Gustavo Martins – Gremio’s gritty defensive prodigy
Gustavo Martins de Souza Santos always had a passion for football, ever since his upbringing in Sao Goncalo, the city where he grew up in Brazil as he inherited this passion from his father who was an intense football fanatic. The 19-year-old centre-back has always been a sort of footballing prodigy, being accepted into Fluminense’s academy as players in the academy usually started at 5 or 6 but his size made him an exception. He then moved to Vasco Da Gama where he learned the nuances of becoming an athlete and managing his developing his physique before moving to another storied Brazilian academy in Botafogo where he truly began to establish himself as a centre-back. He was originally a midfielder but Botafogo were short of a centre-back in one game as Martins was moved further back as he was one of the tallest players in the team as this positional change proved shrewd.
For all Gustavo Martins’ gifts, he has also had to show some grit in his footballing journey as he has cycled through a few Brazilian academies as at Vasco, he had massive doubts about whether to continue with his footballing career, being far away from home in his pre-teens, his mother had consistently encouraged him to be serious with his studies as a back-up plan while the faith and support of his father proved vital. His father had a contact at Gremio and insisted that he go to the side for a trial which he was successful with as it was the first time that he would leave Rio de Janiero for Rio Grande do Sul where he would miss the weather and beaches but has now managed to adapt seamlessly. He has become one of the most important players for the U20 side, so much so that in September, weeks after his 19th birthday, he signed a long-term contract extension till 2025 with an astonishing release clause of €80 million.
Gustavo Martins is a lanky and physical imposing presence at centre-back, as his game is based on his intelligent positioning, his clean tackling and ability to win possession aerially. Virgil van Dijk, Sergio Ramos, Thiago Silva are some of the defenders that he looks up to abroad while Pedro Geromel is an idol who is currently with the Gremio first-team. Most of his growth in the future will need to be done in possession, he normally prefers to play possession to his right-back while he attempts to be more direct and longer with his distribution, but this results in turnovers. His physical size will make him an effective ball-carrier in the future, striding forward in possession and barging opposition attackers out of his way to drive the ball forward to attract markers before shifting the ball to a teammate in space.
At home to the Corinthians U20 side, the opposition would play a direct ball into the channels as Martins’ marker was making a darting run in behind him for the defender to calmly elevate and head the ball to a teammate. The 19-year-old then showed the potential of some vision as a ball-player, receiving possession from his goalkeeper, driving the ball past an attacker and sending a raking pass past two opposition lines of pressure to a teammate in between the lines as the pass was nearly intercepted in the midfield line. The half-spaces are some of the most important areas of the pitch as defenders now need to have the mobility to cover these areas. This is where Martins thrives, moving to the wide areas to make tackles and regain possession in the half-space as he is commanding in 1v1 situations.
He proved this ability when his team played a long ball into the half-space as an attacker made a run in between him and his defender for Martins to calmly slide across and make an interception before playing a pass to the six-space. Gustavo Martins anticipation meshed with his long legs makes him an incredibly efficient ball-winner in a variety of areas and angles as in another situation, he was tucked in to his centre-back as he pushed up to intercept a pass to the nine-space and lob a pass to the opposite flank for an attacker to drive into the opposition box. In another match at home to Fortaleza, the opposition would clear the ball for Martins to push up against an attacker and win possession with a clean tackle.
Gustavo Martins may not be clean in possession, but he is still a highly capable defender in martialling a high-line because of his immense defensive ability and potential. His comfortability in defending 1v1s is uncanny for a defender his age while his aerial ability allows him to win possession in the air with ease in the higher areas or in the opposition half. He can also recover well if the ball is played behind him or to either side of him as he can cover ground adeptly with long strides before lunging to make a clean and well-timed challenge as he is as commanding in holding a high-line as he is in a deeper block. Another aspect of his game that is so rare for a young centre-back is Martins’ willingness to engage in 50/50 battles to win possession as an opposition attacker was about to receive possession in his zone for the 19-year-old to step out and make a challenge.
He would willingly put his body on the line again for a 50/50 challenge as he moved across the back-line to cover for his centre-back partner as the opposition turned past him, leaving Martins as the last line of defence to stretch and make an impeccable clearance. The 19-year-old is exceptionally defensively not only because of his physique but also because of his reading of the game and decision making, he is very sound in deciding whether to hold his position and track a runner or whether to push out of the back-line to regain possession, especially in isolated high-pressure situations. He proved this when his right-back was caught out of position as the opposition had the opportunity to attack in a 4v3 situation, his right-back was retreating and tracking a runner while his defensive partner had marked the central striker, so Martins decided to push out and engage the man in possession to make a clean tackle and regain possession for his side.
Gustavo Martins would then receive possession under pressure to swivel past his marker and play a pass to his centre-back partner as the young centre-back’s ability to shield the ball with his body will prove to be an asset further along in his career when he is tasked with carrying possession into the midfield line more often. The opposition attempted a long ball for the 19-year-old to almost nonchalantly win an aerial duel to regain possession for his side. He finally gave a glimpse of his potential as a ball-carrier, being perfectly positioned to make an interception on a pass into the channel to use his first touch to beat the striker before using his second touch to skip past another striker before playing a pass to his fullback with the outside of his right boot. If he is coached to carry the ball and drive past players before looking up to play passes in between the lines, he could grow into a force at centre-back. Martins would cover for his fullback again to make another challenge in a 50/50 battle.
Martins’ astute positioning, mobility and ability to cover for his fullback would all come to play in one sequence as his team made a turnover while they while trying to move the ball forward, the 19-year-old decided to mark his striker and track as he moved into the box as the ball was played to the opposition winger making a run behind him. Martins positioned his body on the half-turn to calmly spin and move to engage and block a cross in a situation where his side could have conceded goal, showing impeccably calm decision-making and execution. He proved his ability in the air by winning another two aerial duels, impeccably and calmly to regain possession in his side as out of possession, he is one of the biggest talents in world football. This would be proved again as he showed sound judgement in another defensive situation as his team would have a turnover in midfield with Martins choosing to mark his man who made a run into the wide areas for Martins to hold his position and push forward to engage the man in possession to make another clean tackle.
He would win possession again by hovering over his marker to win an aerial duel as attackers were barely challenging him in the air at the latter stages of the game. He would use his ability in the air, in an attacking sequence this time, as headed in a corner at the back-post in one of his three goals from the past season. At home to the Atletico Goianiense U20 side, Gustavo Martins would put on another masterclass in positioning as his fullback was caught out of position again, instead of moving out to engage the winger he continued to mark his attacker, constantly swivelling his head to check if he was positioned correctly to intercept the cross about three times and adjusting his position before eventually making an interception and clearance on the cross. The 19-year-old would have another 1v1 battle with an attacker as a long ball was played into his zone for Martins to stoop low and head the ball to a teammate to regain possession.
He showed a glimpse of his potential in possession, receiving possession from the six-space to use his body to shield the ball before working a pass to his centre-back partner. There was yet another glimpse as he received possession and had a poor first touch to cleverly skip past an attacker before poking a pass into the channels for his fullback to instigate an attacking move. He scored another as he made a run into the box for a deflected header that dropped into his path for him to sweep the ball into the goal. The 19-year-old has already proved to be a commanding force in both boxes, as a ball-winner in his own box and as a goalscoring threat in the opposition box from set-pieces.
Gustavo Martins will need to improve his ball-playing, especially his ability to look up and assess his passing options before releasing vertical passes forward. An improvement in his ability to distribute possession meshed with vision for central passes will see him develop into one of the better centre-backs in South American football and the next in a lineage of high-level Brazilian centre-backs. In a more possession-based system with players dropping into space to provide him more passing options, this could see this aspect of his game grow while he could develop in possession with increased wall-passing situations where he can play the ball to a teammate to lay-off to him to thread a pass in between the lines. Defensively, Gustavo Martins is prepared for Brasiliero Serie A football with his mobility, battling mentality in 50/50s as well as his reading of the game and mobility as in the defensive aspect of his game, he is well-worth his current release clause. In the future, he will score a lot of goals as a set-piece threat while he is well-placed for his commanding aerial nature to transfer into first-team football.
““I'm a very fast defender, I have a great recovery. I'm very good at aerial ball, defensively and offensively. At 1 to 1 I'm also very good. I think one of the main things I need to improve is the question of strength, as I'm a firmer defender,” said Gustavo Martins in an interview with TNT Sports after signing his new contract in September.
Gustavo Martins is another example of overcoming the pressure-filled peaks and troughs that come with youth development in Brazilian football as he is now one of the leading talents in his position and his age-group as he could begin to make inroads into the first-team in the state-tournament next year or towards the end of this season. With a long-term contract and high release clause, making the transition into the Gremio first-team will be his primary goal while improving his ability in possession as he has the potential to become a defensive force for one of the world’s leading clubs in the future. He has only just turned 19 but his fledgling career has been filled with many difficulties which have left him, well-prepared for the rigors of professional football.
