Corinthians U20 came from behind to beat Fast Clube-AM U20 3-1 in the second match of the group of the Copinha 2023. Setting up a 4-3-3 formation with high lines up the pitch, Timao’s football became more and more direct as they turn out desperate after being behind against a quite inferior side from the 10th minute. Fast Clube’s goalkeeper almost proved to be Corinthians’ nightmare, but after 77 minutes the just introduced Higuinho managed to score the equaliser. A minute later, Felipe Augusto – another coming from the bench – made it 2-1 and sealed the game scoring one more in the final 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
Gabriel Caipira
- Nationality: Brazilian
- Age: 17
- Date of birth: 15/02/2005
- Current Club: SC Corinthians
- Career: SC Corinthians
- Position: Right Back
- Secondary Position: Left Back
- Preferred foot: Right
The 17-year-old had a remarkable first half, showing great offensive traits and being an influential contribution in the final third. Caipira started as a right-back and still has a very young physique. Despite having a skinny build and a height of 1.73m he kept his ground over long distances and had a great body/feet position to protect the ball under pressure. That’s also thanks to his great first touch plus his technique at conducting the ball that made Caipira a constant danger on the right flank. He was pretty quick making the runs to join the attack and anticipated on time to make one-twos with the winger and reaching the back line with good initial acceleration. In these situations, Caipira was extremely effective in 1v1 situations thanks to his quick feet movement and dribbling, passing by the defenders with ease in tight spaces to get into the box and give a definitive pass. A play that turned common on Caipira at first half but couldn’t change the score since they turned on missing opportunities.
Caipira had a smart off the ball movement attracting his mark to open a gap to the winger or losing it to be a passing option according to the situation. The Brazilian has a good sense of positioning in attack and knows how to create space for himself. In this sense I can say that Caipira would be quite suitable to occupy positions further up the pitch as a right/left midfielder or even as a winger. In the second half he was very little involved in the game as for some reason Corinthians started attacking on the left side of the pitch most of the time and he wasn’t with the same intensity as he were on the first 45 minutes.
While he didn’t have much work to do in defence, he looked good in some duels where he used to put a lot of pressure on his opponent and was able to catch the opposing winger on the run. He is needed to be seen more in these situations to see how aggressive and efficient he is on defending, as he seems to be a wing-back with much more offensive than defensive traits. He clearly does not have much of a presence in aerial duels and in the goal conceded he looked very relaxed as did the entire defence.
Rating – 2
Caipira is very skilled technically and has an uncommon reading of the game for his age. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him in the first team in the near future. With an improved physique I think he has the potential to be a top player in his position.
Murillo
Player profile:
- Nationality: Brazilian
- Age: 20
- Date of birth: 04/07/2002
- Current Club: SC Corinthians
- Career: União Barbarense, SC Corinthians
- Position: Centre Back
- Secondary Position: Left Back
- Preferred foot: Left
In a match that required composure and dynamism to turn it around, Murillo contributed in both phases of the game. Although he didn’t have much work in defence, the Brazilian showed a good sense of positioning and was able to command the defensive line. The centre-back stands at 1,82m but looked bigger due to his athletic, muscular build which he occupied well to take over the ball. Murillo covered the space all over the left side, where he was able to reach the winger thanks to his good pace maintained over long distances, showing good stamina to do this several times during the game. The centre-back was very good imposing himself on the duels with aggression and made good use of his physicality in these situations, being able to win possession many times including at midfield, where he decided well to leave his position and take on the ball. He showed great positioning in those situations. The physical handicap between the Fast Clube players and both Corinthians centre-backs was quite clear and it was seen in most of the aerial duels where Murillo was efficient. This is with the exception of the goal conceded, where the defence was somewhat naive and lacked spatial awareness in the box, however I don’t think it was the responsibility of Murillo who was aware of his mark.
It was a game of few negatives to judge the defender, who excelled mostly with the ball at his feet. Murillo tended to lead the build up from the back and he did it really well, making accurate long diagonal passes or looking at the midfielder to break the opposing line. His composure in possession plus his strength made it quite difficult for the opponents to get the ball out of him and he was able to conducing the ball with good technique into midfield, being the main link up between the defence and the attack. He has a great vision to find space for his teammates and took risks on his passes. Murillo also had great spatial awareness and offensive aptitude to leave his position and join the attack, almost scoring a goal after playing a one-two with his teammate, entering the box and shoot but it went wide. He also had the chance to take a free kick, trying a powerful low shot which was saved by the goalkeeper.
Rating – 1
I don’t see many differences of quality between Murillo and the actual Corinthians center-backs. It was a quiet game for him against a low level opponent, but he seemed mature and has traits that make him a pretty dynamic defender. I think he is ready to make the leap into the first team.
Wesley
Player profile:
- Nationality: Brazilian
- Age: 17
- Date of birth: 05/03/2005
- Current Club: SC Corinthians
- Career: SC Corinthians
- Position: Left Winger
- Secondary Position: Attacking Midfielder, Right Winger
- Preferred foot: Left
Wesley started as a left winger until Corinthians conceded the first goal and the 17-year-old switched positions with right winger Kayke. The Brazilian stands at 1,80m and has a muscular build relative to his age, looking very powerful on the duels as a strong, high-paced winger. His long legs and his quick strides allowed him to easily protect the ball when running against the defender. He knew how to take advantage of his physique on body to body duels and hadn’t problems at holding well his ground. Wesley was quite dangerous in possession and often tried one-twos with the midfielders breaking the lines and opening space for himself to shot or make an eventual cross. He was pretty quick over long distances and didn’t wasted the chance to face his opponent showing good technical and dribbling ability. The game was difficult at the start for Corinthians and so it was for the young winger, who started to be more influential when switched to the right flank after the 0-1. Wesley had more spaces playing alongside Caipira, however they lacked end product and couldn’t change the game at all. Wesley was pretty agile when changing directions and has a low centre of gravity despite his body build. However he was not able to break down the opposition’s defensive line and be determinant.
While the Brazilian showed good qualities in the duels, he did not always take good decisions and found it difficult to link up with a team-mate to generate a dangerous play. Wesley showed great determination with the ball at his feet but his intentions when playing collectively were sometimes rushed and caused the team to lose possession, which probably cost him to be substituted in the 70th minute. He didn’t look composed in those situations, but that’s to be expected at his age. His intensity dropped quite a bit as the minutes went on and probably that was also a factor in his substitution.
Rating – 2
I think Wesley’s performance could have been a lot better, he seemed like a player who had a lot more to show. Although he still has a number of areas to improve, he proved to have the potential to make it to the first team in the future.
Other ratings:
Felipe Augusto (CF, 18/02/2004) – 2
- He was the game changer on the few occasions he had scoring 2 goals. Stands at 1,87m and has a muscular build. Powerful centre forward with a good sense of positioning, capable of lose his mark quickly. He also had great acceleration off the ball reaching the box coming from behind. Despite only playing 30 minutes he showed a lot of potential.
Alemão (CB, 06/11/2002) – 2/3
- Paired up with Murillo in the line of 4. Has a slim build and stands at 1,94m. Alemão showed good positioning and decent technique but didn’t hold that well his ground in some duels in view of his physique. He wasn’t very agile in the turn either. Decent on aerial balls but lacked concentration in some occasions allowing to concede a goal after not being aware of his mark on a cross. I didn’t pay enough attention to him as I did to Murillo but he was decent and showed enough potential to follow him more closely next time.