Neymar still has room for improvement, insists Bebeto

Dec 7, 2012 8:00:00 PM

The former Brazil international spoke highly of the young prodigious talent but feels there is still a long way to go if the Santos attacker harbours ambitions of becoming the best

Brazil legend Bebeto believes Neymar has the potential to be the best player in the world but insists the 20-year-old is not quite there yet.

The 48-year old was asked whether the Santos striker could fit into their World Cup-winning squad of 1994, and in his response, he mentioned that players of the past cannot be compared to those of the present generation as the game has changed since Bebeto was playing.

"I would not like to compare players between two different eras. Times were different and the competition was different. Neymar is a good player. But he certainly needs to improve if he wants to become the best player in the world. There is certainly time left in that to happen,” Bebeto told Goal.com.

Bebeto spoke of his legendary partnership with Romario as they set the 1994 World Cup on fire. They cultivated a deep understanding of each other and this developed as one of the most deadly striker partnerships.

"I had a perfect combination with Romario. All the times we have played together, I have kept on scoring goals and that too without much of an effort,” he added.

Bebeto, like Juninho Paulista, supported the Brazilian FA’s decision to appoint Luiz Felipe Scolari as the head coach for the second time after he had guided them to a World Cup triumph a decade ago.

"Scolari is a great coach. He has already won one World Cup so he knows how to proceed. There is everything going in favour of the decision to bring him back,” he said.

Bebeto, famous for his cradle celebration after scoring a goal against the Netherlands at the 1994 World Cup after his wife had given birth to his son, cracked a joke and said, “Now my son has grown up and it is he who cradles me in that way!”

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