Carlo Ancelotti called up the players who will represent Brazil in the Football World Cup. Among the names, Neymar’s presence generated great expectation. Away from the National Team since October 2023, the Santos number ten is going through a period of ups and downs, mainly due to constant injuries.
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However, just over a decade ago, Neymar fell in love with poker. The football star achieved good results both in live and online play. Furthermore, some skills inherent to the mind sport also appear during football matches. For this reason, a question gained strength: how can poker help Neymar achieve the long-awaited six-time championship?
The answer to this question is not simple. For this reason, SuperPoker interviewed two specialists in mental work with poker players. Bárbara Rossi has worked as a psychologist for over 15 years and works with various mind athletes. Meanwhile, Marcelo Muller created the “Mental Academy” and maintains strong content production on social media about the subject.
It is important to emphasize that neither analyzed the football played by Neymar nor worked on the athlete’s individual psychology. Still, the specialists drew a parallel between the pressure of a World Cup, or the call-up, and the frequent moments of tension in a poker game.
Marcelo Müller’s analysis of Neymar and poker
Mental performance under pressure was analyzed by Marcelo Müller, who pointed out a two-way relationship between poker and football. “Neymar’s background as a high-level athlete, used to living through big decisions, makes him a better poker player. Likewise, facing moments of tension at the tables also helps him deal with adversities on the field”, explained the professional.
Furthermore, Müller highlighted that pressure always accompanies high-level competitions. However, according to him, the greater the exposure to these scenarios, the stronger the mental strength developed by the athlete. “If Neymar experiences tension in poker and manages to execute his game, he is, in practice, training his own brain to deal with pressure in other environments”.
Müller also made an analogy with basketball, questioning two players responsible for making the final basket. “If one of them has never had the responsibility to decide a game and the other has gone through it ten times, the performance of the one with more experience in these crucial moments will certainly be superior”, he compared.
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Finally, the mental coach concluded that “by using poker to expose himself to decision-making under risk and being in a discomfort zone more frequently, he (Neymar) creates an emotional background that will be very useful on the field”. Moreover, Müller believes that stressful situations in poker turn into “an excellent mental preparation for closing and decision moments in football”.
Bárbara Rossi’s analysis of poker and football
On the other hand, Bárbara Rossi analyzed football as “one of the most complex sports for the human brain.” According to her, athletes constantly need to integrate different functions on the field, such as:
- Cognition
- Quick decision-making
- Spatial perception
- Motor coordination
- Emotional control – Attention and sustained focus
In poker, development happens through “cognitive and emotional skills fundamental for high sports performance”. Among them are:
- Anxiety regulation
- Emotional self-regulation
- Focus and concentration
- Impulse control
- Emotional recovery after mistakes and losses
- Patience and tolerance to frustration
Thus, in poker, the brain faces constant challenges in scenarios of pressure, uncertainty, and risk. Bárbara emphasizes that “this especially stimulates the prefrontal cortex, the region responsible for planning, impulse control, logical reasoning, and mental clarity”.
The psychologist also clarifies that poker can “strengthen skills that are extremely important also on the field, for a football player”. Another point she highlighted involves a common lesson from card playing: “the best decision does not always generate the best immediate result”.
Finally, understanding this factor can help Neymar better deal with mistakes, defeats, and fluctuations. In this way, poker experience can “start to function as training for emotional intelligence and mental strengthening — skills that make a difference both in sport and in life”, concluded Bárbara Rossi, without making direct references to the Santos number 10.
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