Marlon – Botafogo SP’s creative right-back
A few years ago, Arsenal and their new Technical Director made the intelligent decision to acquire Gabriel Martinelli from Ituano after his exploits in the Brazilian State Championships. These competitions are thought of as a hindrance as they take place after the Brasiliero season but they also offer the opportunity for players in the Brazilian lower leagues to face the biggest teams and players in Brazil. In the Paulista A1, with some of the best attacking talent, a right-back from the Brasiliero Serie C led the tournament in expected assists as he has now dropped to third in the metric, beating out some of the best attacking talent in Brazil. 21-year-old, Marlon Mykaion Almeida Lopes, better known as Marlon has put in some intriguing performances during the tournament.
Marlon is a burly fullback who has predominantly played at wing-back during the competition, striding forward with possession as he prefers to manoeuvre out of pressure and tight spaces with intelligent vertical passing sequences. In the opposition half, he prefers to hold possession and work penetrative passes into the central spaces before making late runs outside the opposition fullback to receive possession to guide accurate crosses onto the foreheads of teammates. His crossing is his biggest strength as he can cross with precision on the overlap, from the deeper low percentage areas of the final third as well as from set-pieces as this has made him a pivotal chance creator for his team. He will need to improve the defensive aspect of his game as he can be perfectly positioned to make crucial interceptions for his team while he struggles in 1v1s, sometimes setting his feet and allowing his winger to go outside before diving into a challenge, giving his opponent the opportunity to beat him.
Away to Santos, he would receive possession in the opposition half from the six-space with his back to the opposition goal and an opposition player pushing up to apply pressure on them, flicking the ball past his marker before cutting back inside to play the ball into the central spaces. After a blocked cross, he would receive possession in the deeper areas to launch a cross into the six-yard box which evaded the opposition defenders as well as the strikers. In the build-up phase, he would drop deep to receive possession by the touchline to take a touch and play the ball to a teammate in the half-space. Marlon had an opportunity to take his own corner as lobbed a perfectly arced delivery into the box for a teammate to head wide.
In the Brasiliero Serie C away to Ituano, he took a throw-in before receiving possession in the right-back position, skipping past an opposition attacker to then play the ball to his centre-back after he attracted another attacker into his zone. Marlon thrives at regaining possession with interceptions or at the point of contact as he would tuck inside and push up to stretch and make a challenge to regain possession and drive the ball into the opposition half to spread a pass to the flank. The 21-year-old then received possession on the flank to drive the ball into the opposition half as he worked a one-two with a teammate to continue his foray into the opposition half as he attempted to beat an opposition player with pace and eventually lost possession. He would make a similar challenge to his first to regain possession for his side in the defensive phase.
Away to Guarani in the Paulista A1 competition, he received possession near the right touchline in the opposition half in a 1v1 situation to receive the ball with the inside of his boot before evading his marker by flicking the ball past his marker with the outside of his boot to drive the ball forward and carefully lob a cross into the box which sailed over the head of Dudu Hatamoto by mere inches for the left wing-back to receive possession on the far side of the pitch and slam the ball home. In the defensive phase, the wing-back would tuck inside to receive possession under pressure and work a pass to a teammate in the next line to instigate a pressure beating short passing sequence and switch ball. He would evade pressure with another passing sequence after a turnover on the right flank to receive possession and flick the ball inside before making a burst to receive possession as he had no teammates in the box to cross to as Marlon attempted a dribble and was tackled.
Marlon is also an astute back-post defender as he manages to maintain his concentration as a cross was sent into the box for the 21-year-old to flick out the delivery with an opposition attacker making a run behind him. The Brazilian fullback has struggled in 1v1 situations against some of the better wingers but has shown the potential to be better in defending these situations as the ball was switched to the opposition winger for the 21-year-old to push out and mark him as his marker stood him up and tried to drive to the by-line and cross for the young defender to block the ball and pump his fists in celebration. This was a close quarter 1v1 situation as he struggles when him and his attacker are positioned closer to the top corner of the box with the Brazilian oversetting himself to prevent his winger from driving inside, allowing the winger an easier avenue to cut to the outside.
In a short crossing situation, a ball would be played back to him for the right-back to lob a cross into the box for a teammate to head over the bar. He created yet another opportunity when he made an overlapping run on the counter-attack to receive possession as he had a teammate in the centre who was in a lower percentage situation as well as a teammate making a run to the near post as Marlon lobbed an accurate pass to the near post for his teammate to hammer over the bar. At home to Sao Bernardo FC, he would make an interception on a switch ball to drive the ball into the opposition half and send a shot wide of the post. Defensively, with his size and athleticism, Marlon is fantastic at winning possession in the second or third wave of the pressure phase, being perfectly positioned to make another interception to regain possession in the opposition half.
After a turnover in the defensive phase, Marlon would play a deep vertical pass to the ten space from the right flank as his distribution as a vertical passer is exceptional. In the opposition half, he would work a one-two with a teammate and switch possession to the opposite flank for a cross. He made another interception when he was tucked inside and the ball was switched to his flank for the 21-year-old to regain possession aerially. He had another 1v1 situation when the ball was switched to his flank as he stood up against an opposition winger as he was covering the lane to the by-line before side-stepping to cover the lane into the centre as he side-stepped to his original position to make a block on a pass which would bobble to another opposition teammate before Marlon made the tackle for a corner. There are possibilities for the youngster to improve in 1v1s with better training in a different system.
At home to Corinthians, Marlon was positioned in a higher area to receive a switch ball to skip past a marker with his right foot and thread a pass to a teammate with his left in between the lines to instigate a sequence which would lead to a cross. In the medium block phase, he would show great anticipation to push forward and make an interception to work a pass inside in a move that would ultimately lead to a switch ball. The 21-year-old would lob a corner into the box for a teammate to head over the bar. The young fullback would make another fantastic tackle as his winger received possession and turned for Marlon to push up and make the tackle. He would have another 1v1 situation where he was chasing a winger to the flank and showed good recovery speed after being beaten at the beginning of the sequence, he set himself to cover the area to the by-line and force his opponent inside before using his body to barge the attacker deeper as a teammate ultimately made the challenge. This was an improvement on his defending in 1v1 situation as forcing his man inside into a congested zone allowed his team to win a turnover.
In an attacking sense, he would loft another corner to the back-post for a teammate to head over the bar. A few minutes later, he would create another opportunity from a corner, lofting a cross into the box for a teammate to head over from the centre of the box. In the build-up phase, he took on a switch ball to evade a marker with his first touch and turn of pace before playing a penetrative pass to the nine-space. Marlon received possession at the edge of his own box to drive the ball into the opposition half where he played the ball to the left flank before being on the nasty end of a late challenge to earn his team a free-kick. He won a turnover in the pressing phase, pushing up from deep to cover a large area of space to make a tackle. He covered space to make another tackle on former Arsenal and Chelsea star, Willian, to regain possession in the defensive phase. Him and Willian would battle again, in a 1v1, with Marlon recovering as the ball was played behind him to cover him as the attacker teased going inside or outside before cutting inside and attempting a cross which Marlon blocked. That would not be the last time, Marlon and Willian tussled, as the former Brazilian National Team evaded the right-sided centre-back for the 21-year-old fullback to show some brilliant recovery pace to go shoulder to shoulder with Willian without lunging as he made a clean tackle to regain possession and prevent him from having an opportunity on goal.
One of Marlon’s weak points is that he sometimes seems confused in playing as a wing-back, especially in the defensive situations where he is not occupying a natural wing-back position as he is unsure of where to position himself. However, from a physical and athletic standpoint, he has the recovery speed to cover ground, the physique to challenge wingers in tight spaces as well as the relentless energy to do it throughout the game. He is capable of playing a more conventional right-back role in the future with more training and sophistication in analysing 1v1 situations, a better understanding of positioning as well as an improvement in managing the setting of his feet and body leverage. In an attacking sense, he is a threat on the overlap as well as from set-pieces as he is a highly efficient crosser, picking his deliveries with precision rather than looking to thump crosses into the box. He has the tools to be effective in regaining possession in the opposition half in the pressing phase as he is authoritative at closing space to regain possession when his opponent has less than three touches on the ball.
Marlon has a contract that ends in late 2023 as he should be a cheaper developmental option for feeder teams such as Midtylland and Union Saint-Gilloise as in two years, he could be playing with Brentford or Brighton and Hove Albion as both use systems with wingbacks where his pace in stretching the pitch and crossing could be crucial. The Italian Serie A would also be a good league for him with his vertical passing and movement while he could gain develop tactically as would the Portuguese Primeira Liga. Teams like Basel could also develop the 21-year-old as would teams in La Liga and the Segunda Liga in Spain or Ligue 1 or Ligue 2 in France. In Brazil, it would be intriguing to see him with Mauricio Barbieri’s Red Bull Bragantino as he would be able to develop both sides of his game in that system while his crossing on the overlap for Artur would provide the team with another attacking outlet. The 21-year-old right-back has a bright future as whichever team can sign him cheaply and develop the defensive aspects of his game will be able to accrue a substantial return in the future.
