon as possible.
Mortiser 26 minutes ago
Awful news that Neymar is out, and on a dreadfulfoul that wasn't called. I am anxious to see whatBrazil will do now. My gut tells me that...
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Taking a corner kick from the
left side, Neymar bent a ball
over a crowd of players to the
far post. Silva, the team’s
Brazil’s Dav id Luiz, right, with
James Rodríguez of Colombia
after Brazil’s win. Luiz and
Rodríguez each scored a goal in
the game; Rodríguez’s goal in
the 80th minute was his sixth
of the tournament, the most
among all play ers.
Laurence Griffiths/Getty
Images
Colombia goalkeeper Dav id Ospina could not stop a
free kick by Dav id Luiz, which gav e Brazil a 2-0 lead
in the 69th minute of the quarterfinal game.
Hassan Ammar/Associated Press
4/7/2014 World Cup 2014: Neymar's Injury Dampens Brazil's Win Over Colombia - NYTimes.com
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captain, sprinted onto it
unmarked and pushed it over the line with his left knee, igniting wild
celebrations in the stands. (Silva will miss the semifinal, too, due to yellow-
card accumulation.)
The game carried on at a frantic pace as Brazil sent multilayered attacks
cascading toward Colombia’s defense. Luiz added the second goal on another
set piece in the 69th minute, pounding in a sensational free kick from 30
yards out. The ball barely underwent a full rotation on its scorching,
parabolic path, evading the reach of goalkeeper David Ospina and nestling
into the upper right portion of the net.
But the atmosphere grew nervous again in the 80th minute as Colombia cut
into the lead. Carlos Bacca won a penalty after getting wiped out by keeper
Júlio César on a one-on-one chance in front of goal. And Rodríguez stutter-
stepped and slipped the ensuing kick into the bottom left corner of the goal.
It led to a frantic finish, and a final whistle that was music to the fans’ ears.
They lingered to sing and cheer the players, who joined hands at midfield to
salute the different corners of the stadium. It was a moment of happiness
and another step on the way to their desired end point.
It would soon give way to a moment of despair.
Correction: July 4, 2014
An earlier version of this article misstated the name of the Colombian
defender who collided with Neymar. He is Juan Camilo Zúñiga, not Juan
Vuniga.
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