'Very Neymar, very Ronaldinho': A Brazilian take on Rayan Cherki's Man City vs. Arsenal showboating as Selecao face France

London — When Rayan Cherki flicked the ball skyward and began juggling it on the left touchline at Wembley last Sunday, the Carabao Cup final was already slipping from Arsenal’s grasp. Manchester City led 2-0, Nico O’Reilly’s quickfire brace had settled the contest, and the French attacker decided the moment was ripe for a dash of theatre. “I’d like people to say, ‘Robots are good, but magic is better’,” Cherki had told L’Equipe days earlier. The embaixadinhas — keepy-uppies — were his chosen magic trick.

Gary Neville, on Sky Sports duty, bristled instantly. “I think it’s a little bit too early for that … a little bit arrogant.” On the touchline Pep Guardiola shook his head ruefully; seconds later Ben White crashed through Cherki to earn a yellow card. In England the consensus split neatly between delight at the audacity and approval of White’s old-school retribution.

But what of Brazil, spiritual home of the beautiful game, where the Selecao prepare to face France on Thursday? Diogo Magri, chief editor for The Sporting News in Brazil, says Cherki’s escapology would feel familiar on the beaches of Rio or the courts of Sao Paulo. “Technically gifted, expressive, and not easily confined within rigid tactical systems — very Ronaldinho, very Neymar, very Brazilian,” Magri notes. “Here we call those tricks embaixadinhas, and they carry a certain cultural licence.”

Yet licence is not immunity. Magri recalls the 1999 Paulista final when Corinthians forward Edilson Capetinha — nicknamed “little devil” — began juggling in his own half with the match poised at 2-2. Palmeiras forwards Paulo Nunes and Junior charged through him; punches followed, players fled, and commentator Galvao Bueno bellowed, “Edilson shouldn’t have done that!” Edilson later lifted the 2002 World Cup, but the episode remains his defining flashpoint. A similar stunt by Memphis Depay in a more recent Corinthians-Palmeiras decibel derby produced near-identical chaos.

Modern Brazil, Magri insists, is no monolith of carnival football. “Many fans now believe the Selecao fail because they still try to play ‘like Brazil’ instead of respecting the tactical moment,” he says, citing the 7-1 loss to Germany and the late collapse against Croatia at Qatar 2022. Were Cherki Brazilian and performing in a Fla-Flu or Grenal, reaction would likely split 50-50: purists defending the art, pragmatists demanding respect.

For now Cherki remains an exotic highlight reel rather than a household name in South America. Should he ever swap Lyon for a Brazilian giant, expect embaixadinhas, bookings, and a nation arguing long into the night whether magic or muscle should rule the game.