{"id":31093,"date":"2014-07-11T08:41:16","date_gmt":"2014-07-11T08:41:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/4cd.e16.myftpupload.com\/?p=31093"},"modified":"2014-07-11T10:43:36","modified_gmt":"2014-07-11T10:43:36","slug":"tearful-neymar-i-was-almost-paralysed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2014\/07\/tearful-neymar-i-was-almost-paralysed\/","title":{"rendered":"Tearful Neymar: I was almost paralysed"},"content":{"rendered":"

Brazil’s Neymar broke down in tears as he claimed the challenge that ended his World Cup came close to paralysing him.<\/p>\n

The Barcelona forward, 22, fractured a vertebra in his spine when he was kneed in the back by Colombia’s Juan Zuniga during Brazil’s 2-1 quarter-final win.<\/p>\n

“I thank God for helping me, because if that blow had been a few inches lower I would have risked being paralysed,” said Neymar.<\/p>\n

Brazil went on to lose 7-1 to Germany in the semi-finals.<\/p>\n

\"Neymar\"<\/div>\n

World governing body Fifa said no disciplinary action could be taken against Zuniga because the incident was dealt with at the time by referee Velasco Carballo.<\/p>\n

Neymar said Zuniga called him the next day to say sorry but the former Santos player stopped short of forgiving the Colombian for the challenge.<\/p>\n

“I don’t hate him, I don’t hold a grudge, but I don’t feel anything,” said Neymar. “It’s difficult to talk about a move that ended happening in such an important moment of my career.<\/p>\n

“I won’t say he came to injure me – I don’t know what was going on in his head – but everyone who understands football can see that it wasn’t a normal challenge.”<\/p>\n

Neymar left Brazil’s training camp by helicopter on Saturday but returned to the mountain city of Teresopolis, near Rio, on Thursday ahead of Brazil’s third-place play-off match against Netherlands on Saturday.<\/p>\n

He said he hoped Argentina would beat Germany in Sunday’s World Cup final because Barcelona club-mates Lionel Messi and Javier Mascherano play for the Argentines.<\/p>\n

On Messi, he added: “He’s won almost everything and I think he deserves to be champion. He is my team-mate and my friend.”<\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n<\/colgroup>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\n

Neymar at the World Cup<\/h2>\n<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n

Matches played<\/td>\n5<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Minutes played<\/td>\n457<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Attempts on target<\/td>\n72.2%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Goals scored<\/td>\n4<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Assists<\/td>\n1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\"NeymarNeymar was the first Brazilian to be involved in five goals in one World Cup since 2002<\/div>\n
\"Neymar\"Neymar was airlifted home from Brazil’s training camp in Teresopolis near Rio de Janeiro on Saturday<\/div>\n
\"Neymar\"Neymar returned to Brazil’s training base on Thursday.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
–<\/div>\n
Source BBC Sport<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Brazil’s Neymar broke down in tears as he claimed the challenge that ended his World Cup came close to paralysing him. The Barcelona forward, 22, fractured a vertebra in his spine when he was kneed in the back by Colombia’s Juan Zuniga during Brazil’s 2-1 quarter-final win. “I thank God for helping me, because if […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":31096,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[115,29,1581,3,771],"yoast_head":"\nTearful Neymar: I was almost paralysed - Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2014\/07\/tearful-neymar-i-was-almost-paralysed\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Tearful Neymar: I was almost paralysed - Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Brazil’s Neymar broke down in tears as he claimed the challenge that ended his World Cup came close to paralysing him. The Barcelona forward, 22, fractured a vertebra in his spine when he was kneed in the back by Colombia’s Juan Zuniga during Brazil’s 2-1 quarter-final win. “I thank God for helping me, because if […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2014\/07\/tearful-neymar-i-was-almost-paralysed\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/citi97.3\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-07-11T08:41:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2014-07-11T10:43:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/76196002_neymar_mm_getty.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"640\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"360\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"wp-needuser\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@citi973\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@citi973\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"wp-needuser\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2014\/07\/tearful-neymar-i-was-almost-paralysed\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2014\/07\/tearful-neymar-i-was-almost-paralysed\/\",\"name\":\"Tearful Neymar: I was almost paralysed - Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2014-07-11T08:41:16+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2014-07-11T10:43:36+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/#\/schema\/person\/082ce6f21d23820875eabfffabe66278\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2014\/07\/tearful-neymar-i-was-almost-paralysed\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2014\/07\/tearful-neymar-i-was-almost-paralysed\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2014\/07\/tearful-neymar-i-was-almost-paralysed\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Tearful Neymar: I was almost paralysed\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/\",\"name\":\"Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always\",\"description\":\"Ghana News | Ghana Politics | Ghana Soccer | Ghana Showbiz\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/#\/schema\/person\/082ce6f21d23820875eabfffabe66278\",\"name\":\"wp-needuser\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9ca736ce957cdd49525b860ab3ccffa3?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9ca736ce957cdd49525b860ab3ccffa3?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"wp-needuser\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/wordpresss.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/author\/wpsupp-user\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Tearful Neymar: I was almost paralysed - Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2014\/07\/tearful-neymar-i-was-almost-paralysed\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Tearful Neymar: I was almost paralysed - Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always","og_description":"Brazil’s Neymar broke down in tears as he claimed the challenge that ended his World Cup came close to paralysing him. The Barcelona forward, 22, fractured a vertebra in his spine when he was kneed in the back by Colombia’s Juan Zuniga during Brazil’s 2-1 quarter-final win. “I thank God for helping me, because if […]","og_url":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2014\/07\/tearful-neymar-i-was-almost-paralysed\/","og_site_name":"Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/citi97.3","article_published_time":"2014-07-11T08:41:16+00:00","article_modified_time":"2014-07-11T10:43:36+00:00","og_image":[{"width":640,"height":360,"url":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/76196002_neymar_mm_getty.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"wp-needuser","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@citi973","twitter_site":"@citi973","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"wp-needuser","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2014\/07\/tearful-neymar-i-was-almost-paralysed\/","url":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2014\/07\/tearful-neymar-i-was-almost-paralysed\/","name":"Tearful Neymar: I was almost paralysed - Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/#website"},"datePublished":"2014-07-11T08:41:16+00:00","dateModified":"2014-07-11T10:43:36+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/#\/schema\/person\/082ce6f21d23820875eabfffabe66278"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2014\/07\/tearful-neymar-i-was-almost-paralysed\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2014\/07\/tearful-neymar-i-was-almost-paralysed\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2014\/07\/tearful-neymar-i-was-almost-paralysed\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Tearful Neymar: I was almost paralysed"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/","name":"Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always","description":"Ghana News | Ghana Politics | Ghana Soccer | Ghana Showbiz","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/#\/schema\/person\/082ce6f21d23820875eabfffabe66278","name":"wp-needuser","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9ca736ce957cdd49525b860ab3ccffa3?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9ca736ce957cdd49525b860ab3ccffa3?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"wp-needuser"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/wordpresss.com"],"url":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/author\/wpsupp-user\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31093"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31093"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31093\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31096"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31093"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31093"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31093"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}