By Jim James
There are not very many constants in the game of football. Teams rise and fall, some fall lower than others, teams get promoted and relegated, managers are a revolving door nowadays, oober-rich owners take control of teams and get them to the top, and the constant new challenges in football and rule changes, you get the point.
Something that seemingly has not changed over the last 45-50 years is the El Clasico sides – FC Barcelona and Real Madrid – loving Brazilian players. Both Barca and Los Blancos have signed more players from Brazil than any other country outside Spain at a combined 66 players. They’ve also scored more than 1100 goals combined for the teams.
The first Brazilian to sign for either side was a midfielder called Fausto in 1931 on loan at the age of 26. Unfortunately statistics weren’t a thing in the early 1930s and we don’t know what he did for the side. He tragically passed away 7 years after leaving FC Barcelona at the age of 34 from Tuberculosis.
On the same day, Barca also signed Goalkeeper Jaguare, and they would have him for 3 seasons. Real Madrid’s first Brazilian was a man called Fernando Giudicelli who was somehow Brazilian. He was most know, however, for a 2-year stint for Torino where he played 40 games and scored once. For Los Blancos he played 1 game, left 6 months after signing, and retired 1 year later.
Somehow, even after these travesties, they said “Let’s do this some more”, and how successful was it, with Barcelona having Evaristo, Aloisio, Romario, Giovanni, Rivaldo, Ronaldinho, Dani Alves, Neymar, and Arthur. Real had Ricardo Rocha, Ze Roberto, Roberto Carlos, Savio, Robinho, and still having Marcelo, Vinicius Jr, and Rodrygo, with both teams having success with R9.
That brings us to our post, these two 15-year olds who look to join this illustrious band of brothers, and if they live up to their potential, could be relevant for the next 20 years. Let’s begin.
Endrick
We start with Endrick, who has been reported over the last few months as the next big thing, and even drew a 100m Euro asking price by Palmeiras at one point.
The price has gone down to 60m Euros as a release clause, but it is still a big fee for someone who can’t play a professional game for 2 months yet. He was born in 2006 and has got interest, severe interest, from the El Clasico teams who aren’t deterred by the risks. Barca appears to be leading the race, but who knows, the story could change at any moment.
He has got some statistics, with 10 goals in 21 appearances for Palmeiras U20, which doesn’t sound all too great, until you realise he’s playing against people 5 and 6 years older than him and will still be developing for at least 8 more years.
He’s also drawn a lot of potential from his performance at the Montaigu World Cup, also known as the U17 World Cup in France. In his first match vs Mexico he scored 3 minutes in. While I can’t find the exact numbers, I believe he scored 4-6 goals at the tournament that his Brazil side would go on to win, and drew the winning penalty in the final vs Argentina.
While at 5’6” he’s not the most physically imposing player ever, his elite dribbling and finishing ability as well as the tendency to often do things that will just make you say “Wow!”, it is no surprise that he is being chased this heavily.
Rayan Vitor Rocha
A player born 16 days after Endrick, he hasn’t achieved as much but is still attracting much interest from the giants. With 8 goals in 6 games for the U17s this season as well as 1 goal in 4 games for the Vasco de Gama U20s, looking at Endrick before this kid makes him seem average, he’s anything but.
First off, the achievement of scoring with the U20s at just 15 is incredible, and he is not your typical Brazilian player. Despite yes, having good dribbling ability, Rayan Vitor Rocha is a fox in the box target man type, usually finishing off attacking moves well with an already amazing finishing ability. With good crossers around him he’s unstoppable with a great first touch. He also has the composure under pressure to make moves in split seconds of a player far beyond his years. There is no surprise why El Clasico teams are scouting him.
There you go. The two 15-year olds who look like they’re going to sign for El Clasico clubs. Who? That is to be determined, but these two look like they could be great, if they keep working hard. They’re not there yet, far from it. I’m Jim James, until next time.