Eduardo Hatamoto – Botafogo SP’s rapid attacking prodigy

The Brazilian State Championships are thought of as a nuisance in an already congested Brazilian football schedule, but they still have their value as this is where fringe young players can be analysed against high-level competition in Brazil. Eduardo Hatamoto has had an impressive start to his career in state championships, scoring against Sao Paulo last year at the age of 17 while he has continued to have impressive outings in a variety of positions this year. The pint-sized 18-year-old plays his football in the third division of Brazilian football in Serie C which makes his appearances in the state championships more impressive as well as more important.

The youngster also known as ‘Dudu’ Hatamoto was always viewed as a talent in Brazil, playing with Palmeiras at the age of 13 before he had to have surgery on his right knee due to ruptured cartilage which had to be replaced with an implant flown in from the United States as this injury would leave him side-lined for a year. However, as he was recovering from the injury, a doctor informed him of a defect of his heart which would require more surgery as this defect would not allow him to continue playing due to the risks of sudden illness. The 13-year-old had a vein in his heart which was gushing blood as he would not play football for a year and a half, asking Palmeiras to release so that he could recover. Dudu would have to drop down two levels of football from arguably the best academy in Brazil to the Brazilian third division in order to piece his career together again.

The 18-year-old from Riberao Preto, in the interior of Sao Paulo, started his career when he was signed by local club Ole Brasil Futebol Club at the age of 7 as Palmeiras have recently been known for developing quick pint-sized attackers in Brazil. Hatamoto is small and quick while predominantly playing on the flank of his weaker foot like Red Bull Bragantino’s left-footed right winger in Artur, who also left Palmeiras at a young age, as Hatamoto is a right-footed left winger. He has pace to evade markers in foot races or burst past them while his first touch and ability to receive possession in between the lines is phenomenal as this allows him to ease transition and connect play from the central positions. He loves to cut inside from the left flank and thread passes through tight lines to create opportunities while his dribbling would see an improvement if he improves his physique as he tends to get muscled off the ball a lot.

Away to Ituano, Hatamoto would receive possession on the left flank in the first minute of play to play a back-pass before making a run to receive a switch ball from the right sided centre-back for the teenager to cut into the centre to have two shots blocked. A few minutes later, he received possession by the touchline to surge past a marker before faking like he was going to cut back to roll the ball forward off the outside of his boot to evade one marker as he surged past another to the by-line to have his cross blocked. In build-up, a ball was played to him for the youngster to dummy the ball which rolled to a teammate as Hatamoto was hauled to the ground before he could get into position for the lay-off. The 18-year-old is intriguing as he has a wide array of skillsets and can play in a variety of positions as he received a switch ball to control the ball, hold off a marker and play the ball back to a teammate before making a run to receive another pass to cut-back with his left foot to a teammate who would have a shot blocked.

Hatamoto frequently makes bursts and runs to receive possession in space in the possession play phases and also in the counter-attacking phase as this allows him to receive possession in space, to eschew physical tussles and be able to have time in possession to generate a shooting opportunity for himself or for a teammate. His first touch would be crucial again when he received possession on the flank to cut inside and thread a through bal for a runner which was too heavy. Dudu showed his dribbling potential when he received possession on the flank to drive the ball at a marker spin away, managing to evade two markers in the process before having a tame shot from range blocked. The 18-year-old is especially impressive in counter-attacking situations, as he would receive possession in the defensive phase to skip past a marker and surge forward before switching a pass to the opposite flank with his left foot.

The youngster also offered a glimpse of what he would be capable of with a better physique, receiving a lobbed pass, controlling the ball perfectly as he managed to get leverage with his low centre of gravity prior to receiving possession as a bigger player attempted to tackle him but bounced off him and fell to the ground for Hatamoto to drive into the box and cut-back for a teammate at the near post who had a shot blocked. Dudu also has the potential to be an intriguing transitional player, not only being able to receive possession in between the lines with his impeccable first touch but also having the vision and skill to distribute passes in between the lines. After a turnover, deep in his own half, Dudu would play a fantastic penetrative pass to a teammate in between the lines in order to evade counter-pressure. In another situation where the ball was turned over, Hatamoto would back-step twice to find a pocket of space, receiving possession to turn and stride forward prodding the ball past an opposition defender who barged him over as he won a free-kick for his team.

One of Dudu’s favoured routines is to receive possession on the flank, cut inside and play penetrative passes or spread the ball to the opposite flank. The 18-year-old received possession in space on the counter to take another brilliant first touch to push the ball forward as if he would drive to the by-line before shifting the ball from his in-step to the outside of his boot to cut past his fullback before cutting past another player to switch the ball to the opposite flank. Away to Santos, in the State Championship, Dudu would play as a second-striker in a three centre-back formation as he got an opportunity against higher level competition. His impeccable first touch proved essential in him adapting to this position as he controlled a flick on from a goal-kick in the nine-space with his weaker left foot before spreading the ball to the flank with his right foot.

In another goal-kick situation, he would move to the flank to control a long pass from the goalkeeper before flicking the ball onto a runner in the half-space. Hatamoto moved in between the left flank and the nine-space as after a turnover, he controlled the ball in the central spaces to turn and surge forward, driving away from one marker before prodding the ball to evade another marker with his pace, he then had a 2v1 situation on the flank where he shielded the ball from one marker with his back, to flick the ball past a second marker to drive to the by-line and have a cut-back blocked. It is a same move, he utilized against Ituano to have his shot blocked as if he develops his ability to leverage his low centre of gravity and quickness, he could become a threatening winger while he continues to grow into his body. He received possession on the counter in the nine-space, playing the ball to the left flank before making a run to the flank to receive possession and play a one-touch pass to a deeper player.

Dudu received possession on the counter again, moving to the left flank, receiving possession to stride forward before working a pass to an overlapping wing-back who crossed for an opposition defender to head over the bar as Botafogo SP won a corner. He received possession on the left once more in a 1v1 situation, surging past his marker by prodding the ball forward with his right foot as he struck a shot at the keeper with his left. He created another shooting opportunity for himself moments later when he received possession by the left touchline to surge forward in another 1v1 situation, cutting inside and smashing a shot over the bar from range. In a counter-attacking situation, his side regained possession for them to work a deep pass to the flank for Hatamoto to lay-off with his first touch before making a run forward where he could receive possession in space, but his team never passed him the ball.

The 18-year-old would then make another run which would prove more beneficial for his team, surging forward to evade two Santos defenders to receive a throw-in before cutting back a pass for a teammate to apply the finish. Hatamoto received possession on the left flank for another counter-attacking opportunity to intelligently work a one-touch lobbed pass for his strike partner in the nine-space who went through on goal to have a 1v1 with the opposition goalkeeper as he opened his body and sent the shot wide. Away to Guarani, more higher-level opposition for the Brazilian youngster, Dudu received possession after a turnover from to lead a counter-attack as he would prod the ball forward to engage a marker and flick an outside of the boot pass for a teammate to receive a lay-off and then play a one-touch pass for a teammate who was tackled. He received possession on the left to cut inside and thread a pass to the nine-space as his striker sent a high-quality opportunity over the bar.

He then made a run from the central spaces to the wide areas to receive possession to evade a defender with his pace when driving to the by-line before cutting a cross back into the which was slightly behind the striker and cleared. The 18-year-old then showed his intelligence for movement when he was tucked inside before making a vertical movement towards the flank with a fullback chasing him to drop his shoulder and spin before bursting forward to receive a lobbed pass to cut past his marker and attempt to lob a cross with his left foot as his delivery never found an attacker. He then regained possession with an interception to skip past a marker with his pace as he drove into the box and attempted a cross with his left which was blocked. He utilized his pace once more as once his side regained possession, he surged forward to receive a through ball in behind the opposition defence to have a shot with his left foot saved. The 18-year-old carved out another shooting opportunity for himself when he received possession on the left to cut inside before cutting outside his defender to fire a shot into the side-netting with his left.

Dudu models his game after Neymar as the 18-year-old identified his pace as one of his biggest strengths but there are other intriguing facets to his game. His tactical awareness for movement is impressive, the timing of his movements and the way he utilizes the timing of his runs to remain onside while being able to receive possession in front of his marker is exceptional. Once he has a yard on his marker, he is capable of cutting past his marker to create a passing, crossing or shooting opportunity for himself while he can also be over-reliant on his pace and dribbling, taking too long to release the ball before he is barged over by an opposition defender. Developing his strength will only add another dimension to his game as a dribbler as once he is able to hold off and even muscle past defenders, his dribble succession rate will go on a steep rise. Hatamoto is comfortable, passing, shooting and crossing with his left foot, as he can even cross with his weaker foot while running, as this allows him to be a threat cutting inside or driving to the by-line as a winger as this is key in being a proficient dribbler.

Dudu is able to play as a left winger, second-striker as against Guarani, he even moonlighted as a playmaker, receiving the ball in central spaces in between the lines. With improved strength to hold possession, he will also be able to play right winger as he will also need to be more proficient with his left as he is an undervalued gem in the Brazilian third division. His potential as a transitional player with his first touch and ball control allows him to be effective in central positions while he can also move into the wide areas to create opportunities. He has tremendous vision as well as an eye for penetrative passes in the central spaces as in the wide areas, he prefers to cut-back crosses to the near post. The 18-year-old certainly possesses high-level potential. Statiscally, in the current Brazilian Paulista State Championship, for U23 players he has the most dribbles, more than Artur and Angelo Gabriel from Santos in a similar number of minutes with the second highest dribble success rate and the highest succession rate with 72%. In terms of all players, he is the top three in all those categories.

There are many clubs in Brazil that could develop Dudu as talent development hubs such as Vitoria and Ponte Preta in the Brazilian Second Division could develop him while Red Bull Bragantino have developed attackers of his ilk under Mauricio Barbieri such as Artur and Tomas Cuello. Atletico Paranaense continuously make intelligent moves as Dudu would develop well as an attacker in their 3-4-3 shape. In Europe, the City Football Group and a loan to Lommel in Belgium could be a good move for his development as the Red Bull group has also been mentioned. Ajax would be a lovely place for a player of his technical skill as would be PSV Eindhoven as both clubs have networks in Brazil and have a history of developing Brazilian attackers. A season with their youth teams in the Eerste Divisie would be adequate for him to settle while first-team football for him in the Belgian Jupiler League, Swiss League and Austrian Bundesliga would also be adequate for him. Familicao in Portugal who developed Pedro Goncalves would also be a good place for the youngster to gain immediate first-team football as a mid-table team in the Portuguese Primiera Liga would also be a good place for him. If one of the top sides like Sporting, FC Porto, SC Braga or Benfica bought him and loaned him out to another team, this would also be an intelligent piece of business. The Italian Serie A or Serie B would also be a good step for him with his technical skillset as he could also move into European developmental leagues in France, Scandinavia and Croatia as his contract expires in late 2023 making him relatively cheap on the Brazilian market for players of his age and potential.