This Wednesday, August 14, at 4:00 p.m. in Brasilia, Real Madrid and Atalanta will play the final of the European Super Cup, a tournament in which the UEFA Champions League winner and the UEFA Europa League winner will compete for the title of European super champion at the National Stadium in Warsaw, Poland.
With a lot of Brazilians playing a leading role, these two teams are preparing to face an important match for the first title of the season and today at Sambafoot we will put the spotlight on the five Brazilians who aim to play in the first major final of the 2024/25 season.
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The Brazilians of Real Madrid
At Real Madrid, three of the four Brazilians in their squad are expected to start against Atalanta, while the fourth, Endrick, could see minutes coming off the bench.
🇧🇷 @ViniJr
🇧🇷 @Endrick#RMCity pic.twitter.com/5EBtayw1VW— Real Madrid C.F. (@realmadrid) August 11, 2024
In central defence, now 100% recovered from his discomfort and eager to start the season on the right foot, Éder Militão aims to be the dance partner of the German Antonio Rüdiger in the Merengue defence.
Immovable and indispensable for Carlo Ancelotti, Vinicius Jr. and Rodrygo Goes are set to start on the wings in Real Madrid’s attack and their new teammate, the Frenchman Kylian Mbappé, could occupy a more central position, starting the match as a centre forward.
If the match goes well, Carlo Ancelotti could give minutes to Endrick, who could possibly replace Rodrygo or Mbappé in the attack, coming on as a substitute in the grand final against Atalanta.
However, due to his lack of experience, there is also a chance that he will miss out on action in Real Madrid’s first major final of the season.
- Possible Real Madrid lineup : Courtois | Carvajal, Rüdiger, Militão, Mendy | Valverde, Tchouaméni, Bellingham | Rodrygo, Mbappé, Vinicius Jr.
The Brazilians of Atalanta
Technically, two Brazilian-born players could have been present in the Atalanta squad for the grand final against Real Madrid.
However, club captain Rafael Tolói, a Brazilian naturalised Italian who once played for the Azzurri, will miss the match due to a muscle injury and has not been called up for the match.
"Il 70% della Terra è coperto d'acqua, il resto da #Éderson" -semicit
"70% of Earth is covered by water, the rest by Éderson" 🌎🏃🏽♂️#GoAtalantaGo ⚫️🔵 pic.twitter.com/4JyG2u85F5
— Atalanta B.C. (@Atalanta_BC) June 18, 2024
Thus, the only Brazilian in La Dea who is expected to play in the match is Éderson dos Santos, a versatile midfielder who was called up for the recent Copa América in the United States, only playing 17 minutes against Colombia in the continental tournament.
With Atalanta, Éderson established himself as a key player in Gian Piero Gasperini’s system and was indispensable in the UEFA Europa League final against Bayer Leverkusen, so his starting position against Real Madrid is taken for granted.
- Possible Atalanta lineup : Musso | Djimsiti, Hien, Kolasinac | Zappacosta, Pasalic, Éderson, Ruggeri | Lookman, De Ketelaere, Retegui
