The 14 highlights of the 2023 Copinha

Who are the 14 highlights of the 2023 Copinha?

We bring you the 14 highlights of Copinha 2023. The 2023 São Pualo Cup of Jr Football ended with Palmeiras lifting the cup for the second consecutive year. The tournament, as usual, revealed several talents for football.

 

Arielson – Striker– Cruzeiro – 2004

In the first Copinha under the management of Ronaldo Fenômeno, Cruzeiro opted for a younger squad than usual, with most athletes born between 2004 and 2005. Despite the elimination to Sport in the round of 16, in which they were the favorite, the club presented good talents to the competition.

The main one is striker Arielson, an 18-year-old who scored 5 goals and provided an assist in 6 games in the Copinha. Striker with good presence inside the box, with great power when finishing with his right leg.

 

Isaque – Striker – Atlético MG – 2004

Despite Galo’s frustrating campaign, falling in the third phase to Água Santa, one of the few individual values was the 18-year-old striker Isaque. He started the competition on the bench, however in the second game he entered and scored the winning goal over Mixto-MT by 2-1.

From that moment on, he was an absolute starter and a highlight of the team, scoring 5 goals in 5 games. He is an opportunistic striker, with good positioning, who fights for ball posetion at all times.

 

Riquelme – Left Back – Fortaleza – 2003

Fortaleza started its trajectory with only one victory in the group stage, but went through the stage and grew in the competition, equaling its best campaign in the Copinha, losing to Santos by 2 to 1 in the quarterfinals.

The 19-year-old left-back Riquelme was vital for the team, scoring 3 goals and 3 assists. With a good arrival in the area to conclude, the young player has a very technical touch with exquisite crosses and scored a beautiful free-kick goal in the third phase, opening the scoring against Remo.

 

Pedrinho – Striker – Goiás – 2004

Goiás’ historic campaign came to an end with the defeat to current champion Palmeiras. The 18-year-old striker Pedrinho, who already had appearances in the professional squad, was the highlight, especially in the important phases of the competition, scoring 2 goals against Novorizontino in the round of 16 and the solitary goal of the match against Sport in the quarterfinals. He commanded the team with 5 goals and 1 assist in the entire championship.

He is a fast player with a lot of mobility, knows how to act both as a 9 and as a winger, in addition to a great finishing power.

 

Santos

The 2nd place in 2022 Copinha maintained the tradition of a strong youth academy and only lost in the semifinals to América MG. With a changed team compared to the previous year, due to the highlights that rose to the professional level, the Alvinegro Praiano finished the first phase in second place and grew during the competition.

 

Kevyson – Left Back – Santos – 2004

The left-back with great offensive participation was one of the pillars of the team in the tournament, providing great support on the left side, a strong point of the alvinegra team.

The player has a great chance of moving up to the professional, due to the shortage in the sector. Lucas Pires, who has been playing as a starter, has not convinced so far, and Felipe Jonatan lives with injuries.

He scored once in the competition.

Ivonei – Midfielder – Santos – 2002

The captain and conductor of the team is a midfielder with good movement between the lines, often arriving in the area to finish. The player starred in an anthological goal against Bahia. He saw the goalkeeper ahead and shooted before the midfield circle (in the defense field), scoring “the goal that Pelé did not score” in the match that ended 4-0, scoring 2 goals and 2 assists.

In the competition, he scored 4 times and assisted his teammates in 2 opportunities.

América MG

O vice-campeão da Copa São Paulo de 2023 fez uma campanha histórica. Com excelentes valores individuais e uma equipe extremamente organizada, comandada por Mairon César, o Coelho viu o título escapar nos acréscimos do segundo tempo.

 

Cássio – Goalkeeper – América MG – 2002

Coelho’s wall had already stood out in the 2022 Copinha, defending several penalties. In the current tournament, he gave a lot of security to the American defense, the goalkeeper with least goals conceded among all the eight teams that reached the quarterfinals of the tournament with Palmeiras.

In the semifinal, against Santos, he worked miracles and took América to the final. With 187cm, he is an agile goalkeeper with great reflexes, as well as a great footwork.

His contract with América will end on January 31, 2023 and there are already talks for his renewal.

 

Mateus Henrique – Midfielder– América MG – 2002

The American team’s engine has the characteristics of a modern midfielder, it performs well both defensively and offensively, helping in the two phases of the game (box-to-box).

Play elegantly, controlling the actions of the central sector. He has great ball control, as well as an exquisite pass. In the entire competition he gave 3 assists and scored 2 goals.

Luan Campos – Striker – América MG – 2002

A fast winger with a lot of strength and a powerful right leg, he had a memorable match in the semifinal against Santos. He scored the 3 goals in the 3-0 victory at Vila Belmiro, all from outside the box, with emphasis on the beautiful free-kick goal that opened the score. He scored 4 goals and 3 assists in the competition.

 

Adyson – Striker – América MG – 2005

A 17-year-old young man with a lot of personality took responsibility throughout the tournament. In the round of 16, against Bragantino, he suffered the penalty and shoot with a Panenka in the 40th minute of the second half to give Coelho a 1-0 victory.

He is an extremely fast winger and a dribbler, who uses the edges very well, being able to either take to the back or cut to the middle and finish with his left foot. He had 3 goals and 2 assists in the competition.

 

Renato Marques – Striker – América MG – 2003

The strong striker has an extremely physical game, playing the pivot with mastery. He has a great presence in the box. The player attacks the spaces with great quality.

In the final, he scored América’s lone goal from the penalty spot, in the 2-1 loss to Palmeiras. During the competition, he scored 6 goals and 1 assist.

 

Palmeiras

With a perfect campaign of nine games and nine victories, Verdão became champion of the 2023 São Paulo Cup of Jr Football. They scored 30 goals and conceded only four, with top scorer Ruan Ribeiro with 9 goals.

 

Kevin – Striker – Palmeiras – 2004

Elected the competition’s star, Kevin is an extremely skilled winger, with great finishing power. He moves around a lot on offense, constantly switching positions with his attacking teammates.

The exquisite performance in the tournament put the attacker on the radar of clubs in Europe, such as Shakhtar Donetsk, from Ukraine. In the competition he scored 5 goals and gave 5 assists.

Ruan Ribeiro – Striker – Palmeiras – 2003

The top scorer in Copinha scored 9 goals and only with the current edition has he become Palmeiras’ top scorer in Copinha, tying with Edmilson, who needed 3 participations to reach that number.

Throughout the tournament, he showed a great sense of positioning and coolness when finish, in addition to an impressive chemistry with his attacking colleagues.

Pedro Lima – Midfielder – Palmeiras – 2003

The team’s engine has great defensive power and a refined pass, distributing the team and providing the forwards with ammunition. He is a defensive midfielder who arrives well in the final third of the field to finish.

From Copinha to Professional

This edition of Copinha was full of technical and tactical quality on the part of the players.

Despite their young age, these talents seem to understand earlier and earlier which roles they should perform on the field. Consequently, their playing styles are maximized, allowing them to show their natural quality as a Brazilian player.

However, they must overcome the existing physical and mental gap between the youth category and the professional, so that they can consecrate themselves as great players.

What are your guesses? Which ones will have good performances in the professional?

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Written by Henry Miller and Vitor F L Miller.