Neymar da Silva /

Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior (born 5 February 1992 in Mogi das Cruzes, Brazil), more commonly known simply as Neymar, is a Brazilian footballer who currently plays as a striker for Santos and the Brazilian national football team. Neymar joined Santos in 2003 and eventually made his first-team debut six years later aged 17 on 7 March 2009 in a 2–1 win against Oeste. He made another appearance the following week against Mogi Mirim, during which he scored his first goal for Santos. On 11 April, in the 2009 Campeonato Paulista semi-final first leg against Palmeiras, Neymar scored the decisive goal in a 2–1 win at Estádio Vila Belmiro. In the final however Santos suffered a 4–2 aggregate defeat to Corinthians. On 15 April 2010, Neymar scored five goals for Santos in an 8–1 routing of Guarani in the round of 16 of the Brazilian Cup. Following the 2010 Campeonato Paulista in which Neymar scored 14 goals in 19 games, the club were crowned champions after a 5–5 aggregate win over Santo André in the finals. Neymar was subsequently given the award for the best player in the competition. Neymar's performances for Santos have drawn comparisons to Brazilian idols such as Robinho and Pelé.