Neymar calls it the worst defeat of his career, breaks down in tears

It was the worst and biggest defeat of his career. After the match, Neymar da Silva Júnior could not hold back his emotions. The Brazilian star broke down in tears, sitting on the field. Some teammates came forward to console him, but how could he easily forget the pain of witnessing the most humiliating loss of his career?

On Monday morning (Bangladesh time, August 18), Neymar’s Santos suffered a crushing 6–0 defeat against Vasco da Gama.

In this Brazilian Série A match, Santos offered almost no resistance. They conceded one goal in the first half, but in the second half, Vasco da Gama found the net five more times.

Before this, Neymar’s heaviest defeats had been 4–0 losses: once in 2011 with Santos against Barcelona in the Club World Cup, and again in 2017 with Barcelona against PSG in the Champions League.

But this time, those defeats paled in comparison. In the 2014 World Cup semifinal, Brazil—without the injured Neymar—lost 7–1 to Germany, a match often remembered as one of the darkest days in Brazilian football.

As expected, before the match, all eyes were on Neymar and his national teammate Philippe Coutinho. Neymar represented Santos, while Coutinho played for Vasco da Gama. On the field, it was clear Neymar’s team had no answer, and the scoreboard told the story. Personally too, Coutinho triumphed—scoring two of Vasco’s six goals, in the 54th and 62nd minutes.

This emphatic win lifted Vasco da Gama to 16th place in the table with 19 points from 18 matches. Santos, despite having played one game more, sit just above them in 15th place with 21 points.

After the match, Neymar said:

“I’m ashamed. I’m completely disappointed with our performance. The fans have every right to protest—of course, without violence. If they boo or insult us, they have that right too.”

Neymar added:

“This is an extreme sense of shame. I’ve never experienced anything like this in my life. Unfortunately, it happened this time. The tears came from anger—at everything that happened. Sadly, I can’t help in every way possible. Whatever it is, the whole thing was just awful—that’s the reality.”

A few hours later, Santos sacked head coach Kleber Javier. In a statement, the club confirmed his dismissal while wishing him well for the future.