Neymar: Is he really who Barcelona need?

Barcelona fans have gone gaga over their club’s acquisition of Neymar, and so they should. For a club of Barcelona’s stature, last season was – to be fair – underwhelming. Although they did canter to the La Liga title, they were knocked out out the Copa del Rey and the Champions League in a somewhat tame manner, showing little bite against Real Madrid and Bayern Munich.

Adding to that was their off-field turbulence which saw both Eric Abidal and Tito Vilanova diagnosed with cancer. Potentially losing one individual to cancer is surely heart-rending, so having two people diagnosed with the same illness leaves little to the imagination in terms of emotional impact, and that surely had an effect on the way the Azulgrana went about their game. Last season, Barcelona’s players embodied that characteristics that played such a crucial role in the club’s formation 113 years ago.

“Managers are fond of talking about how their side overcame adversity. Normally, it’s meaningless; in Barcelona’s case, it’s actually true. Eric Abidal and Tito Vilanova have both undergone treatment for cancer. Abidal is now playing again: doctors say it is a miracle that he is healthy, let alone competing once more.”

- Sid Lowe, The Guardian

The unveiling of Neymar in a Barcelona shirt is therefore the perfect pick me up for fans of the Catalan club. For years now, speculation has been swirling over the mohawked striker’s next destination. Everyone who is anyone in the world of football was being linked to him and as that list was slowly distilled into a shorter and shorter roster of names, there was much musing over whether he would join one of the uber-rich trio of Chelsea, Manchester City or Paris Saint-Germain.

In the end, though, it was always going to be Real Madrid and Barcelona – the clubs who have maintained their interest in him the longest – who were going to duke it out over who gets this Brazilian sensation. Indeed, the prospect of watching Neymar and Lionel Messi torment opposition defences is a treat so mouth-wateringly delectable that when these two take to the pitch, one can expect a full house at the Camp Nou and a morass of millions of eyes staring unwaveringly as the Brazil-Argentina axis creates what can only be described as poetry in motion.

But while waxing lyrical over what is essentially Barcelona’s Plan B – yes, that is exactly what it is – which means that they will no longer be over reliant on Messi’s talents, is that what is most important in Catalonia right now?