Neymar's brain status

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Tokyo (AFP) - Brazilian superstar Neymar's brain activity while dancing past opponents is less than 10 percent the level of amateur players, suggesting he plays as if on auto-pilot, according to Japanese neurologists.

Results of brain scans conducted on Neymar in February this year indicated minimal cerebral function when he rotated his ankle and point to the Barcelona striker's wizardry being uncannily natural.

"From MRI images we discovered Neymar's brain activity to be less than 10 percent of an amateur player," researcher Eiichi Naito told AFP on Friday.

"It is possible genetics is a factor, aided by the type of training he does."

The findings were published in the Swiss journal Frontiers in Human Neuroscience following a series of motor skills tests carried out on the 22-year-old Neymar and several other athletes in Barcelona in February this year.

Three Spanish second-division footballers and two top-level swimmers were also subjected to the same tests, added Naito of Japan's National Institute of Information and Communications Technology.

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Brazil's forward Neymar (R) and Mexico's defender Rafael Marquez (C) jump for the ball in fr …

Naito concluded in his paper that the test results "provide valuable evidence that the football brain of Neymar recruits very limited neural resources in the motor-cortical foot regions during foot movements".

Asked whether Neymar's Barcelona team-mate Lionel Messi or Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo might display similar test results, Naito said: "It is fair to assume they would show similar levels given their footwork and technique."

Naito told Japan's Mainichi Shimbun newspaper: "Reduced brain activity means less burden which allows (the player) to perform many complex movements at once. We believe this gives him the ability to execute his various shimmies."

Neymar carried the hopes of host nation Brazil on his shoulders at the recently ended World Cup but his involvement ended in tears as he fractured a vertebra in the 2-1 quarter-final victory over Colombia.

Without their talisman, who had scored four goals in the tournament, Brazil suffered their most humiliating defeat ever when they were pulverised 7-1 by eventual champions Germany in the semi-final.

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Mourinho on Messi

Mourinho:  “Messi Sacrificed himself for the team. He wanted to win, he didn’t wanted to be top-scorer of MVP, he wanted to make history.”

Mourinho: “Messi played in zones that are not his. He had to play low that he had to cross 2 – 3 lines. Always had 2-3 players on him.”

Mourinho: “Messi was trying to create something out of nothing for his team. His assist to Di Maria was for example brilliant.”

Mourinho: “If Messi wanted to be phenomenon we all know he is, he’d just have played up front, close to higuin, waiting for a chance.”

Mourinho: “All my respect to Messi because he played for his team and this can’t be said of all players at this World Cup.”

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Maradona: Messi didn't deserve Golden Ball

Messi awarded World Cup 2014 Golden Ball

World Cup 2014

The 1986 World Cup winner felt Fifa made the wrong decision to hand the award to the Barcelona star and rued Argentina's defeat to Germany

Argentina icon Diego Maradona feels Lionel Messi did not deserve to win the Golden Ball following his performances at the World Cup.

The Barcelona star beat the likes of Thomas Muller, Arjen Robben and James Rodriguez to the prestigious individual award after scoring four goals in seven performances at this summer's tournament and guiding his team to the final, yet Maradona feels the 27-year-old only won it for commercial reasons.

"Messi? I would give him heaven if possible," Maradona said during his show on Telesur.

"But it's not right when someone wins something that he shouldn't have won just because of some marketing plan."

Maradona then went on to voice his disappointment with Argentina's 1-0 defeat in Sunday's final against Germany following Mario Gotze's goal in extra-time.

"I feel sorry for my country. Mario Gotze's goal really hurt. There's a huge sadness in my heart that we lost the final.

"All things put together, I think Argentina deserved at least penalties. That Germany won was the result of a misunderstanding in the Argentine defence."

The 1986 World Cup winner also had his say on Alejandro Sabella's decision to replace Ezequiel Lavezzi with Sergio Aguero at half-time and argued that the Argentina boss got things wrong.

"I don't understand the substitution of Lavezzi. He was phenomenal down the wing. Kun Aguero didn't have the same impact. It was not his tournament."

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Exclusive - Collymore: Naming Messi best player is 'an absolute disgrace'

Stan Collymore has labelled FIFA's decision to name Argentina's Lionel Messi the World Cup's best player 'an absolute disgrace'.
Germany beat La Albiceleste 1-0 in extra-time in the World Cup final as the Barcelona star struggled to inspire his nation and there was widespread surprise when the 27-year-old picked up the Golden Ball after the match.
Messi scored four goals in Brazil over the course of the tournament but Collymore was adamant there were others who deserved the award ahead of the Argentine.
"His performance was poor tonight," he told talkSPORT. "We've seen him three or four times now in the flesh and he's been poor in all of them, bar several trademark runs which I think masks a lot.
"It's an absolute disgrace giving him the Golden Ball tonight. You look at players like James Rodriguez, even players like Chile's Alexis Sanchez and Manuel Neuer [they deserve it more].
"He wasn't even the best player in the Argentina side tonight or over the tournament, [Javier] Mascherano gets that vote for me."

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5 reasons why Messi stands out in football world

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RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — A four-time world player of the year, Argentina's Lionel Messi is gifted with talents that most footballers can only dream of. What makes him special is that he possesses not just one or two but a combination of special skills that give him an edge over just about everyone.

Although he hasn't played brilliantly in every game of this World Cup, Messi's talents have been on display on Argentina's road to Sunday's final against Germany. Here are five traits that explain what makes the Argentina captain so difficult to stop.

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Argentina's Lionel Messi sits during a training session in Vespesiano, near Belo Horizonte, Braz …

SPEED

There are plenty of players who could outrun Messi in a 100-meter dash. But running with the ball is a different story. Messi can control the ball at close to top speed, making him an excellent dribbler. Also, it's his acceleration rather than his top speed that cuts up defenses. Few defenders can keep up when Messi revs up from standstill, creating space for his left-foot shot.

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BALANCE

Like former Argentina great Diego Maradona, Messi uses his short stature to his advantage. His low center of gravity enables him to make quick turns and to stay on his feet when challenged. Often, the only way to knock him off balance is to foul him. Defenders at the World Cup have been taking turns tackling Messi to spread the risk of getting booked around the team.

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ACCURACY

Messi is one of the world's top free-kick takers, striking the ball with impressive accuracy with his magic left foot. Almost always he hits the target or just misses it — you rarely see Messi blast a free kick five meters over the crossbar. In Argentina's final group-stage match, Nigeria gave Messi two free kick opportunities near the penalty area toward the end of the first half. He elegantly curled the first one over the wall, but goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama was well-positioned and stopped it. By the second free kick, Messi had fine-tuned his aim, and struck the ball perfectly inside the post. Enyeama jokingly asked the referees during the break to not give Messi any more free kicks.

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PATIENCE

Patience is a perhaps and underrated virtue for a football player, and it's one that has served Messi well in the World Cup. Every opponent has come with a plan to stop him, by closing down his space and tackling him as soon as he touches the ball. As a result Messi has looked out of the game for long periods. But instead of hanging his head and getting frustrated, Messi keeps looking for openings, patiently awaiting a moment when defenders take their focus off him for just a split second. That's when he strikes. Against Iran, that moment came in injury time when he scored his second goal of the tournament. Against Switzerland, it happened in extra time as he set up Angel Di Maria's winning goal with a piercing run down the middle.

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INTELLIGENCE

Messi also stands out for his ability to read the game, mapping out paths to the opponent's goal in his mind before the opponent does. That's key to understanding why he's such a prolific scorer. Knowing by instinct where a gap will open up for a quick pass or shot gives him an advantage over others, though it can also complicate things for the team. Sometimes Messi lets chances slip away by being too smart for his Argentina teammates, who don't gel with him to the same degree as Andres Iniesta and Xavi Hernandez in Barcelona.

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Messi, Neymar on 10-man best player award list

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RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) -- Lionel Messi and Neymar are among the 10 players nominated for the award given to the World Cup's best player.

Seven of the candidates announced by FIFA on Friday play for finalists Argentina and Germany. Messi is nominated along with Argentina teammates Angel Di Maria and Javier Mascherano. Germany provides four candidates: Mats Hummels, Toni Kroos, Philipp Lahm and Thomas Mueller.

Neymar is the only candidate from Brazil among the players selected by FIFA's technical study group of coaching analysts.

Arjen Robben of the Netherlands and James Rodriquez of Colombia, the tournament's top scorer with six goals, complete the list.

The winner is selected by the FIFA technical group and announced after the final.

Both goalkeepers in the final are on a three-man shortlist to be named best of the tournament.

Manuel Neuer of Germany and Sergio Romero of Argentina are joined by Costa Rica's Keylor Navas.

The candidates for best young player are Memphis Depay of the Netherlands, and France pair Paul Pogba and Raphael Varane. Nominees for that award must have been born since Jan. 1, 1993.

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