Potential wise: Neymar vs Balotelli

[bigboi]

You have a lightning fast and quick player in Neymar then you have a controversial inconsistent powerful kicker in Balotelli. Who has more potential?

[cgf]

Of these two it's gotta be Balo, his issues are all mental. Neymar still has to prove he can flourish when faced with the aggressive and tough pressing of european football that he's struggled with the few times he's faced it in South America. Balotelli on the otherhand needs to just become more mature and consistent.

[and1GS]

The crazy thing about Balo is that he looked like a grown man at 16. He was already 6 feet and pretty strong around that age. Not saying this is why he has more potential, just noting that it's pretty remarkable.

I'd go with Mario as well, unfortunately he's just gotten worse and worse with his temper.

[Slava]

I don't think Balotelli will ever come close to Neymar talent wise. If Neymar can translate his form into the European league he will be in discussions with Fat Ronaldo, Ronaldinho and Rivaldo pretty soon.

From another forum:

One of only four players to have scored 100 goals for their first club by the time they were 20.

The others were:

Pele
Maradona
Fat Ronaldo

[IronChef]

Neymar for me. Balotelli is physically imposing, but he's a ways away from Neymar skill wise. Plus, he's crazy.

[bbms]

Balotelli can be an unstoppable force if he can become more consistent, he has sheer power, technique, speed and is constant danger in the box, but I think Neymar has such an unique quickness and mobility and the he controls the ball a lot more naturally and easily. It looks like he has that thing that I've only seen in Peak Ronaldinho, Zidane, Messi, Del Piero, Romario, Peak Rivaldo... I can't put in words, the closest thing to say is: sometimes the ball just seem to go wherever and however he wants it to be. Kid is special.

Neymar has mental issues too. He holds the ball too much, loses focus and composure whenever defense starts bothering him, and he usually breaks down when defenses frustrate his intentions. He has selfish traits and dives WAY too much.

He is a great talent but I think Brazil would be better if Neymar was benched. He has 0 team work, and Brazilian Media overhypes him a lot, sometimes it looks like they want to sell brazilians the image that he's Messi tier of player, and I think sometimes he's careless like "who cares? if I miss no one will bother me anyway..."

From Brazilian.

[Slava]

That's actually my perfect description of Neymar as well.

[cgf]

Balotelli can be an unstoppable force if he can become more consistent, he has sheer power, technique, speed and is constant danger in the box, but I think Neymar has such an unique quickness and mobility and the he controls the ball a lot more naturally and easily. It looks like he has that thing that I've only seen in Peak Ronaldinho, Zidane, Messi, Del Piero, Romario, Peak Rivaldo... I can't put in words, the closest thing to say is: sometimes the ball just seem to go wherever and however he wants it to be. Kid is special.

Neymar has mental issues too. He holds the ball too much, loses focus and composure whenever defense starts bothering him, and he usually breaks down when defenses frustrate his intentions. He has selfish traits and dives WAY too much.

He is a great talent but I think Brazil would be better if Neymar was benched. He has 0 team work, and Brazilian Media overhypes him a lot, sometimes it looks like they want to sell brazilians the image that he's Messi tier of player, and I think sometimes he's careless like "who cares? if I miss no one will bother me anyway..."

From Brazilian.

That to me is why I'm a little more inclined to gamble on Balotelli, he's crazy, but for the most part his craziness is something that you can use to motivate him and will just flare up to bite you occasionally. Whereas Neymar's lack of fight, for lack of a better description, makes you worry about his development stagnating when he gets frustrated by how much less time, space and exhalation he receives in Europe as well as him becoming a mopey and selfish star like Robben if he does keep improving. Plus I think that Balotelli in his prime will make a greater impact and be a more unique force than Neymar.

I know it's just cause I'm a German homer but I actually think Marco Reus will end up just as good of a player as Neymar, because he's got close to as much talent with a phenomenal head on his shoulders and more diverse skillset.

[5DOM]

I am obviously not as qualified to talk about Neymar as bbms, but I think Neymar's selfishness/maturity level are often exaggerated. Sure he likes to beat his man a little too much, but I've always been rather impressed with his passing. Unlike Robben, I think he has the vision and techniques to become a very good passer (and a much more complete footballer in general). His blatant diving is definitely annoying and he does lose his composure at times, but he's a 20 y/o who's targeted by defenders every game. Those Brazilian defenders can land some nasty tackles.

I really like Balotelli, but this is easily Neymar for me. Neymar's combination of pace/acceleration and skills is quite incredible - much more so than Balotelli's strength IMO. I think he will be a huge success at Barca/Real.

[Slava]

I thought comparing to Balotelli might look silly in a year or two and then you brought in Reus. Its not like he's been folding under pressure abroad either, he's already the best player at the olympics.

[5DOM]

He's only faced Egypt and Belarus, but I agree that he's easily the best player in the tournament - much more impressive than Hulk at the very least.

[bbms]

Hulk doesn't really compare with Neymar. Whichever the team buys him for the fee Porto demands, will regret it forever. He is tremendously overated because he's such a physical specimen and makes flashy plays(with no substance, imo), and usually dominates poor competition. He can't be a big dog cornerstone. His game is just artificial, no substance, imo.

Neymar would imo flourish as a player under Alex Ferguson or Arsene Wenger coaching job. Premier League is where I want him to go. He could certainly make an instant impact at La Liga, but If he manages to succeed at EPL, he'll certainly succeed anywhere. That's the most troublesome competition for him, and in a fast pace game, he could learn to hold less the ball and have more objective runs, if you guys understand me.

[Slava]

If he does come to the PL, which I don't think he will, he most likely will want to live in London and Chelsea are the only club who can afford him.

I actually think there is a 99% chance he signs with either Barca or Real.

[bbms]

If he does come to the PL, which I don't think he will, he most likely will want to live in London and Chelsea are the only club who can afford him.

I actually think there is a 99% chance he signs with either Barca or Real.

I don't think he would choose based on the city. I don't think he even has that kind of culture to know that much about which is the hottest city in GB. Brazilian people just think "United is bigger than Chelsea, so United is the best option".

Neymar to Spain is a pretty sure thing, it's just my imagination telling me that he would be better in EPL under Alex Ferguson. He is set to Madrid or Barça. And I think that these are the two only teams in Europe that are likely to match his salary, he earns from Santos at the first contract.

[5DOM]

Not sure if Ferguson will still be there if Neymar does decide to move to United. If he were to go to England, I think he will choose Chelsea because of the attraction of the city, high wages and other Brazilian teammates, but like Slava said, I just can't see him turning down Barca/Real.

[cgf]

I thought comparing to Balotelli might look silly in a year or two and then you brought in Reus. Its not like he's been folding under pressure abroad either, he's already the best player at the olympics.

I'm willing to admit that I may be overrating Neymar's struggles with tight marking, due to my limited viewings, but Balotelli and Reus don't really have ceilings, so I'm not so sure what's so silly about comparing them to Neymar.

[Next Coming]

Can't see Neymar in the EPL even though Chelsea and Arsenal look to be adding some Brazilian talent. Seems like a Madridista to me.

[and1GS]

IMO there's no way he ends up in England. He's best suited for Spain and seems to gravitate towards those teams anyway.