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Joined 1 year ago
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Cake day: October 12th, 2023

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  • I mean, as a Brazilian and consequently someone more qualified to speak, the young players usually get more hate and questioning than hype from most people. Sure, there are expectations and hope, but this leads to more nitpicking than anything else. There is just a general international trend of expecting Brazil to produce one or two Balon d’Or level players for generation, which is just a rational response to the fact that we have done that for decades on end, more so than any other country. From the 90s to now, it went Romario>Ronaldo>Rivaldo>Ronaldinho>Kaká>Neymar, and there are probably a few incoming in the next generation. People like Perez are simply trying to get them before others do, just like the media.


  • Neymar and Ronaldo are two success stories of sorts, coming from Brazil. Both got a lot of attention from very early on (17 or 18) and both reached the top of the sport. Neymar was even more hyped than Endrick is being now, really. Robinho and Pato are two cases where the players failed to reach their potential (Pato is probably a good comp to Endrick’s current hype, as Pato was also a legitimately good player at 17 but got messed up by injuries).

    Messi and Mbappe were very hyped from very early on too, to name players outside of Brazil. Both were being invited to top clubs in their early 10s and offered positions in youth academies in exchange for good money, and both were treated as the next big things when they were 17 or 18.


  • I mean, every single footballing nation in the world is looking for stars at the youth level, it’s simply good business. We just produce them in greater frequency because of our population and culture, and people have noticed it (see Florentino Perez). There are always odds that a Balon d’Or level player or two or three is coming from Brazil at any moment (Neymar>Ronaldinho>Rivaldo>Ronaldo>Romario, etc). It was just a matter of time for someone to come, as Neymar ages.



  • It’s an oldhead/newcomers thing. Newcomers are more impressionable and have been calling Messi the GOAT for years, but older people generally saw more Messi-level players and need more for a player in order to go with the hype. In that sense, Messi only reached his potential with the world cup.

    And before you disagree, consider that from now on, you’ll compare all the newcomers to Messi. You’ll become one of the very exigent oldheads too.