Brazil Needs Neymar Again and Chaos Always Loves a Comeback

With Brazil chasing World Cup 2026 certainty, the country is reliving its favorite superstition: turmoil before triumph. As The Athletic reports, Neymar returns to Santos, limping, brilliant, polarizing, and still haunting coach Carlo Ancelotti’s plans for the next six months.

When Disorder Feels Like Destiny

A bad time can sometimes be a good omen. In Brazil, that phrase isn’t cute; it’s protective. It’s what fans say when the Seleção looks shaky and the world starts to laugh. The belief is simple and almost tender: the team doesn’t need serenity to win. Sometimes it needs trouble, the kind that forces reinvention and reveals who still has nerve.

The myth survives because history keeps feeding it. In 1970, coach Joao Saldanha was sacked shortly before the tournament, and the country worried over Tostao. In 1994, qualification became a late-night drama until Brazil found two late goals against Uruguay. The road to 2002 felt worse,four coaches, a quarterfinal exit at the 1993 Copa America echoed by 2024, and a berth won by the skin of its teeth. Then came Romario: a prolonged campaign to get him picked, even drawing in President Fernando Henrique Cardoso. When Luiz Felipe Scolari resisted, an angry crowd confronted him in Rio de Janeiro; Romario cried at a press conference. Two months later, Brazil beat Germany to lift a fifth World Cup.

Neymar Becomes the Referendum

That story’s shadow now falls on Neymar. As detailed by The Athletic, he left Paris Saint-Germain for Al Hilal in August 2023, suffered a serious knee injury two months later, and never played for the Saudi club again. In January, he returned to Brazil and signed for boyhood club Santos. In the 2025 Brazilian season, he made 29 appearances, scored 11 goals and set up four more, but missed 17 matches through injury. He turns 34 in February. The contrast is brutal: Romario was 36 and scored 40 times for Vasco in 2001, after 66 the season before. Even Neymar’s tally has a soft spot,six of his 15 goal contributions came in group matches of the Sao Paulo state championship.

Still, Brazil doesn’t run on spreadsheets. There were flashes: a penalty won with a gorgeous piece of skill against Agua Santa in February, a corner scored directly soon after, and a late run in the Campeonato Brasileiro where he dragged Santos away from relegation while nursing a meniscus problem. But the dips are loud, too. He taunted fans in a 3-0 loss to Mirassol and sulked through a 3-2 defeat to Flamengo in November, then stormed past coach Juan Pablo Vojvoda after being substituted. Quoted by The Athletic, former Brazil coach Vanderlei Luxemburgo said, “He is a big name but setting the right example is important,” and added, “Football is a collective game. True leaders push their teams forward with the right attitude.” In remarks cited by The Athletic, Emerson Leao told CNN Brasil, “He’s not an example to anyone.” He added, “I don’t see Neymar solving our problems. We’ve moved past him.”

Ancelotti Holds the Threshold

If the post-Neymar era were settled, the debate would be quieter. His last Brazil appearance was October 2023, and 28 players have debuted since. Yet scholarship in the International Review for the Sociology of Sport and the Journal of Sport & Social Issues reminds us how stars become national symbols, impossible to replace with a committee. This week, The Athletic noted that Neymar will have meniscus surgery, restarting the countdown. Quoted by The Athletic from SporTV in September, Romario argued Brazil “only have a chance of winning the World Cup if he’s there.” Ronaldo said, “He’s a decisive player for the national team. We don’t have another player like him.” But Carlo Ancelotti can name alternatives, including Vinicius Junior, Raphinha, Rodrygo, Estevao, Matheus Cunha, Joao Pedro, Luiz Henrique, Richarlison, and Gabriel Martinelli, and he has drawn his boundary. Quoted by The Athletic, Ancelotti said, “If Neymar deserves to be there, if he’s fit and performing better than others, he will play at the World Cup. I don’t owe anyone anything.” In Brazil the gamble is never only sporting; it’s a wager that chaos can yield grace.

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