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Many players coming straight to Europe from South America find it hard to adapt to the rigors of European football and the different way of life and culture can also prove tricky at times. This has not been the case with Eder Militao, the 21-year-old Brazilian defender who is currently enjoying his best football at Porto following his €4m transfer from Sao Paulo in the summer. Acquiring the Brazilian for €4m seems to be one of the best bargains buys by the Primeira Liga club.
Eder Militao has adjusted seamlessly to Portuguese football and has exceeded expectations of many if not all. He has caught the eyes of many with his aggressive style of defending coupled with his excellent reading of the game from the back since he was marshaled into the team following an injury to one of Porto’s regular defensive candidates.
The 21-year-old has formed a solid defensive partnership with fellow Brazilian Felipe, contributing massively to Porto’s exceptional defensive record this season. Since his debut in September, he has managed to collect the Primeira Liga defender of the month in four consecutive outings; September, October, November, and December.
According to reports, Real Madrid won the competition for the signature of the young and versatile defender. Eder Militao became Zinedine Zidane's first signing and will be linked with the Spanish club after the end of this season on a six-year contract. I, therefore, take a look at the style of play of the highly coveted Brazilian defender, his strength and his weaknesses.
Style of play
If I could compare one player to the Brazilian, then it could be Liverpool’s Joe Gomez. Both are 21 years old, capable of playing both at right back and center back and have a great reading of the game. Eder is an aggressive version of Joe Gomez though as brought about by his tendency to commit into tackles.
Militao can play very well at right back and when deployed at the center of the defense, he is a very good ball playing center half. He likes to bring the ball out from the back either through his range of passing or by bursting through the midfield the way Joe Gomez likes to do when playing for Liverpool. He likes to go forward with the ball from deep in his own half which calls for another player to sit back and cover for his position something both Felipe and Danilo Pereira, Porto’s defensive midfielder do very well.
What are Militao’s special attributes:
Building from the back
The demand for defensive players who have the ability to start and build play from the back has increased in the modern game. Many teams like to press from the top and that calls for defenders with the ability to beat the first line of press.
Militao’s touch and composure under pressure together with his strength makes him a typical modern-day center half. He is also capable of finding teammates’ runs in behind with his long balls behind the line. Porto is a team that likes possession football which complements Militao’s style very well. He averages 53 passes in 21 appearances with a pass success rate of 80.8% in the Liga NOS this season. He also completes 4.2 long balls on average per game in Portuguese top division.
Versatility
Militao excelled as a right back in his early career at Sao Paolo and he has done extremely well at the heart of defense this season at Porto. He can also operate as a defensive midfielder. The 21-year-old might be capable of playing in all the defensive positions and this is what makes him one of the most highly coveted youngsters in today’s game.
The fact that he has spent most of his career playing as a right-back is perhaps what makes him so fast and athletic. He has a great recovery speed which sometimes helps him cover for his flaws in defense and also break up counter attacks. Due to his posture and athleticism, the 21-year-old can be a consistent danger when it comes to set pieces although this is an area he slightly needs to improve considering that it can be one of his strengths as a player.
Reading of the game
Eder Militao has a brilliant ability to read the game from the back. This makes him able to dictate play from the heart of the defense with his long balls. Defensively, the 21-year-old is very good at intercepting play and blocking the ball thanks to his reading of the game. This season, he has managed to intercept the ball at an average of 2.3 times per match in the Portuguese top flight. His timing of the tackle is also great for a player who is considered to often dive into tackles.
Aside from the fact that Militao has the potential to become one of the most complete center halves, he has some few areas to improve to be considered among the best. He has the tendency to lose his positional sense as much as Chelsea’s David Luiz and can also be a victim of rash decisions.
The risks he makes both with and without the ball are often miscalculated and he, therefore, looks like someone who has an error in him as a result of wrong decision making. Ball playing defenders often are prone to making these mistakes and you can tell he’ll improve when playing alongside an experienced center back. Joe Gomez has looked like a unit alongside Virgil van Dijk at the heart of the Reds’ defense.
