Brazil's talisman, Neymar, has the weight of the most football-obsessed nation on his slender shoulders heading into the 2014 World Cup in his homeland
We look at the immense levels of expectation on the hosts' star man
"The goal is to win the World Cup. We know that there is a tremendous amount of pressure, it's almost an obligation." - Neymar, November 2013.
It is difficult for anyone outside of Brazil to quantify just how heavy the burden lies on the country's players this summer, although Neymar's use of the word "obligation' comes someway close. It is not simply that supporters yearn for victory or even expect it. Instead, this is a simple demand for success.
It is the only thing that Brazilian football has lacked. They have won the World Cup on five occasions, more than any other country, and have been victorious in South America, Europe and Asia. The Copa America has also been won five times, victorious against Uruguay in the Maracana in 1989 to win the title in their own country, but missing from all these achievements is a home World Cup triumph. Of the eight winners of football's biggest prize, only Brazil and Spain have failed to do so in front of their own supporters.
They have come close, that much is certain. On 16th July 1950, 174,000 supporters packed into the Maracana in what was considered to be a foregone conclusion. Brazil were viewed as the greatest team in the world by a considerable distance, the likes of Ademir, Zizinho and Augusto seen as deities amongst mere mortals within their home country. Eight goals were scored in three group games before the Selecao hit top gear, scoring 13 times in their two matches prior to the final. Given the organisational sturcture of the tournament, the final game against Uruguay only needed to be drawn to ensure that the Jules Rimet trophy would be theirs for the first time.
On the day of the game, newspapers proclaimed Brazilian glory even before kick-off, and with an hour played Brazil had the lead. And then the unthinkable happened - Juan Schiaffino and Alcides Ghiggia scoring to give Uruguay the victory they needed to win the tournament. Sixty-four years later and still a country mourns, the only possible redemption being a July victory in the final, putting right the wrongs of more than half a century of hurt. Brazil would enter a euphoric state. That is quite the responsibility.
At the height of such pressure is Neymar himself. Football may be eternally viewed as a team sport, but this is more than just another player. Neymar is the leading light, the idol, the Next Big Thing and the saviour. And he is just 22 years old.
Brazil's No.10 shirt is one of sport's most iconic objects. Whilst with other countries it represents the playmaker role, for Brazil it simply signifies the most accomplished performer. Pele is the most obvious, arguably the greatest footballer there has ever been, whilst Kaka, Ronaldinho, Rai and Rivaldo have all aimed to be the standard bearers for Brazilian football's typical desire for skill, grace and élan.
The comparisons with Pele are unavoidable, if becoming dangerously clichéd. Both are products of Santos, holders of this iconic shirt number at a young age and tasked with taking their team to a generation of glory after a period in which it has fallen disappointingly short of expectation - after two World Cup wins and a final appearance between 1994 and 2002, there has since been not so much as a semi-final. Brazil is a country that demands footballing heroes - Pele and Neymar fit that bill perfectly.
However, whilst Pele entered the World Cup of 1958 as a
