For any big clubs in Europe, recruiting talents from Brazil
always remain the first priority. Since the Brazilian players started to
feature in top European Leagues on a regular basis in the 80s, no clubs leave
any stone unturned to sign an emerging Brazilian teenager. For more than four
decades this tradition continues and the Spanish and Italian Clubs have been
the frontrunners in this business.
Right now, Barcelona and Real Madrid have beaten others –
they don’t seem to wait for a player’s senior debut and sign him as early as
possible.
The latest example is Sap Paulo’s, Gustavo Maia.
The 19-year-old Brazilian is yet to make his senior debut
for Sao Paulo Football Club but that has not stopped Barcelona from securing
the first-option clause on the teenager.
The early days
Gustavo is born in Brazil’s Federal District, Santa Maria,
which is also the home town of Westham United’s Brazilian player Felipe
Anderson. Like his predecessors, Gustavo started playing football in the
streets and adopted the abilities of dribbling, which have been dazzling the
world since the days of Pele and Garrincha.
His footballing education began at Milan-DF, a small club in
his state when he was just 11. Then he would join the Brasilia Futebol
Academia, where many legends have polished their talents before joining bigger
clubs.
The Academy’s most recent success story was that of Reinier
Jesus, whose talent and skill caught the eyes of Flamengo scouts years ahead of
his €35m (£30m/$39m) move to Real Madrid in January this year.
Joining the academy proved to be a turning point for Gustavo
because it paved the way for the rise to prominence. He would improve his
skills and gather more pace to devastate the opposition.
In the Copa Sul-Americana Amizade Joia, 2014 in Adamantina,
he finished as the top scorer netting 16 goals. The Sao Paulo hierarchy was
impressed by the young talent and immediately brought him under their wings –
the first big move for the teenager.
Journey at Sao Paulo
But the start was not a rosy one as the natural skills
failed to outweigh the professional set-up until the year 2018.
At the youth level, he has played 102 matches for Sao Paulo.
In 2016, Gustavo scored eight goals in 20 appearances for the Under-15s, but it
was around 2018 that his true-self started to garner more eyeballs.
From 36 games in 2018, he bagged 30 goals and a handful of
assists to go with that for the Under-17 side.
In 2019, for the Under-20s, Gustavo bagged eight goals in 28
appearances in the Brasileiro U20 and the Paulista U20 competitions.
Moreover, 23 of these 28 appearances came as a substitute,
underlining his ability to impact games.
In December 2019, he truly began his push for a place within
Fernando Diniz's first team.
As the New Year began, Gustavo went from having a regular
role as a substitute to one of Sao Paulo’s key players during their run to the
quarter-finals of the Sao Paulo Youth Cup.
His performances and goals quickly convinced Diniz to give
him a chance to train alongside the likes of Dani Alves, Alexandre Pato, and
Hernanes at the senior level.
Style of play
Gustavo is just 167cm tall and weighs just 59 kg.
He can play the role of a striker, supporter of a striker or
left-winger, and can even drop deeper and dictate link-up plays. Equally, he
can taunt defenders with the ball at his feet. His quick feet and change of
pace make him an unstoppable force.
Pace is his asset fantastic range of passing and he loves to
have a go at goal.
Move to Barcelona
According to the reports of Spanish Outlet AS on March 3,
2020: Alexandre Pássaro, executive manager of Sao Paulo, has given details of
the deal, “We sold the option to buy him for €1 million. Barcelona can buy him
in half a year; in the case they want him. He has a value of €4.5 million”.
“It is one of those things in which we try to bring in money
without necessarily losing the player in this instance”, he continued.
On June 2, 2020, Goal reports: Barcelona will activate a
purchase option on Sao Paulo teenager Gustavo Maia this June, according to the
player's agent. Barca are required to pay an additional €3.5m to sign Maia
permanently and his representative Danilo Silva is confident it will happen.
Is Barcelona the right place for Gustavo?
Without a doubt, Barcelona are one of the best clubs in
Europe and it is a dream for any youngster to play alongside great players. But
recently, Barcelona have not been the ideal place for the Brazilians to
flourish. Philippe Coutinho lost his Midas touch in Camp No, Malcom went
wasted, while in the past legends like Romario and Ronaldo O Fenomeno had a
bitter experience at the Catalan Club. Then Neymar felt ignored and left the
club – even though the news of his return to Camp Nou still helps in click-bait
journalism. But as a matter of fact, Neymar should not return there.
The problem is with the system of Barca, where right now,
the focus remains to create a system, which would suit one player and not
others. But none seems to notice that or remain silent despite noticing.
Such a ploy becomes a hurdle for Brazilian players, who love
to play with enough freedom, which Barca does not provide. This ploy is also a
hurdle for the young talents to flourish.
Barca want to fill the gap created by Neymar’s departure to
Paris Saint-Germain. A lot was expected from Dembele, but at the end of the
day, he flopped. The talent of Gustavo impressed Barca experts and they hope,
he might be the ideal replacement of Neymar on the left-wing.
But to achieve the best from Gustavo, Barca need to give him
the full freedom to express.
Note: This article has been posted at Cricketsoccer as CSdesk on 03/06/2020 Gustavo Maia: The Brazilian expected to shine in Barcelona
Thank You
Faisal Caesar
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