Neymar never let insults affect his game at the Olympics. Now he’s a Brazilian legend.

Before Brazil defeated Denmark, there were a few pictures that went viral of fans crossing out Neymar’s name on the No. 10 jersey, and instead writing “Marta” below it. It was a complex symbol: on one hand, it was meant as support for the oft-overshadowed captain and star of Brazil’s women’s team and the great run that As Canarinhas were in the midst of.

One Instagram user justified this ritual with a very frank caption: “There you go, my #10 jersey now gives me pride.”

The most famous one was of a little boy named Bernando, who explained that Brazilian’s women’s team and their performances were a symbol of feminism.

Support for the women’s team was great, but unfortunately, that support wasn’t really about the women’s team in and of itself. It went hand-in-hand with denigration of Neymar and the men’s team. Right after Bernando heaped praise on Marta, he ended the video by saying that Marta deserved the jersey more than Neymar.

There’s an argument for that, but the disdain for Neymar at that time was very clear. He was deemed not fit to be the captain by his countrymen, and as the best and most visible player on the squad, all criticisms of the team, ranging from general on-field play to looks and off-field lifestyle, no matter how harsh, fell on his shoulders. He was jeered in the games by his own fans. It reached the point that Brazil’s manager, Rogerio Micale, suggested that such negative attitudes could drive Neymar to quit the national team in frustration. A threat that was received as a welcomed suggestion.

Neymar didn’t quit, and he didn’t give up his captaincy either. At least, not during the tournament. What he did instead was to keep playing. He kept dribbling, passing and creating chances for his teammates, a lot of those which were wasted. Regardless, he didn’t sulk or lash out, he kept pushing. The dam finally broke against Denmark, and it was ironically not of his doing. It started with Douglas Santos crossing in a low ball from the left corner. Neymar slid for it in the center of the box and narrowly missed it, but Gabigol was there at the back post to tap it in.

The second was from Gabriel Jesus meeting a Luan cross from the right at the opposite back post. Neymar was there again in the middle, even though the ball evaded him. The third he created by lofting a ball over the top of the defense to a running Santos, who cut it back to Luan in the center to finish. The fourth was orchestrated by him again. He played a great through-ball for Santos again, and after the goalkeeper parried the fullback’s cross, Gabigol was there to blast the rebound in.

Brazil were now alive and the main man, the prima-donna, the shameful one was the one leading the charge. He wasn’t scoring yet, but he was doing everything else. He was leading the team that they told him that he was unfit to lead.

Colombia presented a greater challenge. And so Neymar rose to the occasion. Barely to the 12th minute of the game, he won a free kick around 35 yards out left of center. With an absurd ease, he sent it through a gap in the wall and to the bottom of the near post, with the keeper missing the save by a fraction of a second. He would spend the rest of the game getting chopped down whenever he did so much as to breathe near a Colombian defender. There was no hiding their intention: kick Neymar out of the game.

Yet, each time he was fouled, he got back up and went back to dribbling, passing and creating with the same fervor. He seemed to grow in stature the more they attacked him, which complicated their plans. Luan would score the second Brazilian goal in the 82nd minute to finish off the Colombians.

Honduras applied the same exact cynicism. The idea was to make sure that there was no game to be played, especially by Neymar. Before even the 30th minute mark, he had been fouled a half-dozen times. But by that time it had been far too late, Neymar had scored almost as soon as the whistle blew.

The dallying of a central defender allowed the Brazilian captain to close the ball down right on the edge of the box, and when the defender tried to clear the ball, Neymar blocked it, raced onto goal and bundled it beyond the out-rushing goalkeeper. He paid a heavy price for the goal as well, as the keeper had upended him during their collision so that as Neymar ran out to celebrate, he quickly reconsidered as the pain set in and he fell to the ground.

He was attended to by the medical team and stretchered off the field. It seemed that his tournament was over. Yet, once again, he didn’t quit and came back on.

Gabriel Jesus scored the second near the 25th minute, after being released by Luan’s chipped pass that exposed the offside trap. Neymar had combined with the Gremio forward before the pass.

Jesus scored again less than 10 minutes later off a Neymar through-ball so exquisite it would have made Messi blush. Honduras were keeping on with the tactic of scything down the Barcelona forward, but every time he found time and space, he punished them for it. It was the personification of the adage that success is the best revenge. Marquinhos scored the fourth from a corner kick, Luan scored a fifth from a vicious counter-attack and Neymar ended what he started with a penalty goal at the death.

So the one who was not good enough to lead, the lackluster superstar who wasn’t worth the money and frustration, the player who was seemingly worried more about parties and tattoos, Neymar, who couldn’t inspire pride or hope, and whose name was crossed out of his own shirt, led Brazil to the gold medal game.

And when he got there, 26 minutes in, he scored a wonderful free-kick from the left-hand side again to put his team forward. Germany let him stay on his feet and he responded by being the best player on the field. When the match went to penalties, it was Neymar who took and scored the last and winning kick.

After it, he fell to his knees, pointed to the sky and cried. He had led Brazil to their first ever gold in Olympic soccer. The achievement that had eluded the country for eternity, he had brought it to them. Not all the greats that he is constantly reminded that he will never be, not the legends, but Neymar, it was Neymar who had made Brazilian history.

These last two weeks had been a microcosm for his career with Brazil so far. When the team struggles, even if he doesn’t, he is lambasted for everything from his his play to the style of his hair. Former players and coaches come out the woodwork to explain why he could never be great, how he doesn’t have the right mentality and why he doesn’t deserve to be the team’s leader. But rather than lash out at them, or to prove them right by shunning the challenge, he keeps going and he keeps pushing the team forward.

He forfeited the armband after the victory. He said that he had given everything to the team and would like for a new captain to be chosen. Neymar had been the country’s scapegoat for so long, but now after achieving immortality and doing what his detractors could never do, after bringing back pride to the Brazilian shirt, he has nothing left to prove. At the age of 24, he is already one of the greats.