The coach of the Pre-Olympic Men’s National Team, Ramon Menezes, will have four quality full-backs available for the friendlies against Morocco, with attack-oriented traits and a strong willingness to defend. Among the athletes in the position called up, Arthur, Abner and Vinicius Tobias play in European football and Wellington, from São Paulo, has already participated in great matches for Tricolor Paulista and will compete, also in September, in the finals of the Copa do Brasil.
“They are offensive and with a great defensive capacity, players who have a great reading of the game. They know the right moment to attack. When they attack, they go with a lot of strength to define the play”, explained Ramon.
The purpose of the games is to prepare Canarinho for the Pan American Games in Chile, from October 20 to November 5, and the Pre-Olympic Tournament, which will be held in January 2024.
The first game against Morocco will be this Thursday (7). The other is scheduled for Monday (11). The matches will be held in Fez, in the northeast of the African country.
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Arthur
Right-back recently hired by Bayer Leverkusen (ALE), Arthur, 20 years old, was a fundamental part of Ramon Menezes’ team in winning the South American U-20 Championship, in Colombia, in February this year. With the good performances, he was summoned to play in the Under-20 World Cup in May and June of this year, in Argentina.
Born in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, he was revealed by América-MG before moving to Germany. The mineiro has already received a chance in the Brazilian senior team. He came on as a stoppage-time substitute against the Moroccans in March.
One of its characteristics is its versatility. Arthur can be used at right-back, left-back, in addition to occupying roles in midfield.
Abner
The left-back from Pirapozinho, in São Paulo, was revealed by Ponte Preta and transferred to Athletico Paranaense. For the red-black team, he became champion of the Campeonato Paranaense in 2020 and Sudamericana in 2021. In Curitiba, the winger played 148 games and scored five times.
The highlight at the club saw him called up by André Jardine for the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. In Japan, he won the gold medal with Brazil, which represented the second consecutive championship in the modality.
The 23-year-old Abner’s titles and football aroused the attention of Real Betis (ESP), who signed him in January of this year.
Vinicius Tobias
Vinicius Tobias, from São Paulo, has been a strong presence at Canarinho since the U-15 team, in which he was champion of the South American Championship in 2019. The right-back stood out at Internacional’s youth categories, where he arrived in 2016. His performance attracted the interest of the European football and, in 2022, Shakhtar Donetsk, from Ukraine, was the 19-year-old athlete’s destination.
Due to the political context of the eastern European country, the young man did not even make his professional debut for the Ukrainian club and was loaned to Real Madrid, the team he still defends today. In Spain, Vinicius plays for Real Madrid Castilla, Real’s B team that competes in the Third Division of the Spanish Championship.
Wellington
Since he was 13 years old playing for São Paulo, left-back Wellington has had a victorious career at the club’s youth categories. He lifted the Copa do Brasil Under-20 Cup in 2018 and the Copa São Paulo de Futebol Júnior in 2019. Morato, the defender called up by Ramon for the friendlies with Morocco, was alongside the side in the title.
His growth made him conquer a space in the team’s professional squad and, under the command of Fernando Diniz, he made his professional debut in a match for the Campeonato Paulista in 2020 against Botafogo-SP.
Today, at the age of 22, he has established himself as one of the starters in the Tricolor Paulista campaign in search of the unprecedented title of the Copa do Brasil.
