Rio de Janeiro - If you didn’t know any better, you would swear that Brazil are only hosting a football tournament, such is the hype and hysteria around their match against South Africa in Brasilia on Thursday night.
There is good reason, too.
The Olympic title is the one piece of silverware that has eluded the Selecao, despite years of glittering squads assembled for the quadrennial showpiece. Somehow, ”o jogo bonito” hasn’t been enough to get them over the line, and they have had to endure mortal foes Argentina lifting back-to-back trophies in 2004 and 2008.
Even more painful, they succumbed to Mexico at the final hurdle in London 2012, when most scribes already had their name on the trophy.
That defeat, meted out to many players who then graduated to the senior side, was seen by many as the tipsy night that led to the hangover of 2014, when Germany hammered them 7-1, on home turf, in the FIFA World Cup.
For all the attention of athletes in town, for all the fears of health and safety, and all the money that will be spent in Rio over the next three weeks, there is but one concern for Brazilians.
They need to see a gold medal on Neymar junior’s neck, because it is the only way to cleanse the disease that has ravaged their reputation on the international circuit.
The hosts have prioritised the Olympics to the point that they rested Neymar from the Copa America, sacrificing their continental chances for a proper shot at Olympic glory.
It’s a gamble, but one well worth it. The competition in this Olympics is a virgin mojito compared to the full-blooded caipirinha that is the Copa.
They have an outstanding chance, and they also have a massive responsibility. If Brazil can go all the way in these Games, they will rouse a nation from its slumber. They will give a quarter of a billion football fanatics a focal point, from whence enthusiasm for the myriad other disciplines may flow.
The Games need them almost as much as they crave the gold medal. It’s an incredible weight on the slight shoulders of Neymar, but the Barcelona maverick thrives on the attention.
Alongside such giants as Bolt and The Redeemer, he is the face of these games. His smug grin is plastered on posters everywhere.
The South African under-23 side have seen quite enough of him as it is, but they will have to deal with him once more on Thursday night.
It is an awesome challenge for Owen Da Gama’s charges, because they are being viewed as plump lambs heading to a very public slaughter.
The Mane Garrincha Stadium in Brasilia will be beyond hostile to them, a world away from the hospitality they’ve enjoyed in Rio.
But, it is for such nights that the likes of SA captain Keagan Dolly, pictured top, play the game. His experiences in Africa with South Africa’s Brazilians, Sundowns, will certainly help, and he will have to be South Africa’s answer to Neymar.
If he can rise to the momentous occasion, and his defence has the night of their lives, South Africa may just about douse the Olympic flame, even before the opening ceremony on Friday evening.
The Star