Paris Saint-Germain of France forward, Neymar was among the first set of Brazil’s players to arrive at their camp in Singapore ahead The Samba Boys’ international friendly matches against Senegal on Thursday, October 10 and Nigeria three days later, Sunday , October 13, megasportsarena.com reports.
The former Barcelona star, who is set to make his 100th appearance for Brazil in one of the high-profile friendlies against the two West African sides, was accompanied to the national team’s camp in the Asian island nation by his PSG teammates, Thiago Silva and Marquinhos.
The trio left Paris after their team’s 4-0 win against Angers at the weekend, a game in which Neymar netted his fourth goal of the season in the French Ligue 1, and will hope to carry same form into action against The Teranga Lions of Senegal and Nigeria’s Super Eagles.
The back-to-favour Neymar and his PSG pals joined Roberto Firmino, Fabinho (both Liverpool), Richarlison (Everton), Casemiro and Éder Militão (both of Real Madrid) as well as Lucas Paquetá (AC Milan) as early arrivals in Brazil’s Singapore camp, meaning nine players were on ground to start training with the team on Monday.
Should Neymar get to play any of the two upcoming games, he will follow in the footsteps of Cafu, Roberto Carlos, Rivellino, Daniel Alves, Pelé, Djalma Santos, Taffarel, Lucio, Leo, Ronaldo, Gilmar, Ronaldinho Gaucho and Jairzinho in the class of Brazil’s icons with 100 caps or more.
While The Samba Boys will stay at JW Marriott Hotel Singapore South Beach, Nigeria’s squad are booked into Fairmont Hotel ahead of their potentially explosive clash with the five-time FIFA World Cup champions.
The Eagles’ abode is a five star hotel is located at 80 Bras Basah Road, Singapore, just a 4-minute walk from Raffles City, in an edifice where the amenities include a spacious work desk, multi-line telephone with voicemail, High Speed Internet Access, fitness center, strength training area, cardio theatre and wellness studio.
Fairmont Hotel, which is owned by Toronto and Ontario, Canada-based Accor Hotels, after they acquired FRHI Hotels & Resorts in 2016, with the cheapest room going for $245.25, while the Ambassador Twin Suite with separate lounge, two balconies overlooking the city or pool area costs $795.09 but Fairmont Fit Salon is open to in-house guests.
All other players in Brazil’s 23-man squad will fly in on Tuesday – the initial group are scheduled to train at the Kallang Football Hub on Monday evening, but the early buzz among Singapore fans was understandably on Neymar.
Stepping out of a minivan after Marquinhos and Silva, the 27-year-old Neymar, who wore a black cap, white T-shirt, khaki pants, as well as diamond-studded necklace and earrings, looked bleary-eyed as he scanned his surroundings.
It was 7.30am and while there were just nine fans, who waited for an hour, outside the hotel, Neymar stopped to sign a caricature of himself and four jerseys – including some of Barcelona which he has been heavily linked with a return to – before striding in under a minute.
The number of fans grew to 15 by the time the second batch of Brazilians – Liverpool’s Roberto Firmino and Fabinho, who was later caught on camera posing with a fan at the team’s hotel, JW Marriott Singapore South Beach, and Everton’s Richarlison, as they all arrived with contrasting moods at 7.50am.
While Richarlison went straight into the hotel, the Reds duo stopped to spend some time with the fans. Flashing his megawatt smile, Liverpool forward Firmino, decked in a black Versace hoodie, entertained autograph and wefie requests while his clubmate Fabinho also followed suit.
Sales manager Dominic Teng, 31, said: “I had hoped Firmino would stay longer but he did look tired and it is okay because both he and Fabinho were very accommodating. It is really fantastic and breathtaking to be able to see and interact with our football heroes in person.
“While I will be at the Brazil-Senegal game to watch and support them, I hope the Liverpool players don’t get too many minutes because they have a big league match against Manchester United on October 20.”
On Brazil’s last visit to the Republic in 2014 for an exhibition against Japan, Neymar scored all four goals in the 4-0 win in front of more than 50,000 fans at the National Stadium, which a 23-year-old undergraduate in the city, Amanpreet Singh recalled vividly.
Singh told Singapore’s major newspaper, The Straits Times: “It is understandable after a long flight, but at least Neymar stopped. The poor turnout could be attributed to the fact that it is early Monday morning, when people have to work or go to school. And there are just a few players coming in batches this time round.
“I was also here for Inter Milan when they arrived at the same hotel for the International Champions Cup in July, and there were also just about 25 fans for the entire team on a Wednesday morning. But it is also good for us early birds because we stand a higher chance of getting an autograph or wefie.”
