Narky Neymar sees red in Santos defeat
Reuters - Friday 14 October 2011, 08:02
Brazil striker Neymar got himself sent off for persistent
arguing as nine-man Santos lost 2-1 to Atletico Mineiro in the
Brazilian championship on Thursday.
Santos coach Muricy Ramalho said that the 19-year-old, who
was booked for dissent and then immediately sent off for
applauding the referee's decision, cried in the changing room
after the incident.
"He has to stay calm even if the referee is wrong," Ramalho
told reporters after Neymar became angry over the referee's
failure to award a free kick in the 83rd minute
Neymar is expected to lead Brazil's attack at the 2014 World
Cup but his style is already the subject of controversy.
Some critics say referees do not give him enough protection,
others argue that he goes down too easily and is always looking
for a free-kick.
"He is a top player who has his own style of dribbling and
he has to get to used to being fouled," Ramalho added.
"Sometimes, he is going to get hunted down. The referee will
give two or three free kicks but sometimes they become
embarrassed about awarding so many free-kicks.
CHARTER FLIGHT
Neymar was one of several players who returned on a charter
flight from Mexico where Brazil won a friendly on Tuesday
evening, only 48 hours before Thursday's matches.
Six clubs got together to pay for the flight.
Rever, who also played against Mexico, opened the scoring
for Atletico Mineiro after six minutes.
Borges converted a penalty to level for South American
champions Santos four minutes after half-time, his 21st goal of
the championship.
However, the relegation-threatened Roosters regained the
lead with another penalty converted by Magno Alves just before
the hour.
Santos, 13th in the table with 38 points, also had defender
Crystian sent off.
Fluminense striker Fred, another player involved in the
Mexico game, scored a hat-trick but also missed a penalty as the
defending champions beat Coritiba 3-1.
His first goal was the pick, as he controlled the ball on
his chest and hooked the ball in with a bicycle-kick.
His penalty was saved by goalkeeper Vanderlei with the score
at 1-1.
Vasco da Gama came from two goals behind, both scored by
substitute Elton, to draw 2-2 at Atletico Paranaense and go
level on points with leaders Corinthians, who lost to Botafogo
on Wednesday.
Corinthians stayed top on the number of games won.