Will Neymar face Atlético-MG? Synthetic pitch could be a stumbling block | OneFootball

Santos faces a dilemma for the next round of the Brazilian Championship. The club will play Atlético-MG at Arena MRV in the 23rd round and needs a win to move away from the relegation zone. However, the synthetic pitch could leave Peixe without its main star.

Neymar has already publicly stated that he does not like playing on artificial fields, such as the one at the Atlético home stadium.

Football executive Alexandre Mattos commented on the situation. He said that the attacking midfielder is available and will talk with coach Juan Pablo Vojvoda during the week.

“Neymar has already made this (criticism of the synthetic pitch) public several times. Neymar is always available, respecting his own limits. It will be a more technical conversation, between him and Vojvoda,” said the executive in a press conference.

Old Criticism

Neymar has never hidden his dissatisfaction with stadiums that have artificial grass. Recently, the attacking midfielder described the pitch at Allianz Parque as “society” and declared that playing on such a field is practically impossible for him, regardless of injuries.

“Playing at Allianz (Parque), for me, is practically impossible. Playing on society pitches is one of the things that bothers me as a player, regardless of my injuries. So being able to play at Morumbis, on a very good field, is always better,” he said.

In addition, the star took part in a campaign that gained momentum against synthetic pitches, involving several top Brazilian football players, such as Gabigol, Dudu, Lucas Moura, Thiago Silva, and Philippe Coutinho.

They posted images and texts on social media criticizing the use of artificial fields, highlighting that “football is natural, not synthetic,” and arguing that the solution for poor pitches is investment in quality fields, rejecting the use of synthetic surfaces in professional football.

Neymar also responded to a recent post by Memphis Depay.

“Artificial turf kills the game. Brazil, when will you listen to the players?” asked the Corinthians striker in a post on X (formerly Twitter). “I agree,” replied the Brazilian star.

Upcoming Santos Matches

Atlético-MG vs Santos (23rd round of the Brazilian Championship) Date and time: September 14 (Sunday), at 4:00 PM (Brasília time) Venue: Arena MRV, in Belo Horizonte (MG)

Santos vs São Paulo (24th round of the Brazilian Championship) Date and time: September 21 (Sunday), at 8:30 PM (Brasília time) Venue: Vila Belmiro, in Santos (SP)

Standings

Santos: 16th place in the Brasileirão, with 22 points

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.