Neymar: "I Wanted to Be in Maracanã for the Final"

07/09/2014 - 11h45

Neymar had an early start on Tuesday, July 8th, the day his national team suffered the biggest humiliation in its history.

At around 11am, the player, who watched the match with friends and family at his mansion in the coastal town of Guarujá, in the state of São Paulo, had already posted a photo onto his Instagram account.

As if he could predict what was about to happen, he wrote a message accompanied by a photo montage with faces of all players in the first team, that urged fans to trust the national team and support them all the way to the end.

"I would like us all to cheer Brazil on until the last second because I really, really want to be there with everyone (fans and fellow players) next Sunday on the pitch at Maracanã. In God we trust!", he wrote.

This was his last statement to be published on social media.

The player wore his kit throughout the day he spent at home. At around 1pm he walked around his neighborhood without any assistance, while wearing a Brazil jacket.

His son, Davi Lucca, arrived at 10am with his grandmother and nanny. The player's girlfriend, actress Bruna Marquezine, also arrive in the morning.

FANS

The security checkpoint at the entrance to the gated neighborhood where the player lives was not busy at any point before, during or after the match.

Only a few curious passersby, by car or bicycle, made discrete appearances. A number of Neymar's neighbors went on pilgrimages to the front of his house, who the player waved from the balcony several times.

Some passersby that were lucky to witness the player took cell phone photos, which they tried to sell to journalists. "I'll show it to you, but if you would like a copy you will have to pay me US$225", a 13 year old said to a Folha reporter.

A few minutes before the start of the match over 50 people gathered opposite Neymar's mansion. Two security guards kept watch.

A group of four people travelled 7.000 kilometers by car from Lima, the capital of Peru. They are producing a documentary and wanted the player to sign the body of the car.

A fan who identified himself as Neco, 36, wrote on a sign that he wanted to watch the game with Brazil's number 10.

Welker Souza, 35, also held up a sign that requested the player to divulge his personal blog, about cerebral palsy.

Residents of the gated neighborhood drove through the security checkpoint and took gifts for Neymar, such as letters and t-shirts. Some of the items were returned with signatures that residents said were Neymar's.

When the match kicked off, the streets around the neighborhood became deserted.

At around 7pm, a few minutes after the end of the match, the area surrounding Neymar's house looked like nothing extraordinary had happened - if it weren't for a number of firecrackers that broke the silence, probably as an attempt to finish the stock that had been reserved for the final.

As people went home, shops reopened to end the full work cycle.

Translated by CRISTIANE COSTA LIMA

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