Neymar, Brazil men answer the 'your country needs you' call

— -- RIO DE JANEIRO -- The sound was already deafening. You couldn't hear. You couldn't think. Eighty thousand screaming Brazilians was something you felt. But it wasn't good enough. Neymar wanted more. And so the 24-year-old lifted his arms up and down, up and down, begging the sea of yellow to get even louder.

A few seconds earlier, he had started this frenzy by magically twisting a free kick into the top corner of the goal to give Brazil a 1-0 lead in its Olympic final against Germany. He thought this was the moment. The iconic image of his country winning its first Olympic gold would be him, following his goal by mimicking Usain Bolt's arrow-shooting celebration and then choreographing the fans into a frenzy.

He had no idea. This was only the beginning. A little more than two hours later the Brazilian wunderkind would fall to the field in a bed of celebratory tears. He would laugh and dance and cry and take a victory lap on the pristine grass of the hallowed Maracana, the heartbeat of Brazilian soccer. In the fifth round of penalty kicks, his right foot would boot the ball past the German keeper, inciting nationwide celebrations from the Amazon to Sao Paulo and all points in between.

"I can't begin to describe [my feelings]," Neymar said afterward. "I have fulfilled my dream and to have fulfilled it in my home country makes me very proud. This is one of the best things that have happened in my life. That's it. Now the critics will have to [take back their words]."

The noise when Neymar's winning penalty landed in the back of the net could only be described as spine-tingling. It made the raucous celebration after his goal look like polite golf claps. Fans hugged, kissed and danced in the aisles. The party would go on indefinitely, with chants and cheers and a spirited rendition of the Brazilian national anthem during the medal ceremony.

This was about far more than the most decorated soccer nation on the planet finally winning the one title that for so long had eluded it. Or doing it on home soil. This was about restoring pride in a country built on a bedrock of soccer. Two years ago, the Selecao were downright humiliated in a 7-1 loss to Germany in the semifinals of the Brazil-hosted World Cup. That 7-1 score became woven into Brazilian culture, used to describe any sort of embarrassing outcome. Then the squad failed to impress at this summer's Copa Centenario in the United States. And it is currently sixth in World Cup qualifying in South America. In other words, when the Olympic soccer tournament began, morale was at an all-time low.

Neymar's right foot changed that. Even though this is an age-restricted tournament whose global popularity doesn't come close to that of the World Cup, the young Brazilians showed their biggest fans it's OK to believe again. It's OK to pour everything you have into watching 90-plus minutes of soccer. It will be worth it in the end.

"Brazilian football is not dead," said coach Rogerio Micale. "We have great potential and hope to achieve more great things in the future."

The match will also have a profound effect on how Brazilians feel about the Olympics. In many ways, Saturday night's victory was the unofficial closing ceremony. And it couldn't have gone any better for the home team. When the Olympics draw to a close Sunday night, it will bring to a merciful end a nine-year run that saw the country host three major international sporting events: the Pan American Games, the World Cup and the Olympic Games. It hasn't gone seamlessly. And there will without question be a long-term debate about whether or not these Olympics will prove to be a good thing for Brazil.

But after the Olympic spotlight spent the last several months talking about Zika, feces-filled water and the escalating violence in Brazil's streets, the final memory the Brazilians will have of these games is Olympic gold in the sport that matters most. This is how it long has been in this country: the pride over their international dominance in the sport of soccer helping to make the problems at home a bit more palatable.

"We knew the huge responsibility on the shoulders of the Olympic team," Micale added. "Football is the No. 1 sport in Brazil. But now this phase has passed we can look to the future of Brazilian football more confident and proud."

When the tournament began two weeks earlier, this top-of-the-podium outcome couldn't have seemed any more unlikely. Sixteen days ago, the Brazilians opened their Olympic campaign with a scoreless draw against South Africa. In their second match they again failed to score in another tie to the 99th-ranked team in the world, Iraq. Yes, Brazil tied Iraq. On Brazilian soil. But a 4-0 thrashing of Denmark pushed the Brazilians to the medal round, where a 4-0 win over Portugal in the quarterfinals and a 6-0 domination of Honduras in the semis set the stage for Saturday night.

From the very beginning, there were nerves in the air and pressure on the shoulders of everyone on the field wearing yellow. It was three nights earlier when a pair of Germans ruined the midnight party on Copacabana Beach, beating Brazilian volleyball stars Agatha and Barbara in straight sets to win gold. This was soccer. As much the fabric of Brazil as samba, Carnival and caipirinhas.

When Neymar opened the scoring in the 26th minute, it looked like it would be Brazil's night. The Germans hitting the post three times in the first half only further fueled feelings of fate. But in the 58th minute Germany let it be known it had every intention of spoiling the celebration when Maximilian Meyer booted a shot into the back of Brazil's net. It was the first goal the Selecao had allowed in the entire Olympic Games.

For the remaining hour-plus, Brazil spent most of the time on the attack and the Germans' last-ditch defense proved impenetrable. Time and time and time again the Brazilians would create a scoring chance and would either be unable to finish or simply run into a German wall.

When the second period of extra time drew to a close, players from both sides fell to the field in pure exhaustion. Neymar was one of them. Through four rounds of penalty kicks both teams couldn't miss. Then Germany's Nils Petersen had his penalty saved by Weverton and the Maracana erupted.

That's when Neymar stepped up. He waited, waited and then waited a bit more. He took two stutter steps. Then buried the ball in the back of the net. Pandemonium.

Two weeks earlier, as the team struggled, Brazilian fans were seen crossing out Neymar's name on their jerseys to support that of Marta, the most popular female player in the country. Now he was again their hero, receiving without question the loudest approval of the night during the medal ceremony.

"That is just part of Brazilian culture, the way we are," Micale said. "It is always love or hate. We are a nation of extremes. I'm just so proud at this moment to be Brazilian."

It was a feeling shared with other Brazilians across the globe. A feeling that had been absent for so long that it somehow felt brand new.