Neiser is born, replaces the i with a y on the shirt in honor of O’Ney. The story of Colombian football talent. Who dragged the Cafeteros to a historic result with five goals in two games
Colombia’s best U20 World Cup result so far was third place in 2003, when they lost the semi-final against Spain in Dubai with a goal from Andres Iniesta. Twenty-two years later the young Cafeteros returned to win a championship bronze, taking the final against France (1-0). They had reached the semi-finals after beating the Spaniards in a pyrotechnic quarter-final that ended 3-2 after a comeback from 1-2. A single scorer, who had also decided the round of 16 against South Africa with a brace: Neiser Villareal, who had himself renamed Neyser in honor of Neymar, with “Ney” written on the back of his shirt. Who actually didn’t even want to be at this World Cup. Only to retrace his steps and, after having studied the situation in the groups, to unleash himself in the direct elimination phase with five goals in two games, which make him the best scorer in the history of Colombia in a single edition of the Under-20 World Cup. But his story, in addition to his plays on the pitch, is made up of vicissitudes and ups and downs.
not an easy growth
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At the age of six, Neiser lost his father, who was murdered. “I remember him a little and every night he helps me from up there,” he declared after the brace against South Africa, “from the first time I always said that he would help me, because he would like me to be here in the national team”. Villareal’s path to reach certain levels, as often happens in South American football stories, was not dotted with roses and flowers. He was born in Tumaco, more precisely in the Zapotal barrio, a neighborhood “forgotten by the government” as they say in Colombia. “I come from Zapotal, a village near Tumaco. It’s difficult to get there, you have to take a highway that passes through the municipality,” Villareal describes it. The opportunities are few, the talent can be glimpsed, but already at 12 the time comes to make a choice: football or school, the family cannot guarantee Neiser both. The boy is betting everything on his career as a footballer. But the satisfactions are not immediate.
the big opportunity
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The first team Neiser Villareal joined was Boca Juniors de Cali, a youth team that was the protagonist of Colombian football in the 1950s and wore the colors of the Argentine team of the same name. But the spark doesn’t fly, and so the boy will go to try his luck in Ecuador too. It soon becomes clear that its dimension is Colombia, and the decisive chance comes again in Cali, a city which, among other things, is about 14 hours by car from Tampuco. In the youth team of Águilas Distrital de Cali, Villareal’s talent comes to the fore: good dribbling, excellent coordination and powerful shooting, above all the ability to feel the goal like the best centre-forwards. It doesn’t escape Edgar Moreno’s watchful eye. In Colombia he is spoken of as “one of those pure talents, which sprout from the earth like a blessed seed”. Someone like that cannot go unnoticed, and so the call comes from the Millonarios of Bogota, one of the most important teams in the country. There the story of Neiser Villareal enters real football: on 16 September 2023, at 18 years and 4 months, Alberto Gamero gave him his debut in Categoría Primera A in the 3-0 against Atletico Bucaramanga. Here, where stories usually take off, there is actually a stop.
the limits and problems
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Villareal’s adventure with the Millonarios, although the means are evident, is not the best. From 2023 to today he has made 26 appearances in all competitions, without ever scoring, with only three assists. He ends up at the center of the news for some revisable episodes, which highlight character limitations. Last March, with his team ahead 2-0 over Independiente Santa Fe with 10 men, he got on the ball with both feet: he was booked under “Rule 12”, for misconduct, and was almost attacked by his opponents. Even Radamel Falcao, his role model for the Millonarios, warns him: “Congratulations for the match, keep going like this. But never do that antics again, it’s useless. In Argentina they would have kicked you.” A first false step. But the relationship with the Colombian team, and above all with its fans, was still intact.
without the love of the public
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However, Villareal has not played for his club since June 20th. Technical choice due to the pre-contract with Cruzeiro, where will you move in 2026? Perhaps. But the real “misdeed” concerns a live TikTok in which the attacker wore the America de Cali shirt while watching a match of the latter, the Millonarios’ bitter rivals, from home. An irreparable fracture, both with the fans and with the management, despite the apologies and the removal of the video from social media. A crisis that was not easy to bear for a twenty-year-old, who had even written in tears to Cesar Torres, coach of the Colombia Under 20s, saying that he didn’t deserve the national team. But with the Tricolor shirt Neiser, finally convinced to go and play at the Under 20 World Cup in Chile, is transformed.
tricolor man
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Villareal is already the best scorer in the history of the Colombian Under 20s, with 15 goals in 21 games. Without ever having even gone through the Under 15s and 17s. A monstrous performance, especially when compared to the impalpable numbers in the clubs. Most certainly it is the positioning on the pitch: with Colombia Neiser acts as a striker, a pure center forward, with the sole task of putting it inside. He knows how to score in all ways, especially stealing, as demonstrated by his instinctive strikes in two of the three goals against Spain. He needs the pitch and freedom to express himself, the characteristics to become a great striker are all there. Maybe he will always do better in the national team, to honor his father’s dream. And there will be a bitter taste left in the mouth for that semi-final against France which he was unable to play due to a disqualification due to bookings. But Colombia, in addition to a world bronze medal, may have found a new Falcao.
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