"Neymar, with one leg, is Brazil's '10'"

On the pitch, Felipe Melo was always a volatile and particular type. And off the pitch, the midfielder never shut up about anything. Nor on Tuesday night, after Brazil's heavy 4-1 defeat to Argentina. It was the first time the ‘Canarinha’ had conceded four goals in a South American qualifier.

Through his Instagram profile, the former Racing, Almeria, Juventus, Galatasaray, Inter and Palmeiras player spoke about his national team, with whom he was capped 22 times. He first "took his hat off" to the Albiceleste. "To the Argentinians, brothers.... Congratulations, great game," he said. 

"Great game. 4-1, but they could have won by more, they could have scored more goals. There was an incredible difference between the two teams. A very well-coached team, with players who know each other, who fought every inch of the pitch and another team who... didn't. It's difficult to talk, but congratulations because they played a great game, a great game," added Felipe Melo.

Visibly angry, Melo went off warming up. "They are not leaving everything, they have to leave everything. Brazil have very good players, but they have very little attitude". And he vindicated the figure of Neymar Jr, absent from this list due to injury. He doesn't think the criticism of his compatriot is fair: "If they tell me that Brazil don't need Neymar, I'll block them. Neymar, with one leg, is the ‘10’ of Brazil."