FROM a very tender age, hype has surrounded Oscar because of his extraordinary skills and potential.

When he then signed for Porto Alegre side Internacional in 2010 and quickly nailed down a first-team place, very few people were surprised.

The attacking midfielder went from promising you­ng­ster to pulling the strings for the senior Seleção Brasileira. That progression can be traced back to the 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Colombia when Oscar struck all three goals in the 3-2 final win over Portugal, which led to him earning his first call-ups for the full national squad

When Germany overwhelmingly crushed Brazil hearts in that astonishing 7-1 semi-final win on Tues­day, Chelsea’s 22-year-old player was perhaps the solitary home player to console himself with a late goal.

Published in Dawn, July 11th, 2014