Neymar is a born leader – Former coach

Neymar

Brazil captain Neymar is a born leader, according to the Barcelona star’s former coach.

According to Goal, the 23-year-old was handed his country’s captaincy by coach Dunga following last year’s World Cup and has since led the Selecao to eight consecutive victories, scoring eight goals in the process.

The decision to pass him the armband previously held by Thiago Silva raised some eyebrows due to the forward’s lack of experience, but his former youth team coach, Darlan Santana da Silva, says Neymar showed leadership qualities from a very young age.

“Since he was a kid, Neymar was a leader,” Da Silva told Goal.

“He is respected by his friends and has a great sense of humour. I’ve never seen him be questioned for trying to do something different and it was very rare that it didn’t come off. And on the few occasions it happened, he simply apologised.”

Set to lead his country into next month’s Copa America, Neymar has been playing top level football without a break for a number of years now, having participated in Copa America 2011, the London Olympics in 2012, Confederations Cup 2013 and World Cup 2014.