Brazil manager Tite says Neymar’s apparent emotional fragility is of no concern to Brazil as they prepare for a crunch World Cup encounter against Serbia.
The Paris Saint-Germain striker burst into tears at the end of Friday’s 2-0 win over Costa Rica, after he and Philippe Coutinho had netted in second-half stoppage time to avoid what would have been a damaging draw.
Brazil head into Wednesday’s clash with Serbia as Group E leaders, needing a point to be sure of a place in the last 16.
But Tite says such displays of emotion are customary, and revealed how he was in a similar state following his first match in charge, against Ecuador in September 2016.
“I cried of pride and pleasure in a moment of such great pressure to play a great match. I am careful of assessing the situation, I’m just showing the other side but a coach also has feelings and reasons and emotions have to be balanced.
“There are moments when you have to have a cool head and keep a standard. I mean in the 91st minute you score a goal in the way the team is used to playing.
“You use the heart, head, reason and feeling without losing your senses and there’s emotion that the coach also felt.”