Base saves Santos and Palmeiras from the pandemic and Covid-19 injuries | Brasileirão Serie A

Both Santos and Palmeiras arrive for the classic with the base categories in evidence for reasons of necessity.

In Santos, with a reduced squad, Cuca discovered two high-level and confident goalkeepers: John (24 years old) and João Paulo (25). The command of the attack has the young Kaio Jorge (18) as the hope of goals for the decisive month of December.

In Palmeiras, Gabriel Verón, the Santos forward’s teammate in the U-17 World Cup title last year, has established himself as the team’s main attacking player at age 18. In the middle, the absences of Gabriel Menino (20), Patrick de Paula (21) and Danilo (19) are felt for the classic, with Abel Ferreira needing to resort to a possible improvisation of defender Luan in the middle to mitigate the losses .

With the squad short and the club prevented from signing penalties in FIFA, the solution that coach Cuca found was to try to polish the players revealed in the lower categories. In addition to the two goalkeepers, the coach has given the opportunity to 15 young people recently promoted from Vila since he returned to Santos in August this year – the figure is almost half of the total number of athletes used (33).

In the starting lineup, however, there are only two guys of the newer generation: goalkeeper John and center forward Kaio Jorge. Lucas Veríssimo and Alison are also descendants of Peixe, but they were already “veterans” in the professional cast.

Among the options that have been made known this season are the goalkeeper João Paulo (who started until recently), the defender Alex, the midfielders Vinicius Balieiro and Ivonei and the forwards Marcos Leonardo, Bruno Marques and Ângelo, the latter barely 15 years old. .

In addition to them, defender / left-back Wagner Leonardo, midfielders Sandry, Lucas Lourenço and forward Tailson had already seized the opportunity in recent years and are still used by Cuca. There’s also Renyer, who is recovering from knee surgery and is close to returning to the pitch.

The Cuca technical committee supervises the matches and training sessions of the training teams and looks for possible “new rays”, as the promises in Vila Belmiro are called.

At the Futebol Academy, taking a closer look and using base players were two of the goals on the board for 2020. From the passing of Vanderlei Luxemburg to the arrival of Abel Ferreira, the youngsters trained in Guarulhos have gained space and prominence.

Palmeiras’ greatest example for the classic is Gabriel Veron. Decisive in the confrontation against Delfín, for the round of 16 of the Copa Libertadores, the young man appears as the main name of the attack at this time, even with the company of Willian, the team’s top scorer in the season with 15 goals.

Verón, who has already caught the attention of European clubs such as Borussia Dortmund, Benfica and Atlético de Madrid, was highly praised by Abel Ferreira after the midweek win. The Portuguese assured that he does not accept losing the player for “less than what Santos sold Neymar to Barcelona.”

This massive presence of the point guard makes Abel and Palmeiras regret the casualties this weekend. Gabriel Menino, suspended, is a player for the Brazilian team. Patrick de Paula, injured, resumed good football after a moment of swing.

For his part, the also sanctioned Danilo, who stood out in the win over Delfín, gained more space with Abel Ferreira and emerged as the strongest candidate to fill the vacancy of the injured and experienced Felipe Melo, who only returns to play football in the year. comes from.