Football Second Fiddle No More

Messi and Ronaldo are winding down—too old. Host Russia is a political mess—too depressing. The U.S. should qualify, but barely—too dubious. Less than a year out from World Cup 2018, it’s all about the inevitable rise of Brazil’s NEYMAR . But is he ready?

- Brian Straus

IF CRISTIANO RONALDO or Lionel Messi have anything in common with Crash Davis—if there’s any sort of cultural crossover between the archetypes of global sports glitz and minor league baseball grime—it’ll show itself when the tape recorder starts rolling. That’s when the icons in their posh private jets heed the wisdom Davis imparted on a bumpy bus, whether they’ve seen Bull Durham or not. “You’re gonna have to learn your clichés,” Crash says in the 1988 classic. “They’re your friends.”

The galácticos have little choice but to follow this advice. Combine the fanaticism surrounding global soccer with the minimal access afforded the media covering it, and you have an environment where every crumb becomes content, where innuendo is louder than insight, where the tiniest spark can become a bombshell. In short: The less said the better; be safe, not sorry. So it’s significant, then, that in the middle of what should be the most relaxing summer of his adult life, Neymar da Silva Santos Jr. is willing to let you in, share his concerns and maybe even make a headline. He can’t hide from who he is, nor from the momentous, legacy-defining season to come.

The quiet but charismatic 25-year-old Brazilian forward has never won a World Cup. He has never been named FIFA’s player of the year. And had he stayed at FC Barcelona (which was up in the air throughout the summer transfer window; if he hadn’t moved to Paris, it would have been a surprise), he would have had to wait a bit longer until he’s even considered his own team’s centrepiece. But he’s universally deemed soccer’s best player after Ronaldo and Messi, and he’s beloved in a way that neither of them ever will be. And a big reason for that is his indifference to the Book of Crash.