Already labelled the ‘new hope’ by Santos fans, the 17-year-old wonder kid, Rodrygo Silva de Goes, was a highlight of the Santos win over Uruguay’s Nacional, scoring the second goal of the 3-1 win with a sublime solo run in the club’s first win in the Libertadores this year. Becoming the youngest Brazilian ever to score in the competition, Santos fans are beyond excited about the young striker, who they feel could be the next […]
At some stage during its quest for Jogo Bonito, Brazil decided it needed insurance, (writes James Nalton). Once a nation famed for churning out an endless stream of attacking talent which would eventually make its way to Europe, it’s now a talent factory just as useful for the holding midfielders used to provide cover for these free spirits. The country of Pelé, Garrincha, Jairzinho, Ronaldo, and Ronaldinho et al, also produced Mauro Silva, Mazinho, Dunga, […]
Brazil kick off their Olympic campaign on Thursday, against South Africa in Brasília. Under the stewardship of Rogerio Michale, this U-23 side (with Renato Augusto, Fernando Prass and Neymar thrown in for good measure) offers the first clean break from the turgid Dunga era. Rogerio’s squad is top heavy in terms of talent, with Grêmio’s Luan, Santos’ Gabriel Barbosa, Palmeiras’ Gabriel Jesús and Neymar all set to feature heavily. Rogerio has all but confirmed that […]
Part of the fun of following Brazilian football is watching stars develop before your eyes. Before Neymar joined Barcelona, he tore it up for Santos, much to the delight of those who followed Brazilian football. With Neymar, and perhaps Douglas Costa, as the sole exceptions, Brazil has struggled to produce world-class talent in the recent years. That’s about to change. Gabriel Barbosa, also known as Gabigol, a 19-year old attacking star, has already played over […]
Countless articles have been written about the make-up of great players but, ultimately, the essential qualities are three. The first, most obvious one, is talent. Regardless of what he has going for him, no player will ever manage to get to the highest level if they cannot play football. This is not necessarily limited to the ability to go past players, which is where thoughts most frequently turn to when the word talent is mentioned, […]
Though fiscal buffoonery remains very much part of the Brasileirão’s fabric, it’s fair to say that clubs are economically stronger than they were in the early part of the 2000s (for now). Generally speaking, the league features a mesh of players at either end of their career spectrum. Rising young bucks toil alongside more mature players that have returned home from Europe (or other far flung territories), for one last graze before they are […]
By now, it is apparent that Brazil’s cupboard is startlingly bare when it comes to attacking talent. The situation has been obvious in the country for some time, but it took the world a little while longer to catch on. The band aid of Neymar allowed the rest of the footballing world to blithely assume that the country was continuing its conveyor belt of jogo bonito action dolls. The stereotypes prevailed and were able to […]
The South American Youth Championship concluded in Uruguay last weekend, Argentina won the title after beating Uruguay, while Colombia finished in third place after beating Brazil. Colombia and Uruguay had impressive performances in the competition, outclassing a disappointing Brazil that looked tactically lost and without ideas. Argentina won the tournament largely due to the chemistry of Ángel Correa and Diego Simeone’s son Giovanni. The top four teams – Argentina, Colombia, Uruguay and Brazil – qualified […]
Brazil’s first competitive games after the World Cup shambles came in the South American Under-20 Championships, which have just come to a conclusion in Uruguay. With a young, articulate coach in Alexandre Gallo, who had time to prepare for the competition, this was an excellent opportunity to put last year’s disappointments in the past and show that Brazilian football has licked its wounds, learned its lessons and moved on. That opportunity was emphatically not taken. […]
The Brasileirão has always been a place where many top players shine for the first time, and whilst that isn’t happening as regularly as it used to, there are still a few young players who have impressed this season. Here are some of them: Alison (Santos, 21 years old) Unlike previous promising players at Santos, Alison is a defensive midfielder. His good positioning and tackling have seen him called up for Brazil’s Olympic team on […]