Grêmio comfortably cruised to the round of 32 in the 2022 Copinha. They started off very aggressively and put Santa Cruz under severe pressure, which they were not able to cope with. Rubens already had two big chances after just 2 minutes, but his efforts went just wide and on the bar. A few moments later Kevin scored the first goal and Kauan Kelvin added a second goal in the second half. It was the third goal of the tournament for the 16-year-old youngster.
Youth Ratings
1 – Ready for the first team
2 – Good, potential to be first team
3 – Decent, could make first team squad
4 – Decent potential, unlikely to make it to first team
5 – Unlikely to make first team
Cuiabano
Player profile:
- Nationality: Brazilian
- Age: 18
- Date of birth: 16/02/2003
- Current club: Grêmio
- Career: Grêmio
- Position: Left-Back
- Preferred foot: Left
Cuiabano once again played as Grêmio’s left-back in the round of 64 in the 2022 Copinha. The Brazilian full-back once again showed that he is an attacking threat and strong in defence for Grêmio. In attack, Cuiabano liked to push high up the pitch and make overlapping runs. He put in crosses from various positions. He did well to put in early crosses between the goalkeeper and last line of defence and crosses from the byline towards the penalty spot. Even though he does not have the greatest crossing technique, he did well to be accurate with his crosses.
Cuiabano also took the corners from the right (from Grêmio’s POV). He got an assist from a corner last match, but this match he failed to create any significant chances. His passing was good in general, but he struggled to play passes in a straight line close to the touchline. I think he passed the ball over the touchline at least once. The Brazilian left-back was the main reason why Grêmio scored the 1-0. He did really well to be aggressive in the duels high up the pitch and won nearly every duel in that area. On one occasion, he recovered possession high up the pitch, played a pass into the box and found Kauan Kelvin, who assisted Kevin for the 1-0.
Cuiabano had great stamina, pace over a long distance and even though he has a strong build, he is quite agile and can change directions well.
Rating – 2
Cuiabano is the future left-back of Grêmio and he should already get some minutes next season. He has been impressive in all matches I watched of Grêmio this tournament.
Kauan Kelvin
Player profile:
- Nationality: Brazilian
- Age: 16
- Date of birth: 21/01/2005
- Current club: Grêmio
- Career: Grêmio
- Position: Left Winger
- Secondary Position: Central Midfielder
- Preferred foot: Right
Kauan Kelvin scored his third goal in the 2022 Copinha tournament against Santa Cruz under 20. He currently plays with a lot of confidence and had another man of the match performance with a goal and an assist. The attacker played as a left striker in a 4-1-3-2 and stayed in position more than he did last games. He often made a good run out wide starting from a central position and showed that he had a good touch, controlling aerial balls really well. When he got into the 1v1 duels on the wing (in the penalty box) he liked to open up his body to the box and carried the ball towards the byline, assessing his options in the box.
He did this a few times and created a lot of danger with this, but failed to create a big chance from this. Kauan Kelvin assisted Kevin’s goal after he received a pass on the edge of the box from Cuiabano. He looked up and spotted Kevin in space. It was remarkable how calm Kauan Kelvin was on the ball in the box and he always picked out the right pass. Kauan Kelvin had a good eye for space in the box as he again managed to find space when he scored the 2-0. He sneaked away from the Santa Cruz defender and received the cross from Rubens before heading the ball into the back of the net. He once again proved to have good technical ability and was less sloppy in possession than in the last two games I watched of him.
Rating – 2
Kauan Kelvin is not ready yet for the first team, but he comes closer and closer as he continues to develop himself well in this tournament. He grows in confidence and that certainly comes to display. Kauan Kelvin already is on 3 goals and 1 assists in 215 minutes.
Gabriel Silva
- Nationality: Brazilian
- Age: 19
- Date of birth: 03/07/2002
- Current club: Grêmio
- Career: São Caetano, Grêmio
- Position: Attacking Midfielder
- Preferred foot: Right
Gabriel Silva had another decent match for Grêmio under 20 in the match against Santa Cruz under 20. The Brazilian attacking midfielder is a very elegant midfielder on the ball, who is good at carrying the ball forward. He has good acceleration on the ball and can change directions quickly. His bursts of pace are incredible to watch and he often makes football look very easy. When he got into the duels he struggled more as he is not the most physically strong player and his balance is not great. However, in this match he did well to stay out of the duels and when he did he showed great perseverance to keep on going until he got the ball back. It happened two times that he took on an opponent, almost lost the ball but kept on going to eventually keep in possession and create space for himself.
Gabriel Silva played a lot of good, powerful passes to the attackers and progressed the ball well. He often dropped deep to see more of the ball and his distribution was great, either playing passes into the attack or playing cross passes to the wing. He is a very creative midfielder and created a lot of danger with crosses from deep. His technical ability is very good. He managed to intercept passes a few times and showed great determination throughout the match.
Rating – 2
Gabriel Silva is very strong technically and tactically, but I hope that he works on his physicality in the duels. He is smart enough to stay out of the duels at this level, but he will most likely get into more duels in Serie B in which he could struggle. I am looking forward to keeping track of his progression.
Additional notes:
Rubens and Gustavo Martins also had another good game for Grêmio Under 20, but I focused on other players this time.
Target Scouting 