Neymar named permanent Brazil captain

The Paris Saint-Germain star will skipper

the Selecao permanently after head coach

Tite scrapped his rotation policy

Neymar believes the responsibility of 

leading Brazil will be 

good for him after the 

Paris Saint-Germain star was appointed 

captain.

Head coach Tite scrapped his captaincy

 rotation by naming Neymar as Brazil's 

permanent skipper on the eve of Friday's 

international friendly against the United 

States in New Jersey.

Neymar endured a turbulent World Cup 

campaign in Russia, where Brazil made a 

shock quarter-final exit against Belgium.

The 26-year-old – who scored twice at the 

showpiece tournament after recovering 

from a broken foot sustained in February – 

was a regular target of criticism for his 

theatrics and behaviour on the pitch, 

having exaggerated fouls

Fronting the media alongside Tite after he 

received the captain's armband, Neymar 

told reporters: "I accepted again because 

I've learned a lot and I will learn much 

more. And this responsibility will be a 

good thing to me."

Reflecting on his difficult World Cup 

campaign, Neymar said: "I think that 

probably no one here in this room will ever

 live something close that I've lived not 

even during the Olympics, but after the 

World Cup as well.

"I was targeted by many critics, a lot of 

bad things and I wasn't OK at that very 

moment [after the game against Belgium] 

to speak. So when I'm not OK to speak I 

prefer to stay shut because the silence is 

the best answer."

On his critics, Neymar added: "I don't have 

much to say about it. I'm a player who 

takes the ball 11 times and in 10 times I 

go straight to the opponent.

"I think they won't let me pass without 

giving me a little strike. I can't ask them, 

'Hey, excuse me but let me score'. I 

suffered lots of fouls during the World 

Cup. But it happened. It's another lesson I 

carry with me."

"My responsibility is even bigger due to the

 captaincy.