Matheus Vieira – Sao Paulo’s tigerish centre-back prospect
Sao Paulo is the most populous area of Brazil as it is home to many Brazilian powerhouses and a strong community of talented young footballers. Sao Paulo’s Cotia training base is home to one of the finest and most impressive academy structures as Matheus Viera Dos Santos is a prospect whose talents have been honed within the confines of those hallowed halls. The 19-year-old was born in the Santos area of Sao Paulo, joining the academy in 2017 in his mid-teens, rising through the ranks as a vice-captain with their 2017 U17 Paulista side while he has also worn the captain’s armband at U20 level. He has the potential to be a well-rounded centre-back at the highest level.
U20 level in Brazilian football presents a crossroads, especially in the higher-level academies as youngsters are looking to make inroads into the first-team and earn the security of longer-term professional contracts. It also proves to be a fertile hunting ground for lower-level Brazilian clubs as well as foreign clubs yearning for a bargain as highly skilled prospects can be acquired for cheap, developed and resold for a fortune. Matheus Viera has begun to train with Fernando Diniz’ first-team side as he accrues most of his playing time with the U20 youth side as Ecuadorian, Roberto Arboleda is the first-choice right-sided centre-back after taking usurping Diego Costa, who started the season as first choice centre-back but is now second-choice.
The 19-year-old, Vieira stands at over six feet tall with an imposing physique as he thrives in pushing up to nudge an opposition attacker out of possession while he can shift across to cover his fullback and win the ball in the wide areas with his physique. This also gives him an integral advantage in aerial duels as he wins a high volume of aerial challenges from opposition goal-kicks to regain possession, his positioning and defending from opposition corners and free-kicks is sound while he provides a threat from set-pieces when attacking the opposition box. His aerial and physical capabilities mean that he has the potential to be a commanding high-line defender in pushing up to win possession with timely tackles and interceptions while he normally reclaims possession from opposition lobbed passes with relative ease.
At home to the Coritiba U20 side, Matheus thrived in regaining possession through aerial duels as the opposition centre-back tried to play a longer lobbed pass for a deeper-lying striker as Matheus calmly rose to head away the challenge. He would also win a duel from a throw-in as his highly developed aerial ability allows him to bring defensive resolve from a variety of situations, including long-balls and set-pieces. The growing facet of his game is his distribution as he can at times play simpler passes into the six-space or passes to the left-sided centre-back or his fullback. In the Coritiba game, he was more conservative with his distribution but has had some moments to prove that this is an emerging dimension of his game rather than a skill he lacks.
Vieria would thrive in a team with rehearsed build-up sequences as the thrives in wall-passing situations as he will work a pass into the six-space for the deep-lying midfielder to lay the ball off to him which would create space and an opportunity for a deeper pass through the lines. This is one of the 19-year-old’s favoured sequences as against Coritiba, he received possession in the opposition half to work a pass to the deepest-lying midfielder before lobbing a pass for Pedrinho to chest down inside the box and cut-back for Coritiba centre-back, Habraoo to clear the ball. His physical capabilities also add some press resistance to his ability as a centre-back as he can outmuscle opposition attackers to drive the ball forward before playing passes into the next line as he has the potential to be an effective ball-carrier with his distribution.
He also moved ahead of his attacker to chest the ball down and work a pass to his defensive partner, further exacerbating his abilities as a high-line defender, showing the anticipation to move ahead of his marker to regain possession for his in the opposition half. This allows him to regain possession in the higher areas while his side are operating in the pressing phase while also pushing up to regain possession when his side are initiating a counter-press to regain possession as his defensive line will shift into a higher line to suffocate the man in possession.
This also allows him to be an effective man-marker as he can cover short distances quickly and regain possession with well-timed challenges. Against Flamengo, a throw-in was worked to the nine space as once his marker turned, Viera stole the ball from his feet cleanly before working a pass to the left-back who drove forward on the break. The 19-year-old centre-back also possesses a brilliant directional first touch as he can swivel past markers and set himself to play a pass past pressure. At home to Flamengo’s U20 side, he received a back-pass from the right-back to feint like he was going to receive possession on his in-step and move inside to open his body and push the ball towards the wide areas, leaving an attacker sliding past him before rolling the ball past his marker again to play the ball to his partner with his left foot.
In that situation, he could have looked to drive forward and engage pressure before releasing the ball with a pass in between the lines but his grasp of the fundamentals, especially from a technical stand-point provide a great platform to build from when moves up to professional football. He then received possession to play a one-touch pass to his centre-back partner before swivelling and threading a brilliant pass in between the lines to the eight-space for the midfielder to mis-control. However, in another situation, he controlled a long-ball to poke a pass through the lines for a teammate as he has shown the potential to be a high-level distributer from deep.
As Matheus, has a larger body with longer legs, he can stretch his legs to regain possession through interceptions in the defensive phase. However, this can also cover for poor positioning in some situations when Sao Paulo’s U20 side are defending in a zonal defensive shape as the young centre-back can be a few yards out of position, especially when it comes to covering his blind-side. Opposition teams have at times slid through balls past the defender where he has been caught out of position and he has to chase back as he is not as authoritative, running back to his own goal as he is defending the space in front of him. Against Flamengo, he made a poorly timed sliding challenge when chasing back a marker to earn a yellow card. He needs to improve his motoring skills and ability to scan to shift over and adjust to situations to cover spaces and make timely interceptions to remedy this issue.
Away to Oeste in the Copa Sao Paulo, he showed his aerial prowess from an opposition corner as this game proved to be a turning point for the youngster, especially with the confidence in his distribution. He normally worked wall-passes to teammates before threading deep passes through the lines or simply moved the ball to the six-space in the midfield line but in this particular game, he played more aggressive and penetrative passes. In the 19th minute, he threaded a magnificent pass to a teammate in the ten space who turned and tried to thread a pass in behind for the striker. A minute later, he worked a wall-pass to the eight space before threading another pass through the lines to instigate an attacking move.
He then demonstrated his penchant for intelligent first touches when a long ball was played with a marker pushing up to press him as he turned and lobbed a pass to his right back out of pressure with impeccable calm. Vieira played a pass to a midfielder in the next line who turned and worked a pass to the wide areas before the ball was played back to him as he rolled a pass to the ten space as the attacker attempted to flick on the pass for the striker. At home against Operario, he continued this vein of form as an intelligent ball-playing centre-back as he received possession to elegantly roll a pass to the midfield line to a teammate who swivelled to avert pressure.
Vieira takes great care in the weighting of his passes as he consistently looks to give his teammate the opportunity to control the ball with ease, lay-off or flick-on the pass to a teammate or swivel to evade a marker. His progressive passes from his own half seem to be calmly played with impeccable accuracy while in the opposition half, he will look to drill passes into tight spaces through narrow alleys. He would then receive possession inside his own box to work a pass for his left-winger who was dropping deep to lay-off for the left-sided midfielder as they worked a one-two to beat pressure. A minute later, he would receive possession with his right foot, with a player pressing him from his right side to take a touch with his right foot and work a pass past pressure with his left.
He rarely uses his left foot to pass as this would not suggest that he was unable to use both feet, but he does thrive at receiving the ball with both feet, as his first touch with his left foot is as effective as his first touch with his right foot. Passing with his left foot shows an innate presence of mind at distributing the ball and evading pressure. He then defended a counter after a turnover by his centre-back partner where he outmuscled the attacker before regaining possession. He would also push up to intercept a pass in counter-pressure before guiding the ball past an opposition attacker, driving the ball into the opposition half and sending a strike high and wide. Later in the game, Vieira used his strength to shield the ball from an attacker before poking a pass to the right winger.
The main issues with Viera’s game are that he seems to square his body when opposition attackers are driving the ball at him instead of taking up a more horizontal body shape which would put him in a better body position to make a challenge. It is easier for attackers to beat him with subtle changes of direction as he is relying on his front foot to make the challenge as he will have to turn his whole body if a marker beats him instead of making a little swivel drive his marker into a tighter space. He also needs to improve in covering his zone by maintaining an awareness of his position in regard to limiting space in between him and his fullback or centre-back partner to prevent through balls. He also tends to panic when he is chasing back to his goal as he needs to work on focusing on matching his attacker with stride to then put himself in a shoulder to shoulder position to use his strength to regain possession. These issues can be remedied by a coach who is more focused on the finer points of defending in a low block and a coaching staff that will look to improve these aspects of his game as managing his body shape while being attacked by opponents could be a more complex process.
Matheus Vieira is in an integral period of his career as his contract is winding down and he would need to make the step up to the Sao Paulo first-team or make a move elsewhere. Diego Costa is only 21-years-old as Arboleda is 29-years-old as Sao Paulo will also be under a new Head Coach towards the end of this season and at the beginning of next year. If he did decide to move, a move to the Portuguese Primera Liga would be beneficial as it would give him the tactical training to iron out his defensive issues while also utilizing his skill-set in possession. It would also take less time for him to adjust as there would be no language barrier as a he could develop into a high-level centre-back for his club to gain a profit from his sale.
