Deivid Washington, or President, as he’s affectionately called by his teammates, is another lightning strike at Vila Belmiro. Get to know this potential star in a detailed analysis by Calcio Deal and Rondo Reports.
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Background and Deivid Washington’s Stats
First, let’s clarify Deivid Washington’s nickname. Why “President”?
In Santos, as in most of the major clubs in Brazil, players are required to complete their high school education to be able to play as professionals.
We mustn’t forget that these guys are teenagers. In one particular class, the student-athletes found out that the capital of the United States is Washington D.C. With this knowledge, the boys burst into laughter and immediately nicknamed their teammate and classmate “President.”
Deivid Washington de Souza Eugênio, or simply Deivid Washington/President, was born on June 5, 2005, in the city of Itumbiara, Goiás, Brazil.
He stands 187cm tall and weighs 73kg.
The boy even played for Grêmio when he was under 10 years old, but in 2016, news of Deivid Washington’s potential reached the Santos scouting department. It couldn’t have been different. When he learned of Santos’s interest, Deivid and his family arrived at the beaches of Santos.
As is well known, the Santos F.C’s youth academy is one of the most traditional in the world. In Brazil, there’s even a saying: “How often does lightning strike the same place?” At Vila Belmiro, it seems to happen quite a few times.
Pelé, Coutinho, Giovani, Robinho, Neymar, Rodrygo, and more recently Ângelo and Marcos Leonardo.
Ângelo, just like Deivid, was sold to Chelsea for 15 million.
Marcos Leonardo has been attracting interest from clubs worldwide, and he is currently the second-highest scorer in the Brasileirão, with outstanding performances.
For Santos, most of the 14 games that President played were due to the absence of Marcos Leonardo, who was representing Brazil in the U20 World Cup.
Now, let’s look at the numbers. In 2022, playing for Santos’s U17 team, he scored 30 goals in 30 games. But that’s not all. He also played for the U20 team, participating in 17 games and scoring 6 goals, winning the São Paulo State Championship in that category.
As for the professional team, Deivid Washington has a total of 14 games, 7 in the Brasileirão, 3 in the Copa do Brasil, and 4 in the Copa Sudamericana. He has scored 2 goals.
According to information we’ve gathered, the legendary Paulo Roberto Falcão, Director of Football at Santos, approves of the young player, believing him to be a player with incredible potential and rare quality.
Image: X Fabrizio Romano
Rondo Reports and Calcio Deal Analysis
Deivid Washington is not an ordinary player. He has the stature of a classic goal-scoring center forward but possesses incredible lightness in his feet and movements, executing short dribbles typical of futsal. At least in this style, he resembles Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Despite being a center forward, he’s a mobile player. He often positions himself on the sides of the field in Santos’s plays from the wings.
He also knows how to protect the ball well when he needs to pivot.
Speed is not an issue either. With long strides, he can outpace most defenders in a race.
Another interesting aspect is that, despite not appearing so at first glance, he is physically strong. Despite being young, tall, and slim, he has considerable strength and can win duels against much bulkier defenders.
It’s worth making some considerations. Deivid Washington’s first four games caused quite a stir. In his professional debut against Botafogo/SP, he played only a few minutes, but he came very close to scoring a spectacular long-range goal.
In the following game, Santos was defeated by Newell’s Old Boys in the Sudamericana, but Deivid had an excellent performance, once again coming close to scoring a wonder goal, missing a one-on-one chance with the goalkeeper.
The next game, against Bahia, was the most memorable. The striker was involved in all three goals in the 3-0 victory, scoring one of them. Furthermore, he had a great match and scored a beautiful goal against Vasco.
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In subsequent games, his productivity gradually declined, as did the productivity of the entire Santos team, which is only now in good form.
With this in mind, Santos’s previous coaching staff, led by Odair Hellmann, chose to rest Deivid for a few rounds to shield the player from the pressure and bad form the club was going through.
This approach was followed by Paulo Turra, another coach who worked with Santos, and he opted for the experienced 34-year-old forward Bruno Mezenga when Marcos Leonardo was unavailable. We believe this was the right move, as the young player is only 18 years old and with few professional games, he has already demonstrated his ability.
On the other hand, Deivid Washington can further work on his physical aspects. If he can already outmuscle more experienced and physically developed players, imagine what he could achieve with focused muscular development.
The President can also improve his understanding of the final third of the field to create combinations with the wingers, potentially generating more goal-scoring opportunities. At times, he holds the ball longer than necessary and makes the wrong decision, resulting in the ball going out of play.
Image: REUTERS/Agustin Marcarian
Deivid Washington at Chelsea
The President arrived at Chelsea in August 2023 during the European summer transfer window.
Unlike his Santos counterpart, Ângelo, Deivid was not loaned out.
To gain experience and develop his game in a lower-pressure environment, Ângelo was loaned to Strasbourg, a club owned by the same owner as Chelsea.
There, young Ângelo has been putting in good performances, starting in 50% of the matches and providing an assist.
It was expected that Deivid would follow a similar path, and he was even rumored to be going to Strasbourg, but that’s not what happened.
Mauricio Pochettino kept Deivid Washington in the main squad, even though he could have been sent to Chelsea’s U20 team.
He has been included in matchday squads and remains an option on the bench, but he has yet to play a single minute.
We hope to see Deivid on the field as soon as possible, as the lack of playing time could lead to an unprecedented lack of rhythm in the young player.
Do you believe Deivid Washington deserves a chance in Chelsea’s first team?
Image: Reprodução X
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Written by Vitor F L Miller
