A magician with the ball at his feet, at times it seems Neymar could play the game with his eyes closed. Remember this?

But this week Neymar was reduced to a mere mortal when he was given the chance to play football for the visually impaired. As part of Olympic partner Panasonic’s Dream “FITA” Project, Neymar has been trying his hand at a variety of Olympic and Paralympic sports.

With the slogan “live your dream, change the world”, the project aims to encourage people to leave their comfort zone and make a positive change in their lives and the world. As for Neymar, he has perhaps never looked any further from his comfort zone with a football, but the experience certainly won him over as a new fan of the sport.

Five-a-side football is one of the most popular sports at the Paralympic Games. Played by athletes with a visual impairment who are blindfolded to ensure equality, they use the sound created by the ball to play the game. And it is played at a frenetic place. Check out Jefinho, the ‘Paralympic Pelé’, and other Brazilian stars in action:

A tale of two captains

Brazil dominates 5-a-side football for the viually impaired: they have won gold at every Paraympic Games since the sport's introduction at Athens 2004 and this September Jefinho and Co will go after a fourth straight title when the competition starts on 9 September.

Before that, in August, Neymar will be hoping to guide his team to Brazil's very first Olympic gold in the sport. Announced earlier this week, the seleção can also count on the experience of Bayern Munich winger Douglas Costa, while new wonderkid Gabriel ‘Gabigol’ Barbosa could be set to light up the tournament, which starts two days before the opening ceremony, on 3 August.

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