#what if there’s red flags or yellow flags pls this is so risky

[wafflesrisa]

Ferrari with no banker laps I’M SCARED

[fossadeileonixv]

Benvenuto, Lucas Paqueta

Tudo bem? Tudo bem.

Our boy nine took the time to watch the latest Flamengo game and wrote a fantastic synopsis of what he saw. I had a little scouting report of my own, but to be honest, nine’s is so thorough I scrapped the whole thing. Enjoy and a huge round of applause to the author!

The Facts

Name: Lucas Tolentino Coelho de Lima

Country: Brazil

Height: 180 cm; 5′11″

Weight: 72kg; 160 lbs.

Foot: Left

Position: Central midfield, attacking midfield

Age: 21

Stat Line (Flamengo 2018): Brazilian Serie A, 24 appearances, 9 goals, 2 assists, 4 yellows

At just the tender age of 19, Paqueta secured a starting spot on Rio de Janeiro’s biggest club in Flamengo. Though he began his career as a center-forward, he has been employed deeper and deeper with each season as both his body and game matured. He’s settled into something of an attack-minded midfielder, shuttling possession up-field and involving himself in within the final third, while still dropping back and breaking up play. 2018 has been his breakout season with 9 goals and an assist in 24 league matches, earning his first senior call-up last month. The combination of his technique and intelligence have attracted the interest of some of Europe’s bigger clubs with Man U, Barca, PSG (I guess they’re a big club?) and Liverpool all courting the starlet over the summer months. Ultimately, Leonardo and if rumors are to be true, Kaka were enough to convince Paq that Milan’s project was the right fit.

And now the low cross to nine...

Nine’s Notes

Sooooo the international break is back upon us for what feels like the tenth time this season and like any sane person, I hate it. The timing of the break couldn’t have been any worse considering we are on a three game win streak and heading into the derby with maximum confidence. Regardless, I was tired of friendlies, which are still as meaningless despite now being masked as part of new Nations League so instead, I decided to scout out our newest, nearly-official Brazilian talent, Lucas Paqueta.

The Game

As TR has already touched on, Paqueta is a key player for Flamengo in the Brazilian Serie A and on Sunday, Flamengo faced off against Fluminese in derby match. The match itself ended as a massive 3-0 win for Paqueta’s side. Flamengo dominated until about the 70th minute, by which time, the score was already 3-0 and the points were secured. Truth be told, the result never seemed in doubt for the Brazilians in red and black with Fluminese struggling to create any chances. However, this shouldn’t come as a surprise, considering that Flamengo are currently in third, only four points off top spot in the league, and Fluminese are languishing in midtable mediocrity.

Also I just wanted to add a quick disclaimer before I go into discussing Paqueta’s performance. I have not watched a full 90 minutes of football in the Brazilian Serie A in at least a decade but the quality of play shocked me. I know I’m spoiled watching mostly Serie A along with some La Liga and PL footie sprinkled in, but this game was truly a chore to watch. The passing was disjointed, the defenders were rash, and both the offensive movement and defensive organization was amateurish. The GolTV commentator snoring around the 65th minute about summed up the state of Brazilian footie today.

Paqueta’s position and involvement

Flamengo’s formation was a hybrid between a 4-3-3 and 4-2-3-1 with Paqueta playing on the left side of the midfield trio (think of Jack’s position). He was clearly told by his manager to remain the furthest forward of the midfielders, serving as the link between midfield and attack.

Most of Flamengo’s attacks came through the left side with their left winger, Vitinho, as the main point of chance creation. Paqueta played the pass before the assist for their first goal (https://streamable.com/dhpqs) and his deflected shot directly led to a tap in for their third goal (https://streamable.com/c42sp).

Paqueta wasn’t dictating the pace, nor do I think he had a great game per his standards but his teammates were clearly looking for him every time they had the ball. And he didn’t disappoint when they did manage to get the ball to him: his passing was on another level compared to every other player out there and he did an excellent job striding out from midfield and transitioning the team to attack. So in terms of where he’ll fit in at Milan, I’d expect him to directly challenge Bonaventura when he gets here.

Strengths

Ball control: One thing that really stood out was how difficult it was for the other team to dispossess Paqueta when he was on the ball. They essentially had to resort to fouling him if they wanted to stop him from dribbling right by them. His size is also a massive plus because he can shield the ball so effectively. I would compare him to Pogba in this sense. This is a players who knows how to use his size effectively to maintain possession and use strength to bomb past defenders. Paqueta does seem to be more of a flashy player than the other two, however, with more of an arsenal of tricks to whip out in tough situations.

Breaking through the lines: Paqueta was an excellent link between the midfield and offense. He effectively uses his close control to stride through the opposing midfield, meaning that the other team would resort to fouling primarily in this game. In the few times that Paqueta did break through the wall of Fluminese midfielders, he picked out some great lateral and vertical passes that either helped shift the ball into an area with more space or create a direct chance. I will admit that there were few moments where he created clear cut chances but near the end of the game, he did play a defense splitting through ball that put the left winger one on one against the keeper.

Decision making: By far the biggest surprise was seeing Paqueta consistently make the right choices when in possession. Based off his highlight reels, he definitely seems like the type of player who values flash over direct football. His performance in this game completely dispels that myth, however. I can only recall one time when he used trickery to beat a defender and he ended up winning a foul in that play (https://streamable.com/43lve). For the most part, Paqueta knew when and where to dribble or pass, which was a massive plus. He is certainly not a ballhog or excessively flashy player – but he does know when to use his range of tricks and flicks.

Defensive work rate: The kid is absolutely willing to put in his shift when his team doesn’t have possession. There was one time when he was actually covering for his right back near the corner flag despite being the left mezzala. In fact, I would even say that he could put in a decent shift in the Kessie role but it would be a waste of his talents. His size and strength are key to making him a difficult opponent to dribble past. Also he’s a beast in the air in both defending and attacking on set pieces.

Weaknesses:

Did not impact the game consistently throughout the 90 minutes: It was a bit disappointing not seeing Paqueta take the game by the scruff of the neck and absolutely dominate it, which he certainly has the talent to do. There were times when it seemed as though the game was passing by him. I also believe that the lower quality of players around him could have contributed to this. His passing was much more intentional and crisp than his teammates, who often failed to pick him out in dangerous positions.

Not taking enough risk when on the ball: I’m being kinda nitpicky here and this is an extension of the previous weakness but I would have liked to see Paqueta create a few more goal scoring chances. He was involved in two of the three goals and should have had another assist but there were a few too many times where I saw him take a safer option. I think this would be less of an issue at Milan considering that we have a few other creative outlets who could press the issue but I would have liked to see a less risk-averse Paqueta. In the grand scheme though, being smart with the ball and knowing when to take risks is an important trait and I think we all expected Paqueta to be on the opposite side of the spectrum and be too risky. So this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, just a surprising observation.

TL;DR

Paqueta has the talent and attitude to be a successful mezzala at Milan. It’ll be important for him to get some rest after a loooong year so I wouldn’t expect him to be starting for Milan before at least mid-February. But I’m optimistic on his chances of contributing in our very thin midfield. He has the propensity to show up from midfield and score a vital goal off a cross or through individual brilliance in the way that Bonaventura does along with a superior ability to create chances from the midfield or at least, push the team into dangerous positions in the final third in games where we need a more direct option. But, he’s gotta continue to work on his understanding of the game and being in sync with his teammates, something that I expect will come become easier for him as he upgrades his teammates in Milan. In conclusion, this move has the makings of another Leonardo coup but I wouldn’t place too much responsibility on him until the start of next season.