How is Brazil replacing the young talent it lost to Europe?

As South America’s CONMEBOL Libertadores kicks off on Tuesday, it is worth remembering that six years ago, Vinicius Junior made a strong case for joining the team in this tournament. Real Madrid had already signed him for a big fee before he even played a single top-flight game. It seemed like a big gamble. Is his contract really worth more than 40 million euros?

He was not able to cross the Atlantic until he was 18, so he took his first tentative steps in and around Rio de Janeiro giants Flamengo’s first team, where his every move was put under the microscope. The evidence was inconclusive — until one night in Ecuador in March 2018. In a tough away game against Emelets, Flamengo were trailing by one goal – until Vinicius was brought on from the bench. He had less than 25 minutes left and he only needed 20 minutes to make the shot to change the game.

He twice broke through the home defense and scored goals with a combination of speed and accuracy to give his team victory. And even after the final whistle, many Emelec fans didn’t seem angry at him. Realizing that they had witnessed the birth of something special, they lined up before the final whistle and took a new photo shoot.

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This is not something many other South American fans have experienced. Just a few months later, Vini was about to cross the Atlantic Ocean. World stardom awaited him. He has won the European Champions League. However, he did not stay long enough to win the Libertadores. So did Lucas Paqueta, who provided the pass for his first goal against Emerets. Flamengo won the trophy the following year. But by then Vinicius and Paqueta were long gone. This sheds light on the current model of South American football.

Europe is trying to get it across the Atlantic as quickly as possible, and this continent will inevitably lose its brightest talents. Therefore, the question for local clubs is how to replace the lost talent.

Brazil’s big club has found the answer. We looked for two types of players and brought them back from Europe. The first is that the veteran wants to end his career at home. For example, current Libertadores champions Fluminense have former Real Madrid left-back Marcelo in their squad and are also optimistic about bringing Thiago Silva back from Chelsea. The second is an excellent player who for some reason did not live up to expectations in Europe and needs to regain momentum. A clear case is that Flamengo centre-forward Pedro was quickly branded a failure at Fiorentina but did well enough to qualify for the final World Cup. You can also introduce your own next generation youth products. And any gaps can be filled by looking elsewhere on the continent.

Brazilian clubs, the only Portuguese-speaking club in South America, were once very closed to transfer opportunities to neighboring countries. That’s clearly not the case anymore. For example, in recent FIFA dates, Ecuador fielded six players based in Brazil. Colombia, Uruguay and Venezuela each fielded five players, while Bolivia and Chile each had one player. Brazilian clubs recently agreed to allow up to nine foreign players to play in domestic matches, causing controversy.

So Brazil gives other South American countries the same treatment they receive from Europe and carefully selects the best talent. This coincides with the rise of Major League Soccer, which has strong scouting capabilities in South America, but is hampered by high transfer fees and is cautious about acquiring players from Brazil. As a result, the economic gulf between Brazil and the rest of the world became clearly visible on the pitch.

The Libertadores was once thought to be a tournament dominated by Argentina. However, Brazil has now won five in a row, boasting an unprecedented dominance, and three of those five finals were all-Brazil. If this is not a cause for concern, there is no need to worry.

It is becoming difficult to see how other countries can compete. Argentina’s River Plate, currently home to the continent’s largest capacity stadium, are perhaps the strongest challengers, alongside the likes of Ecuador’s Independiente del Valle and Liga de Quito, and have an excellent It allows you to combine the benefits of youth development and hosting home games. Altitude. But it’s hard to imagine anything other than Brazilian dominance for the foreseeable future, and that level of predictability isn’t healthy for continental competition. Although England’s Premier League enjoys an economically advantageous position in Europe, it is still expected to be squeezed out by top clubs from a handful of other countries in the Champions League.

But there is an obvious solution. It is a true Pan-American club competition. Although the Americas is vast and logistics difficult, it is clear that there are synergies. Of course, this year’s Copa America will have a pan-American progression, with 10 South American nations and six Concacaf nations participating in the tournament, which will be held in the United States.

However, South America hardly needs this at the national team level. It doesn’t matter where players like Lionel Messi or Vinicius play their club football. They cannot change their football nationality. And South America’s prestige at national team level, the product of a long history and many titles, has if anything been diluted by contact with Concacaf. However, this is not the case with clubs.

The only way a South American team hopes to keep their future Vini Junior is by expanding to the United States — and all of this gives American fans even more reasons to follow the Libertadores. These teams could be future opponents.