DATA SCOUTING: Brasileirão Série A 2021
With the Brasileirão coming to an end, I decided to dive into WyScout’s data of the competition to look for outstanding under 23s. These are the ones that caught my eye:
ARTUR | RB BRAGANTINO | 23 | WINGER
Widely regarded as one the best players of the season, Artur unsurprisingly stands out. After the departure of Claudinho to Zenit, he rose to the occasion and became Bragantino’s main man, leading them in their pursuit of a Copa Libertadores qualification spot and to the Copa Sudamericana final. These are his percentile ranks compared to all Brasileirão wingers (all stats per 90):
He ranks interestingly high for long passes, as do the other Bragantino wingers, due to the team’s inclination to switches. But what’s most striking about him are his goal contributions. The second player with the most goals + assists in the league (19), he collected 11 goals and 8 assists, averaging 0.31 non-penalty goals, 0.29 expected goals, 0.24 assists and 0.17 expected assists per 90. This is how he compares to other wingers for non-penalty goals + assists and xG+xA:
The colours refer to their age:
Artur was fourth for goal contributions and fifth for expected goal contributions per 90 while being the youngest of the five. In the Copa Sudamericana, he was also second for goals + assists, with 11 (7 goals + 4 assists). Certainly a massive attacking asset.
GUILHERME CASTILHO | JUVENTUDE | 22 | CENTRAL MIDFIELDER
Loaned in from the now league champions, Atlético-MG, Guilherme became one of Juventude’s main hopes in their fight against relegation.
As Artur, he shines for his goal contributions. Displaying a very offensive and direct profile, he ranks really low for most passing and defensive metrics, while ranking relatively high for progressive runs, crosses, aerial duels and, especially, touches inside the box, shots, goals and assists. An unusual profile but an interesting one, proving to be very useful for a team that tends to be dominated and play more directly. With 0.26 npG+Ass. and 0.23 xG+xA, this is how compares to other central midfielders in the league:
Among the top ones. His loan ends at the end of the season, and there may be a race for his signature, as Galo are already stacked with top talent.
JOÃO GOMES | FLAMENGO | 20 | CENTRAL MIDFIELDER
Despite Flamengo’s team being full of big names, there was still space for youngsters to shine, and João was one of them, earning minutes and impressing in central midfield.
This heavy volume of actions is also certainly linked to Flamengo being one of the most dominant teams in the league, but Gomes displays impressive metrics. He’s remarkably creative, being the central midfielder with the most expected assists per 90, while also proving to be able to get the ball into the box in profusion:
With 0.24 xA and 1.28 deep completions, he is a big outlier among central midfielders. Add that to his 0.1 third assists and 1.08 smart passes (line-breaking passes in WyScout) per 90 and you have a great contribution to chance creation. Speaking of passes, he’s not a really heavy passer or progressive passer, making most of his ball progression contributions with carries:
Also an outlier in this sense, João averaged 2.17 progressive runs per 90, combined with being the central midfielder with the most successful dribbles and offensive duels won per 90 in the league. With a 67.44% success rate from 4.23 dribbles per 90, he’s certainly among the best midfield dribblers in the league.
KAIKY | SANTOS | 17 | CENTRE-BACK
A 17-year-old centre-back with 1456 minutes played in the Série A is impressive in itself, but Kaiky has also proven to be, already, one of the best ball-playing centre-backs in the league.
Despite being much younger than his peers, he was among the very best centre-backs for ball progression, averaging 8.7 progressive passes and 2.39 progressive runs per 90, and offering a gigantic contribution for his team’s, a bottom half one, build up. He can’t even drink or drive yet, but he’s already an outlier in the Brasileirão:
Being second for most progressive runs is impressive, but he’s also a great passer:
With 52.54 passes per 90, he’s the fifth in the league and displays an impressive 89.51% pass completion rate. Not to mention his 8.04 passes into the final third per 90, getting the ball forward with ease.
MATHEUZINHO | FLAMENGO | 21 | RIGHT-BACK
Another rising prospect from Flamengo. Matheuzinho was mostly a backup to Mauricio Isla but impressed when called upon.
As João’s, his numbers probably get inflated due to Flamengo dominating most games in terms of initiative, chances and possession. However, his figures are also still impressive, ranking above the median for almost every metric considered and showing up close to the top in many of them. He’s clearly an attacking full-back and is at the 90th percentile or higher for non-penalty goals, shots and touches inside the box among his positional peers. He also did quite well for assists and expected assists, and this is how he ranks for npG+Ass. and xG+xA per 90:
One of the full-backs with the most goal contributions in the league. But looking at his percentile ranks, we can see that he’s more of a heavy passer than a heavy crosser, so his chance creation does not rely fundamentally on crosses, for which he’s in 75th percentile while being on the 91st for deep completions, getting the ball into the box very frequently. Speaking of passes, he averages 50.84 passes per 90 with a completion rate of 85.15%, which puts him among the best in the league. And he’s superb at using them to get the ball forward, averaging 7.02 passes into the final third, 0.44 smart passes and 11.77 progressive passes. Figures that combined with his 2.09 progressive runs per 90 make him one of the very best ball progressors among full-backs in the Brasileirão:
Interestingly, he’s also very proactive defensively, racking up high numbers of defensive actions as well:
He’s by far the full-back with the most possession-adjusted interceptions in the league while being at the 84th percentile for most defensive duels won per 90 and averaging 11.68 successful defensive actions per 90, the third-highest in the Brasileirão.
PEPÊ | CUIABÁ | 23 | CENTRAL MIDFIELDER
Another central midfielder helping a small club in their fight against relegation.
Pepê is also among the midfielders with the most shots per 90 and has collected his few goals and fair creative contribution as well. However, what’s most striking about him is his ball-carrying, as he ranks in the 90th percentile or higher for progressive runs, offensive duels won, successful dribbles and fouls suffered per 90.
He’s among the best for progressive carries and successful dribbles while succeeding in 59.26% of his 2.75 dribbles per 90. He’s also able to win 2.44 fouls per 90.
VANDERSON | GRÊMIO | 20 | RIGHT-BACK
Despite Grêmio’s disastrous season, there’s has been a bright new star rising from the academy and helping to keep the hopes of avoiding relegation alive. Brentford are reportedly interested and should come for him in January.
He’s very offensive-minded and has been one of Grêmio’s greatest attacking threats this season, contributing with 0.2 non-penalty goals + assists and 0.15 expected goals + expected assists per 90, and ranking among the most prolific full-backs in the league:
Vanderson also contributed offensively with shots, actions in the box, deep completions and crosses aplenty. While also ranking fairly high for passes into the final third and smart passes. But in terms of ball progression, he’s more of a carrier. With 2.45 progressive runs per 90, he’s the third full-back with most in the league. While also being among the most frequent dribblers and enjoying a good 53.77% success rate at them.
He’s very energetic and really likes to engage in duels. He’s not only at the 90th percentile for most offensive duels won, as he also offers heavy volume on defence, being the full-back with the most defensive duels won per 90. In fact, he’s the one with the most overall duels per 90, winning 56.13% of them:
Very proactive with and without the ball, and offering great contribution overall, Vanderson has certainly been Grêmio’s best news of the year.
Lucas Barth
