Former star Pele on Monday criticised the Brazilian Olympics squad saying he felt they "are not ready" for the event on the evidence of a 2-0 weekend loss to Mexico and also lambasted starlet Neymar for overly hugging the left wing.

"I think it's good this (defeat) happened as it does away with the feeling that this is a marvellous team, that it's doing fine," opined Pele of the loss to the Mexicans in Texas which came on the heels of a much more impressive 4-1 win over the United States.

Coach Mano Menezes hopes to lead the Brazilians to their first Olympic title in London in August but Pele says they have some way to go yet.

"It is a good team, with good players but not yet ready to overcome difficulties" when they arise," said Pele, who indicated he felt Neymar "has difficulty playing against a European or Latin American" defender - more so than against Brazilian league rivals.

"He stays stuck out there on the left but that doesn't just happen in the national side but also with Santos," Pele charged, urging Neymar to move inside and become more involved in dictating the play.

Pele to become the next coach of Brazil

Neymar false 9.

"It is a good team, with good players but not yet ready to overcome difficulties" when they arise," said Pele, who indicated he felt Neymar "has difficulty playing against a European or Latin American" defender - more so than against Brazilian league rivals."

i doubt he said that

but i thought neymar is already better than Messi

what are your sources? i know that he criticized neymar being too much on the left (which is actually the coach's fault, as neymar has shown time and time again that he can move to the middle and to the right..)

that thing about latin american teams and stuff im not so sure, but it's possible. however, he only had difficulties against velez who marked the whole team, not just him.. and mexico. otherwise he's been fine at the libertadores and against usa..

are people suddenly going to take pelé's words seriously though? everyone bashes the guy on this forum, and then when he says something that you want to hear, bang...

He said that and also said that Nerman's a diver lol

Spoiler:

pelé always talks shit about players who might outshine..

same with maradona, romario, messi, etc

i still think it is funny if some people suddenly start to listen to pelé after all the bashing going on around here

seeing how Pele has been supporting and hyping Neymar in the past i dont think your arguement stands. Sure pele talks more non sense than anyone else in football but that's not a reason to discard everything he says, especially if its one his favourate players who plays in his team

I do love Pele's interviews, you literally have no idea what hes going to say next

Funkentelechy wrote:He said that and also said that Nerman's a diver lol

Spoiler:

yes,but where is the latin american and european defenders part?

Ganso wrote:

Funkentelechy wrote:He said that and also said that Nerman's a diver lol

Spoiler:

yes,but where is the latin american and european defenders part?

Segundo Pelé, o fato de Neymar não conseguir ter o mesmo desempenho de quando atua no Santos com a camisa da seleção se deve à dificuldade no duelo com zagueiros mais experientes. “Neymar tem dificuldade de jogar contra europeu e outros latinos. São dificuldades que ele tem que se preparar”, disse.


http://esporte.uol.com.br/futebol/ultimas-noticias/2012/06/05/pele-deixa-protecao-de-lado-e-critica-forma-que-neymar-atua-na-selecao-brasileira.htm

Meh. Neymar's still young IMO. He'll learn how to Drrible against tougher opponents with age.

Kinda arrogant from Pele though. Did he honestly expect Mexico to be owned be Neymar?

zizzle wrote:seeing how Pele has been supporting and hyping Neymar in the past i dont think your arguement stands. Sure pele talks more non sense than anyone else in football but that's not a reason to discard everything he says, especially if its one his favourate players who plays in his team

did i just get owned? lol

rsinatra wrote:

zizzle wrote:seeing how Pele has been supporting and hyping Neymar in the past i dont think your arguement stands. Sure pele talks more non sense than anyone else in football but that's not a reason to discard everything he says, especially if its one his favourate players who plays in his team

did i just get owned? lol

lol no, just convinced