Claudio de Oliveira is a 16-year-old Guatemalan winger for CSD Xelajú MC in Liga Guate and Guatemala U-21. He has primarily featured off the bench this season, making four appearances domestically and scoring a goal while making two cameos in the Central American Cup, where he picked up an assist. He has 9 caps (3 goals) for Guatemala U-17 and 2 caps at U-21. In addition, de Oliveira holds Brazilian citizenship.
In terms of physical profile, de Oliveira is tall for his position (1.82 m) with a lanky frame, giving him a lengthy reach to receive overhit balls to him. Though he converts his long strides into considerable long pace and explosive acceleration, both getting forward and on recovery runs, his coordination is a bit clumsy as he is still getting used to his gait following a growth spurt. Because he is still growing into his body, his balance and strength have not quite caught up yet, either. De Oliveira shows flashes of controlled physicality but is not yet strong enough to win duels shoulder-to-shoulder, getting knocked off balance by more physical and/or experienced opponents.
In possession, de Oliveira has a generally soft first touch, even when pressed, preferring to receive in stride. From there, he approaches dribbling with explosive, direct movements to attack 1v1s with the intent of penetrating the box. He favors his right foot but is capable and comfortable dribbling with either. De Oliveira tends to overdribble, though, mistiming changes of direction into further traffic and getting some tunnel vision when dribbling directly at opponents, then losing possession to physical pressure his frame cannot quite deal with, yet. As a distributor, he displays vision and composure ahead of his years when pressed, creating with ground passes through and retaining quickly with back passes, typically on his dominant right foot. When linking up during the buildup phase, he is effective enough at coming short to quickly turn into ball-retaining distribution at slightly creative angles. Where he thrives in link-up is in wide combination, having the mental quickness to pass and move forward already. Depending on his positioning regarding the touchline, he utilizes either underlaps or overlaps, continuing to show his elevated tactical awareness to find the right spaces to move into off the ball. On the counter, where he thrives due to impressive athleticism, de Oliveira uses that ability to scan for space off the ball to find gaps in the back line that allow him to exploit space in behind on inverted or underlapping runs with his explosive pace. Though these runs are timed well for the most part, there were moments that he got overeager from out wide and was caught offside.
As a finisher, de Oliveira is confident enough to strike from distance, even on his weaker left foot, but his timing is slightly late, causing him to get blocked on an already low percentage opportunity. From close range/in the crowded box, he is willing to attempt finishes, but his technique and decision-making on them are lacking in quality. His finishing is a big point of improvement for him going forward, as he should look to vary his attempts (primarily low, driven shots) and refine his ball striking.
Defensively, he has a high work rate for a winger that allows him to track back on long recovery runs and cut off passing lanes by pressing aggressively. His pace in the press helps to force back passes and cause general disruption in the opposition’s buildup. Due to de Oliveira’s aggression, he can overpursue into duels with his lunges and foul, though there are instances of him winning those challenges. His clumsiness definitely leaks into his pressing control.
As de Oliveira grows into his body, his already somewhat impressive dribbling should become a notable strength once he loses the clumsiness and can fully utilize his pace and two-footed creativity. He fulfills an inverted winger role from either wing and puts the cherry on top by having a high defensive work rate. With refinement in technical areas and more attacking involvement in the future, de Oliveira’s tactical awareness could allow him to develop into a real threat in the final third. Playing for Guatemala U-21 and senior club football at just 16 indicates he is a huge talent for the region, and some flashes reflect that. The Xelajú winger must earn more playing time after he returns from a short-term injury, but a move to the MLS once he turns 18 seems firmly in the picture.
Target Scouting 