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Neymar silences jeering fans in Brazil with outrageous 'Olimpico' goal for Santos - 'They provoked me'

ByIbrahim Mustapha

Published 24/02/2025 at 16:48 GMT

Neymar is back in Brazil and rediscovering his magic, scoring a brilliant goal directly from a corner for Santos in their win at Internacional de Limeira. The goal came after the home supporters had goaded and booed the ex-Barcelona man throughout the early stages of the match, prompting him to respond in style. It was the first 'Olimpico' goal that the Brazilian had netted in his career.

Neymar scores direct from a corner with outrageous Santos goal

Video credit: TNT Sports

Neymar responded to taunts from rival fans in the perfect manner by scoring directly from a corner kick in Santos' 3-0 win over Internacional de Limeira.

The Brazilian star, who recently returned to his boyhood club, said he was being "provoked" by supporters before letting his football do the talking.

In the eighth minute, the ex-Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain forward was jeered by the home crowd as he went to take a corner, and thought he had silenced them by finding team-mate Tiquinho to open the scoring for the visitors.

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However, the boisterous crowd seemingly had not learnt their lesson, and the boos continued when Neymer went to take another corner in the 26th minute.

This time, the 33-year-old took aim and sent the ball over the sprawling goalkeeper and in off the far post to double Santos’ lead in spectacular fashion.

"I went to take the corner, they provoked me," he said after the match. "I asked them to sing louder, I struck the ball and got an assist.

"Then, the second time I went there, they did it again, so I thought to myself: 'Now I'm the one who's going to score the goal'.

"I hit a great shot and managed to score my first Olimpico goal"

Santos added a third before the break, yet again from a Neymar corner finding the head of Tiquinho, this time from the opposite side.

The forward has now scored twice and registered three assists in six Campeonato Paulista matches since rejoining the club he began his career at in January, following an injury-hit 18-month spell in Saudi Arabia with Al-Hilal.

Neymar played seven times in all competitions in the Middle East, scoring once.

Following his latest match on his return to Brazil, he has clocked up 432 minutes for Santos, exceeding the 428 he managed the whole time he was in Saudi Arabia.

Following the match, the player took to social media to declare: "My biggest joy is to play football".

What is a 'Gol Olimpico'?

An Olimpico, in the simplest of terms, is a goal scored straight from a corner kick without the ball touching another player on its way in.

The origin of the goal and its name come from South America, from Brazil’s neighbours, Argentina.

The original Olimpico was scored by Cesareo Onzari for Argentina in a friendly match against rivals Uruguay, on October 2, 1924.

This type of goal was previously not allowed until a change in the laws earlier that year, with Onzari taking full advantage.

The goal earned its name due to the fact it was scored against the Uruguay team which had won the Olympic football crown in Paris earlier that year.

This season in the Premier League, we have seen Matheus Cunha score from a corner against Manchester United, which came a week after Son Heung-min did likewise against the same opponents in the Carabao Cup.

In the UEFA Champions League this season, ex-Chelsea forward Christian Pulisic scored from a corner against Club Brugge in AC Milan's 3-0 league phase win.