EXCLUSIVE: The centre-back saw his form and reputation decline after World Cup humiliation, but former Brazil man Gilberto Silva thinks the PSG star is back to his best

Tauan Ambrosio

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By Mark Doyle &Sometimes one can want something too badly. Thiago Silva spent every day for a year before the 2014 World Cup dreaming about winning the tournament. The thought of lifting the most prestigious prize in football in his native Brazil consumed him. The weight of expectancy eventually, almost inevitably, took its toll.Before the Selecao's last-16 clash with Chile, Silva was so overcome with emotion that he was reduced to tears. When the game in Belo Horizonte went to penalties, the pressure proved too much for him to take. He broke down again. Silva was Brazil's captain. Yet he was unable to stand up and be counted, refusing to take one of the spot-kicks.Brazil progressed, winning the shootout 3-2 thanks to Neymar's decisive strike, but Silva's reputation was damaged in the eyes of his compatriots. Former Brazil international Branco went so far as to brand the defender "a crybaby"."Thiago is respected as a leader for all Brazilian players but that match was not good for his image," ex-Selecao defensive midfielder Gilberto Silva told. "It was a moment of tension, pressure, and we all expected a different reaction from everyone and especially Thiago. He was the skipper."But we cannot attack Thiago for it. It was a World Cup match on home soil and Brazil could have been eliminated. It was a moment of nervousness. A lot of stuff came to his mind. People like to remember that match and forget about his ability; it should not be that way."But it was, and the criticism hurt. The Paris Saint-Germain ace responded to the personal attacks by netting the opener in Brazil's quarter-final win over Colombia but a booking ruled him out of the infamous 7-1 last-four capitulation at the hands of eventual winners Germany.For many, Silva had once again gone missing when the Selecao needed him most. The centre-back returned for third-place play-off against the Netherlands but was powerless to prevent Brazil from suffering another damaging defeat.The devastating, horribly anti-climactic nature of Brazil's campaign hit every member of the squad hard, but Silva was left particularly traumatised primarily because he was singled out for the most flak."We shouldn’t have made a monster out of Thiago," Gilberto, who won the 2002 World Cup, argued. "He had his ups and downs during the World Cup. But we all know him as an athlete, a personality. We all make mistakes and get criticism but only those on the pitch know the hardships that one is subjected to. We can’t blame one player or another, and especially not Thiago, for the flop at the World Cup."Unfortunately for Silva, though, more turmoil was to follow. He suffered a thigh injury at the start of the season that saw him miss the first four games of Dunga's return as national team coach, during which time Neymar was installed as stand-in skipper. Silva fully expected to reclaim the armband when he made his comeback in November but Dunga decided otherwise, making Neymar captain on a full-time basis."Sincerely, I didn't expect this," Silva stated ahead of the international against Austria last year. "I would be lying if I said it didn't annoy me. It feels like something was taken away from me that was mine. It's painful and makes me sad. Especially because no one has come to talk to me about this. Neymar didn't approach me."The public perception was that after the tears, here was the tantrum. The implication that Neymar, Brazil's golden boy, had somehow done Silva a disservice did not go down well at all with the fans. Clear-the-air talks quickly followed, with everyone involved saying the issue had been resolved amicably, but the feeling was that Silva had major problems, on and off the field.In France, iconic coach Guy Roux wondered "if something serious happened in his life because the decline is so drastic that there must be a rational explanation", while World Cup winner Frank Leboeuf claimed: "Thiago Silva has an an attitude problem. You sense he's not invested, [he's] sometimes in a panic."The former AC Milan man admitted that the World Cup had left an indelible scar on his psyche. "After my injury it was very complicated and psychologically I was not good - even simple tasks were hard."Thankfully, Silva retains a keen sense of perspective. "I've overcome tuberculosis and my life was at risk," he stated last year, referring to the illness that saw him hospitalised for six months in 2005. "I can overcome this."And he has. There has been a steady improvement in his form since the turn of the year and he is now back performing at the level that saw Paolo Maldini compare him to Franco Baresi and Alessandro Nesta describe him as "the perfect defender".Further encouragement can be drawn from the resilience that has returned. When adversity struck again in PSG's Champions League last-16, second-leg clash with Chelsea, Silva rose to the occasion, literally. After giving away a penalty in extra-time for handball, he responded by heading the 10-man Ligue 1 titleholders level on the night - and into the quarter-finals on away goals."I feel like I have come back well," he said. And it is difficult to disagree. The challenge now is for him to restore his reputation with Brazil, starting at this summer's Copa America in Chile. Gilberto is in no doubt that the former captain remains capable of going down in history alongside Domingos da Guia and Mauro Ramos as one of the finest Brazilian centre-halves of all time, even if his ability has not always delivered medals."When you look at the other great defenders that represented Selecao in the past, you’ll find a lot of winners and champions," the former Arsenal man pointed out. "Maybe, when it comes to titles, Thiago is not on the same level as other players, but if you take that away, he’s close to or even equal to others that made history with this shirt."Even without the captain's armband, Thiago is still a reference point for Brazilian groups and fans. He is a leader. He still has a brilliant future ahead of him with the Selecao."Silva's past may never leave him but what he does next will define him. And as he knows better than most that what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger.