When it comes to football, the talent that exists in Brazil far supersedes the talent that resides anywhere else in the world. The likes of Pele, Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, and Rivaldo have etched themselves in the golden chapters of the game of football with their performances for club and country, and often, even the best in the business have had to fight so as to land a place in the Brazilian national team.
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That said, there are several current Brazilian footballers who are not given the due respect they deserve as professionals and in this segment, we take a look at 5 of the most underrated Brazilian footballers of current times.
#1 Renato Augusto
The 29-year-old midfielder, who is currently plying his trade for Beijing Guoan, was one of the best talents to emerge out of the Flamengo academy recently. While injuries have in some way played spoilsport throughout his career, he has fought them and made a name for himself in Brazil.
Augusto has shown an ability to combine his skill on the ball with the ability to control the tempo of his side. His calm and composed demeanour on the ball, as well as an uncanny ability to split open the opposition's defence makes him a threat. He also ensures that he does his fair share of dirty work in the middle of the park, which has made him an instant favourite at whichever club he has been involved with.
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Despite being a fan favourite at clubs such as Bayer Leverkusen and Corinthians, the Brazilian, it could be said has been underutilised by the Brazilian national team. At 29 years of age, Augusto has thus far featured only 17 times for the Brazilian national team. His greatest moment in a Brazil shirt was when he helped his side win their first ever Olympic gold in front of a home crowd in 2016.
Currently at Chinese side Beijing Guoan, the midfielder will be keen to help his side improve on their previous season’s 5th spot finish and will also be hoping that the Brazilian team management realises what he can bring to the national side.
#2 Alisson Becker
Born in Novo Hamburgo, Alisson joined Internacional’s youth set up in 2002 at a young age of 10 and rose rapidly through the ranks of the club. While he broke into the Internacional team during the 2013 season, it was in the 2015 season that the young goalkeeper made a name for himself with his performances for the side in the Brazilian SerieA, where he helped his side win the title.
His performances for Internacional were enough to warrant a lot of interest from several European clubs and it was Roma who snapped him up after agreeing to a pre-contract with the player.
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While his chances at Roma in the current season have been few, largely owing to the presence of Wojciech Szczesny, the 24-year-old has impressed for the Italian side in the Europa League. The keeper showed good distribution ability during his time in between the sticks while also raking in impressive numbers as a goalkeeper. He averaged 3.90 saves per game and three saves per goal conceded to help his side reach the round of 16.
Alisson has been capped 16 times by the Brazilian national team and should he continue to put in impressive performances in the limited game time he is being afforded, we do not see how why he cannot improve on the numbers for club and country.
#3 Taison
A look at the Shakhtar Donetsk teams in the recent past reveals a heavy presence of talented Brazilian footballers. Many footballers such as Fernandinho, Willian, Douglas Costa and Alex Teixeira have caught the imagination of millions of football fans worldwide while playing for the Ukranian club and it can be said that a move to Shakhtar can now be seen as a stepping stone to bigger European clubs for Brazilian footballers.
One player who is currently making a name for himself at the club is the 29-year-old attacking midfielder Taison. A product of the Internacional youth set up, Taison earned himself a move to Europe with Metalist Kharkiv in 2010, owing to his performances for the Brazilian side and has since gone on to establish a reputation for himself.
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The attacker scored four goals and assisted another two during his side’s Europa League campaign and has been the subject of numerous transfer rumours since arriving in Europe. At the international level, there remained certain speculations as to which country he would go on to represent, after the Ukranian football association showed interest in selecting him after he became a naturalised citizen.
These speculations were put to rest when Tite called him up to the national team for Brazil’s World cup qualifiers and the player has since gone on to represent Brazil twice. Given his performances, the call-up was surely deserved but the fact that he had to wait a long time to don the Brazilian jersey leaves several football fans dismayed.
#4 Felipe Anderson
Felipe Anderson is the quintessential Brazilian attacker. He is quick, has the ability to take on his man and beat him with his skill as well as close control, and is a presence to fear for defences especially, with his ability to create goals and knock a few in himself. His work rate as a player is also something that has made him a fan favourite at Lazio as Anderson is more than often willing to go the extra mile to help his side’s cause.
The 23-year-old, who played alongside Neymar at Santos, moved to Lazio in the summer of 2013 and has since gone on to become a crucial part of the Lazio attack that looks on course to achieve a European spot for the season to come.
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During his time at the Stadio Olimpico, Anderson has scored 25 goals in 132 appearances while also contributing to his side’s attack with numerous assists. He, in fact, is the League’s second highest assist provider behind Jose Callejon (9 assists) at the moment, having created 8 goals, which has led to interest from several European heavyweights such as Manchester United.
At the international level though, Anderson has found game time hard to come. While he was a part of the triumphant Brazilian football team at the Rio Olympics, he has otherwise been capped just once by the senior team and the attacker will be keen to add to those numbers going forward.
#5 Casemiro
Given the plethora of attacking talent that exists in the country, it is often the case that several Brazilians are not recognised for their defensive contributions. Real Madrid’s Casemiro, who is, slowly yet steadily building a reputation for himself as one of the best defensive midfielders in the world, is one such case.
The former Sao Paulo man arrived at the Spanish shores in January 2013, initially on loan, and was soon rewarded for his ability on and off the ball with a permanent transfer to the club that numerous elite footballers have found hard to impress. The 25-year-old defensive midfielder who spent a season on loan with Porto in a bid to afford him continued game time has established himself as a player that lends the balance required to top Champion sides in the latter half of the current season.
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He is combative on the ground and is very effective going into duels, be it on the ground or in the air, and is often willing to put his body on the line for the cause of his side. What many fans do not appreciate as much as they should is his ability to keep things simple in the middle of the park for the Spanish giants.
Casemiro is tidy with his passing as well as in possession and has proven to be a tough opponent to line up against especially with his high-intensity work rate.
While he did his make his national team debut while at Sao Paulo in 2011, the player has since found playing time hard to come by for the national team, partly owing to injuries he suffered. He has been capped 14 times by the Brazilian national team, and despite the plethora of talent that exists around him, he needs to play more often for them so as to lend the requisite balance to the side.
