The most striking feature of the Brazil squad picked by Carlos Dunga for the Copa America was the dire lack of strikers of real quality. For sure there was still plenty of attacking flair in his selection – Philippe Coutinho, Douglas Costa, Oscar, Willian – yet once Neymar announced that he was opting to go for Olympic gold rather than the continental title, Dunga had effectively run out of top quality strikers. That the thirty […]
A few weeks ago, Arsene Wenger opined that South America was the world’s citadel for top class strikers. With the likes of Luis Suarez, Sergio Aguero, Alexis Sanchez, Diego Costa, Radamel Falcao, Edinson Cavani and, if you want to stretch the definition of ‘striker’ a little, Lionel Messi setting a benchmark for forward play in recent years, Europe’s cupboard looks comparatively bare. Wenger elaborated: “Maybe it’s because in Europe street football has gone. In street […]
Leandro Damião was widely regarded as one of the most talented Brazilian strikers when he started shining for Internacional in 2010. But despite his success early on his professional career, he could not live up to expectations for long and declined fast. In order to understand his decline, it is important to take into account how Leandro Damião rose to stardom in first place. Most Brazilian players who are developed at clubs from an early […]
Santos come in this year’s Brasileirão on the back of six consecutive appearances in the final of the Campeonato Paulista. It’s a run that stretches back to Neymar’s debut season as a professional back in 2009. However, the club’s displays in the league in recent years lie at the other end of the spectrum. The last serious charge for the title was all the way back in 2007. Will this year be an different? The […]
Leandro Damião has joined former Botafogo coach Oswaldo de Oliveira at Santos, in an £11m move from Internacional. The deal will see Doyen Sports Investments take 70% of 24-year-old striker’s financial rights, with Santos taking the remaining 30%. Damião is to be presented to the Santos fans as a marquee signing, possibly to ease the hurt suffered by the club after the departure of Neymar. However, should the striker live up to this billing and make a […]