Neymar reveals his greatest football idol is Robinho

Neymar reveals his greatest football idol is Robinho

Barcelona attacker Neymar has revealed that his greatest idol in the game is Robinho, and the skill he most likes to use in matches is the step-over.

The Brazilian forward has been in sensational form this season for the Catalans, scoring 20 goals in 25 La Liga appearances.

The 24-year-old has developed during his time at the Camp Nou into one of the world’s most talked about footballers, coming a long way from the tricky teenager that used to play for Santos.

However Neymar has revealed that it’s a former Santos player in Robinho that he looks up to the most, having become enamoured with the winger’s pace and tricks while at the club.

“When I started following Santos, Robinho was my favourite player. He is my greatest idol. Today, I have a lot of them, after learning more about football, but back then I was a huge fan of Robinho’s,” the Barcelona No.11 told Goal.

“I was always trying to do what he did: his dribbles, plays and goals. And I started practising so that, someday, I could become as much like him as possible.”

Neymar has played with his hero on the national stage and at Santos when Robinho returned to the club for a loan spell in 2010, and has learned a number of skills from the now 32-year-old.

Despite the plethora of tricks Neymar has at his disposal, the winger has revealed that he favours one of the more simple abilities in the step-over, as it’s simple and also has a use to it.

The forward added: “When I’m on the field, the trick I like to do most are step-overs. For me, it’s a simple, beautiful dribble that also has a point. I’ve done some tricks that people started talking about. Some caused controversy among people who dislike the ‘futebol arte’.

“But I don’t care about this. I always dribble for a reason and I always head for the goal.”

Neymar will be hoping to help Barcelona secure their place in the quarter- finals of the Champions League when his side take on Arsenal at the Camp Nou on Wednesday night.

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