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Neymar rejects 'national hero' tag

Neymar rejects 'national hero' tag
Brazil striker Neymar insists that he is not a national hero.

Brazil international Neymar has played down the notion that he is a national hero.

The Barcelona forward insists that he is not "indisputable" and stressed the importance of being a team player over individual glory.

"Am I a national hero? I'm not indisputable. In football you play well one day and on other days you do not," he told GQ ahead of the Confederations Cup.

"You can't hit your shots into the top corner every day. I know what role I have to play but I play to help the team, be it with assists or goals."

Neymar, who has scored 20 times in 34 international appearances, also rejected the notion that he feels under pressure playing for Brazil.

"I'm used to it," he added. "Since I was little, I dreamed of playing for the national team and now I'm thrilled to take on that challenge but I want to insist that I'm not a hero and I'm not a villain, either, if things don't go so well.

"The passion for football that exists in Brazil is incredible. I'm aware of this, so I'm not sure how things are going to turn out."

Brazil's Confederations Cup campaign gets under way against Japan on June 15.

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Mark Langshaw
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Santos' Neymar during the match against Corinthians on May 19, 2013
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