Da ili Net for Neto?

Yes or No for Neto?

Since Luís Neto’s arrival to the City of Bridges on 1st February 2013, he has been under intense scrutiny. So, does he have a long term future at Zenit or not?

Luís Carlos Novo Neto was born in Póvoa de Varzim, Portugal on 26th May 1988 and started out at his hometown club Varzim S.C. After five years there he signed for CD Nacional on a free transfer where he stayed for just a single season before being snapped up by Siena in Italy for £3.21m, despite interest from Porto and Arsenal. He spent just a few months in Serie A before signing for current team Zenit St. Petersburg for £5.72m.

He has played nine times for the Portuguese national team, debuting on 6th February 2013 and was in the 23-man Portugal squad at the World Cup in Brazil 2014 but did not make a single appearance.

So what do people think is wrong with the 6ft 2in (1.88 m) centre half?

First of all, Neto had a lack of experience at the top level before arriving at the Blue, White and Sky Blues, never having played a Europa League game, never mind the Champions League. The CD Nacional side were blown away by recently relegated Birmingham City in a Europa League qualifier in the 2011/12 season. Additionally, Siena are hardly regarded as giants of Italian football. So why was there interest from clubs like Arsenal and Porto earlier in his career? One can imagine that at the age of 23/24 he was a raw talent that big European clubs would feel they could improve upon. His ability was recognised as he was voted one of Serie A’s most promising young players during his time at Siena in 2012/13. Also, Neto is the sort of player these self professed ‘stylish’ teams like: he is what cynical observers, like me, would call a ‘drag-back centre half’ and seems to put the idea of silky skills above the art of defending.

I think this clear lack of defensive ability and awareness is what lets him down - ridiculous considering he is a defender. When he is on the ball you can imagine the Zenit fans begging for him not to do flicks and tricks but keep it simple. However, if you do have a defender who likes to express himself then there is a way around this i.e. Zenit could play three at the back, possibly in a 3-5-2 formation. He would then be able to express himself and come out on the ball more and the team would still have the security of the two central defenders behind him, probably Garay and Lombaerts. However, firstly, Andre Villas Boas does not seem to want to play this system, otherwise he would have already done it and, secondly, if he were to play this system then the team would lose the effectiveness of Hulk and possibly even Danny as they would be forced to tuck into the three in central midfield. Not worth it just to let Neto have a dally on the ball.

In terms of the Portuguese national team he has not progressed since his debut 18 months ago with just the nine caps to his name. His Portugal debut on the 6th of February came only a few days after signing for Zenit so he was clearly picked because of his form for Siena rather than Zenit. On this debut he was partnering with his Zenit team mate at the time, Bruno Alves, losing 3-2 to Ecuador in Guimarães. Since then, to have only gained eight caps when he has been a first choice centre half for Zenit, before the arrival of Garay, seems to show how the management of the Portuguese national team does not trust him to play at international level. Additionally, with Paulo Bento, Portugal coach since 2010, staying on, despite a disappointing World Cup campaign where they were knocked out at the group stage, perhaps this mistrust in Neto will continue. However, the two main central defenders for the Portuguese in that tournament, ex-Zenit man Bruno Alves and Pepe, are now the wrong side of thirty so, therefore, with Neto playing in the Champions League with Zenit, Bento could give the Zenit central defender a regular slot in the Portuguese back line thanks to his youth. However, Neto playing as a regular in the Champions League is unlikely to happen because of the arrival of Ezequiel Garay and the continuing good form of Nicolas Lombaerts.

The Russian league has a quota of seven foreign players on the pitch at one time. Zenit currently have twelve foreign players in the squad and, as expected, most of these are key players so are unlikely to be dropped. Could this be a key to Neto leaving? Garay not only came in as a big name and a big statement from Zenit to world football in terms of the top names the club could attract but was also signed as there was clearly a problem with Zenit’s defence last season. Zenit conceded thirty two goals on the way to losing the title to CSKA Moscow on the last day. Even Rubin Kazan down in ninth position had a better ‘goals against record’ than Zenit with the relegated Tom Tomsk conceding only seven goals fewer than the Blue, White and Sky Blues last season. Obviously Neto was not entirely at fault for this because defenders should work as a unit but clearly they needed to bolster the defence this summer which they have now done.

So after all this, why would he stay?

Zenit are now really looking to become a global entity thanks to their backing from Gazprom who want a slick marketing tool for their company in the form of Zenit. This marketing will be helped by Zenit playing attractive football which Neto can clearly bring to the table. Neto also has youth on his side and will soon be hitting his prime so there is really no need to sell a player who is just coming into that important stage of his career. Wages will also be a factor. Neto is apparently currently on around £23k a week which, for a team like Zenit, is relatively little money and therefore they will feel they have a reasonable back up defender on a low wage whom many European teams would like to have in their squad. With Financial Fair Play hitting Zenit hard, they will appreciate having this reasonable defender already in the squad without having to stretch their budget.

Also, Neto’s contract does not end until 2017 which would mean any team which wanted to buy him might be put off because there would be a higher transfer fee involved. Zenit would also be unwilling to sell in this situation due to various loyalty payments that they would be required to pay to Neto.

Another obvious reason for Neto to stay is his nationality. Being Portuguese will help him to stay close to his fellow countryman, Andre Villas Boas. Additionally, with key players Hulk and Danny also being native Portuguese speakers, I don’t think Villas Boas would want to upset a key part of the dressing room by letting Neto go.

As ever in football, politics plays a role and this could be a reason why Neto could stay. Neto is managed by a company called SBSFOOT and on their books they have many players with links to Portuguese football. However, they also have a certain manager, Andre Villas Boas. Read into that what you will…
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Follow Thomas Giles on Twitter: @smurchison101