Fresh off his extra-time goal in Barcelona's UEFA Champions League title victory last weekend, Neymar is back on the world stage to lead Brazil in their Copa America opener against Peru.
The last time Neymar donned seleção colors in a major tournament was when Colombia's Juan Camilo Zuñiga knee him in the back during the 2014 World Cup quarter-finals. Brazil's star striker was carted off the pitch and missed the rest of the world cup, including the squad's forgettable 7-1 loss to Germany in the semis.
Copa America, a tournament los Pentacampeõnes have won five times since 1989, serves as redemptions of sort following last summer's embarrassing exit. They're not off to a bad start.
The Brazilians have won ten consecutive friendlies despite injuries to key contributors like Hulk, Oscar, and Diego Alves. New head coach Dunga has tough choices ahead in selecting who playing alongside Neymar going forward. Roberto Firmino, Philippe Coutinho, and Diego Tardelli are leading candidates, scoring a goal apiece in each of the last two friendlies. Though Coutinho seems to have the upper hand heading into Group C play.
Peru, the Ricardo Gareca-led team that hasn't won a Copa since 1975, will need more than stellar play to take down Brazil. They'll need 2011 Copa America top scorer Paolo Guerrero to forget he is still recovering from injury.
Guerrero scored five goals in the tournament four years ago, outscoring Uruguay's Luis Suarez by one and Neymar by three. Though the "Predator" says he is good to go after injuring his ankle in a practice match last Saturday, los Incas will need other star-caliber talents like Juan Manuel Vargas, Claudio Pizarro, and Jefferson Farfan to step up.
The trio of Guerrero, Pizarro, and Farfan have a combined 199 caps and 58 goals between them and may be wily enough to keep the Peruvians in contention, but that largely depends on whether Guerrero deflects enough attention to garner to other two players scoring opportunities.
Copa America 2015 will be a learning experience for both coach and team. Gareca has only been with the club for four months and two matches. He's still building team chemistry and may not know what schemes work best.
Given the well-oiled machine they're up against, los Blanquirroja is sure to go through some growing pains.
When: June 14, 2015
Where: Estadio Municipal Bicentenario Germán Baker, Temuco, Chile
Kick-off: 5:30 p.m. EST
Live Stream: beIN SPORTS Connect
TV: beIN SPORTS, beIN SPORTS en Español
Predictions: Peru is hard pressed to replicate their 2011 Copa America success, especially behind a coach hired just four months ago. Neymar and company will feed on the Peruvians' inconsistencies. Brazil 3-1