Palmeiras beat Agua Santa 1-0 on the 8th matchday of the Campeonato Paulista, which is the Brazilian state championships. Abel Ferreira’s side set up in a 4-2-3-1. Ferreira gave youngsters Giovani and Fabinho a chance to showcase their talent in front of a lot of spectators. Palmeiras, even though they dominated possession, were trying to get the ball as quickly as possible to the attack. This meant that both central midfielders often did not see much of the ball in the build-up play. In the end, Rony scored from a corner to give Palmeiras the deserved win.
Ratings:
- A1 – Very good, could play higher
- A2 – Strong potential to play higher
- B1 – Good, strong player at level
- B2 – Potential to be a strong player at level
- C – Average for the level, rewatch
- D – Below average in this match
Giovani
Player profile:
- Nationality: Brazilian
- Age: 19
- Date of birth: 01/01/2004
- Current club: Palmeiras
- Career: Palmeiras
- Position: Right-Winger
- Secondary Position: Left-Winger, Striker
- Preferred foot: Left
Giovani started on the right of Palmeiras’s attack in the match against Água Santa. The Brazilian winger had a lot of involvement early in the game but eased off later in the game before getting subbed off by Abel Ferreira. Giovani stands at 1.82 meters with a slim build. He has an explosive burst of speed and is capable of maintaining that speed over long distances. Giovani generally avoids challenges well because of his good balance and changes of directions. The winger was confident in taking on multiple opponents and displayed quick decision-making under pressure, having various skills in his locker to get past opponents. Giovani prefers to receive the ball out wide and always looks to combine with the striker after carrying the ball inside. The Brazilian winger can also get past opponents on the outside but almost always turns back to his stronger left foot.
Giovani has a very good crossing technique on his left foot and is capable of putting in dangerous inswinging crosses from deep areas. The winger also has good vision and composure in the final third but he can also put opponents through on goal from deeper areas with his exceptional passing technique. He always seems to know where his teammates are and shows quick decision-making to play those through passes to Rony. The Brazilian youngster has incredible ball control in tight areas but can sometimes struggle to shield the ball in duels with his back towards the goal. Giovani should develop his physique a bit in the upcoming years. The winger displayed good timing and jumping ability in aerial duels. He presses the opponent really well and with high intensity when the ball is on the opposition’s half but can sometimes struggle to track back. I would also like Giovani to use his right foot a bit more.
Rating – A1
It is definitely not the case that Giovani has outgrown Palmeiras but I think it would be good for his development to move to a club like Ajax, Benfica or Shakhtar Donetsk in the summer transfer window. He is an exceptional talent who has the potential to play for the best clubs in the world.
Fabinho
Player profile:
- Nationality: Brazilian
- Age: 20
- Date of birth: 09/04/2002
- Current club: Palmeiras
- Career: Palmeiras
- Position: Central Midfielder
- Secondary Position: Defensive Midfielder, Attacking Midfielder
- Preferred foot: Right
Fabinho played as a left central midfielder in Abel Ferreira’s 4-2-3-1. Standing at 1.78 meters with a strong build, Fabinho is not a tall physical presence but he holds himself well in ground duels. He is an aggressive defender in defensive duels but did not get into many ground duels during this match. The midfielder does well to cut passing lanes in transition and generally reads the game pretty well. Even if Água Santa was not the best opponent Palmeiras ever played against, I think that Fabinho held his own really well in the team. He battled well in defensive duels, progressed the ball well whenever he received the ball and definitely has the technical ability to play in this side.
The Brazilian midfielder has good bursts of speed on the ball which is very useful in first-phase possession. Though, due to Palmeiras’s tactics Fabinho did not see as much of the ball as he likes. Fabinho displayed good movement in first-phase possession and often was in space to receive the ball, but simply did not receive the ball because the central defenders often opted for a long pass. When Fabinho did get on the ball, he always seemed to know where his teammates were. He scanned well before receiving and tried to play first-time forward passes which helped Palmeiras to progress the ball further up the pitch. The midfielder has a really good passing technique. Fabinho also displayed good ball control in tight areas. However, the young Brazilian simply did not receive the ball enough in this match.
Rating – A2
All by all, it was a really quiet performance by Fabinho even though he tried his hardest to see more of the ball. With that being said, I think a move away from Palmeiras would be good for Fabinho. He is not likely to play much in this team but is ready to play at the highest level in Belgium. Fabinho will not be that expensive and could prove to be at least an immediate squad player for most of the clubs.