Football Wonderkid Scout
Football Wonderkids
Brazil's New Starlets - Andrigo and Lucas Piazon
With the early exit of Brazil at the quarter final stages in South Africa, there was a sense of underachievement and Carlos Dunga ultimately paid the price with his job. An experienced team, Dunga decided he would try his luck without the much hyped Santos duo of Neymar and Paolo Henrique (Ganso), both of whom impressed at domestic level. Turning our attention to the next stars of tommorow, we look at the latest wonderkids to emerge from Brazil. With Brazil quick to hype up their youth, some go on to succeed such as Ronaldo, Ronaldinho and Kaka, while others such as Lulinha and Kerlon struggle under the glare of the media spotlight. Over the next few years the jury will decide on whether Neymar, Wellington Silva and Coutinho fulfill their potential. One of the greatest production lines in Brazilian youth talent is the academy at Internacional, which has previously produced Sandro, Lucio, Pato and Dunga. It is here where some of the next generation lie in waiting with Giuliano and the recently acquired services of Dalton Moriera. There is also captain of Brazil U17s Marlon Bica, Felipinho and young strike sensation Andrigo. At just 15 years-old Andrigo is already displaying the attributes and characteristics needed to make it to the top. A tall, powerful forward with natural raw pace and excellent technique, Andrigo has captured the imagination in Internacional's youth team. His impressive performances and prolific goal scoring abilities have seen him linked with a number of Europe's biggest clubs, including Manchester United and Inter Milan. In 2010, Andrigo finished top scorer in the Copa Votorantim, despite
Internacional Wonderkid Andrigo
Internacional suffering an early exit to Atletico MG, scoring 5 goals, of which 3 came against Sao Paulo in a 4-0 win. Next up in the Copa Armando Nogueira, Andrigo finished as the top scorer as he did in the Copa Nike Brasil's regional qualifiers, in which he inspired Internacional to victory over Santos, scoring a sublime hat-trick which confirmed his rising reputation in the game. He side will now qualify for the World Youth Nike U15 Cup, which is one of the most prestigious youth tournaments in football and will take place in August. While he has yet to be capped at international level for any of Brazil's youth sides, should he impress then he looks likely to be part of the U17 side that will take part in the South American Championships in May 2011.
Meanwhile, Lucas Piazon is the latest wonderkid to emerge from Sao Paulo, following in the footsteps of Kaka who he has already been compared to. The attacking midfielder who has an excellent range of passing and eye for goal has starred for Brazil U15s and scored eight goal in four games in the South American Under-15 Championships. Chelsea talent scot Piet de Visser, watched him score twice in Brazil 4-0 win over In May 2009, Piazon took parter in the U15 Nike Cup held at Old Trafford and again he was the star of the show as he captained his side to victory, scoring five goals and was awarded Player of the Tournament. Described as a better prospect than Kaka at the same age, Piazon signed a contract in January when he turned 16 years-old. Chelsea and a number of the worlds leading clubs are continuing to monitor the progress of the Under-15 captain, including Milan, Barcelona, Chelsea and Manchester United. The tall midfielder is a goal machine and is considered one of the best talents emerging in Brazil. With the 16 year-old not seeing any action, cash-strapped Sao Paulo know they risk losing money on his transfer and are now expected to sell their prized asset.
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