Palmeiras under 20 won 4-0 against Santos and claimed the Copinha 2022 trophy. They set up in a 4-3-3 which was more often a 4-4-2 and put high pressure on Santos, not giving them time on the ball. Palmeiras created chances very easily through the creativity of Endrick, Giovani and Gabriel Silva, but also through the wings with crosses from Vanderlan and Garcia. Santos failed to perform in the final of the Copinha and the match was already decided after just 20 minutes.
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
Endrick
Player profile:
- Nationality: Brazilian
- Age: 15
- Date of birth: 21/07/2006
- Current club: Palmeiras
- Career: Palmeiras
- Position: Striker
- Secondary Position: Winger
- Preferred foot: Left
Endrick once again played as a striker and formed a good partnership with Gabriel Silva. The most valuable player of this tournament managed to score an early goal after a Palmeiras cross was poorly defended by Santos. He showed good technique and composure in the box to finish that chance on his stronger left foot. Endrick linked up well with his teammates, particularly Gabriel Silva, and managed to create chances for his teammates but also for himself. The youngster liked to penetrate Santos’s defence, but I think he could have sometimes made a run in behind instead of looking to link up with his teammates.
The 15-year-old was very fearless and showed that he does not want to dive. He ran through the whole Santos defence in one action, got kicked multiple times, but managed to stay on his feet and eventually he got awarded the free kick. The striker has explosive acceleration and showed a good pace over a long distance. He has very good dribbling ability and controls the ball well even when he is sprinting at full speed. Endrick’s first touch is really good and he is quick on the turn. His timing in aerial duels was really good, this helped him to win aerial duels against taller opponents.
Rating – 2
Endrick confirmed his talent once again and showed exactly the same qualities and ‘weaknesses’ as last match. Make sure to read that report for a more extensive explanation about his strengths.
Giovani
Player profile:
- Nationality: Brazilian
- Age: 18
- Date of birth: 01/01/2004
- Current club: Palmeiras
- Career: Palmeiras
- Position: Right-Winger
- Secondary Position: Left-Winger, Striker
- Preferred foot: Left
Giovani played as a right-winger and scored the 2-0 for Palmeiras under 20. The Brazilian once again showed good variation in his positioning (click the link for further explanation). The winger created a lot of danger with good runs in behind, but also from receiving the ball in a deeper area. Giovani liked to carry the ball down the line to then move to the inside when his opponent would stick out his leg. The timing of this was less good than last time and his dribbling was quite inconsistent in the first half. He sometimes cut back to his left foot too late which meant that his opponent could kick the ball out for a throw-in. However, one of his dribbles did lead to the expulsion of a Santos player.
The Brazilian winger once again tried a few inswinging crosses from deep, but even though he showed good kicking technique his accuracy was not on point. The crosses were too high and floated too much. Giovani, as mentioned, scored the 2-0. He received the ball on the edge of the box, spotted that the goalkeeper was not well-positioned and curled the ball into the far corner, leaving Santos’s goalkeeper without a chance. There was one situation in which Giovani did not make the right decision in the final third. After playing a good one-two with Endrick, Giovani was through on goal but failed to spot his teammate in space and went for glory. However, his effort was saved by Santos’s goalkeeper and his teammate was angry that Giovani did not pass the ball to him.
In the early stages of this match, Giovani sometimes lost the ball after trying to play nice backheel passes or trying too much in the 1v1. This is something he should not do in the early stages of a cup final. Defensively, Giovani cut the passing lanes well.
Rating – 2
His performance was less impressive than the last match, but I think that he is a very big talent who would be a squad player for the best teams outside of the top 5 leagues.
Gabriel Silva
Player profile:
- Nationality: Brazilian
- Age: 19
- Date of birth: 22/03/2002
- Current club: Palmeiras
- Career: Palmeiras
- Position: Striker
- Secondary Position: Second Striker, Attacking Midfielder
- Preferred foot: Right
Gabriel Silva often swapped between playing next to Endrick as a striker or playing as an attacking midfielder. The youngster scored two goals and was one of the better players of Palmeiras in this match. Gabriel Silva looks like a very determined player who has a lot of tactical intelligence and is technically gifted. The Santos defenders failed to defend Gabriel Silva properly, as he was always roaming around the pitch. Gabriel Silva made a few good runs in behind and timed these runs really well. His movement in the box was great, too. The Brazilian player controls the ball very well when dribbling and has good changes of direction.
His first goal was the best goal of the morning. Gabriel Silva managed to score a free-kick from 30 meters out. The Brazilian youngster has a great kicking technique and showed this with that free-kick. In the 1v1 duels, Gabriel Silva looked strong to protect the ball and his speed helped him to get away from his marker. He looked really comfortable and dominant in the duels, despite having a relatively small build. His second goal was as impressive as his first goal. After making a good run into the box between both Santos’s central defenders, he received a great cross from Vanderlan and he headed the ball past Santos’s goalkeeper.
Rating – 2
Gabriel Silva’s spatial awareness, technical ability and physical ability makes him a very interesting striker for clubs outside the top 5 leagues.
Additional notes:
Vanderlan had a good match, assisting two goals. Fabinho once again proved to have great movement in the first phase of the build-up and has great technical ability. Both central defenders looked comfortable on the ball and did not give away a single big chance.