Brazil’s forward Neymar (centre) is surrounded by Peruvian players during their 2015 Copa America match, in Temuco, Chile.

DPA/Temuco, Chile

Whether in the glamour of a Champions League final in Berlin, or at a cold stadium in southern Chile, one thing remains true: Neymar performs.
In his first match at the Copa America in the city of Temuco, the Brazil striker continued the top form he has shown of late with Barcelona.
Neymar scored Barca’s last goal in their 3-1 win over Juventus in the Champions League final on June 6, and on Sunday he barely needed five minutes to head home a cross from Dani Alves and equalize the match in which Peru had scored first.
The bearer of Brazil’s hopes at the Copa America restored calm for the green-and-gold “verdeamarela,” as Peruvian fans in Temuco shouted “7-1, 7-1.”
That result in the World Cup semi-final against Germany will haunt Brazil for many years to come, but Neymar was on the pitch Sunday - unlike that day almost a year ago in Belo Horizonte - and he handed Brazil coach Dunga his 11th win in as many matches with a brilliant injury-time assist for Douglas Costa to make things 2-1.
“The win is important for anxiety. Now we will be calmer,” Neymar admitted.
After the World Cup, Dunga made Neymar team captain, to the detriment of veteran defender Thiago Silva. In Temuco, the forward was the clear leader of a side that otherwise showed a conspicuous lack of talent.
The Barcelona striker led from the front with a goal, an assist and a shot that hit the crossbar.
“Neymar is definitely decisive. He has played three finals in Spain with huge exhaustion and he comes to this tournament with great determination, to win and provide solutions like he does at Barcelona,” said Dunga.
“Given the type of play, the marking and the referees, the Copa America is a different kind of tournament,” the coach said.
Indeed, Neymar performs whether it is hot or cold, against Juventus or Peru, in a blue-and-red or yellow shirt, alongside Lionel Messi or Shandong Luneng Taishan striker Diego Tardelli.
Neymar has scored eight goals in his last seven games with Brazil, including friendlies.
In the season that just ended at Barcelona, he scored 39 goals in 51 matches, and Sunday’s goal with Brazil continued his impressive stretch at home for Barca: he netted in 11 of their last 14 matches.
A Brazil captain at just 23 years of age, Neymar is already the fifth most prolific goalscorer in the history of the “selecao”: 44 goals in 64 games. It seems like just a matter of time for him to surpass Pele’s 77 goals with Brazil, with Zico, Romario and Ronaldo currently standing between them.
“I want to keep breaking records here, scoring goals, winning titles,” the carefree “Ney” said after winning the treble of the Champions League, La Liga and the King’s Cup with Barcelona.
He can boast the rare privilege of having scored in the finals of both the Champions League and South America’s Copa Libertadores, and having won both tournaments.
Even Dunga, who always insists on the importance of the team and usually avoids praise for individual players, admits that Neymar is not like other footballers.
“We thought about picking a player like him as captain for his charisma, for what he means for football, for his personality.  Football is very closely linked to children, to joyful people, and that is what he stands for. Besides, he is an exceptional player,” Dunga admitted on Saturday.
Amid some consternation over the state of their national game, Brazil have put themselves in the hands of a coach who stresses order and discipline, and a star who is all smiles and talent.
Neymar was out injured on the day that Brazil lost 7-1 to Germany, but has displayed neither anxiety nor fear in the wake of that crushing defeat.
For him, the so-called “Mineirazo” - named after the stadium where the game was played - might as well never have happened. He plays as if the pressure of bearing a football-crazy country’s hopes were about as easy to shake off as a slow wing-back.
“He is en route to being one of the greatest players of all time. He holds every space on the pitch, with an astonishing repertoire,” the Brazilian news portal UOL wrote late Sunday, dazzled by Brazil’s shining light in gloomy times.