Classico Majestoso. The majestic derby. Corinthians vs Sao Paulo. These are the teams with the second and third most fans in Brazil.
There are 4 major teams in Sao Paulo, Santos, Palmeiras, Corinthians and Sao Paulo FC. The rivalry among the local teams is intense.
The sheer scale of the match surprised me. I have been to Morumbi to watch the derby many times. I have even seen the derby at youth level, but today, starting the match felt surreal.
It is so easy to get lost in the noise. And boy was there noise. It was LOUD! The coaches made a conscious effort to not put too much pressure on youth teams. But, who are they kidding? Everyone knows the importance of games like these.
I wanted to announce my name today. Coming off the bench and scoring is one thing. But, starting and leading from the top and controlling the tempo? That's what I want.
I do not want to start on the backfoot.
The instructions were clear from coach Martinez. Be aggressive. Do not let them settle. Do not make them feel comfortable. This is going to be a physical battle. And the fans want to see some fireworks. This fits perfectly with how I want to play.
For the first ten minutes of the game, no one had any room to breathe. Both teams went for it from the second that the whistle sounded. It was end to end football. And not at all pretty.
When they had possession, we pounced on them and the pressing was very good, and this is an U17 team in Brazil, not a Pep Guardiola's team that could beat the press with elite passing. So, it wasn't smooth. They had to let go of their ideas and had to pass it back to the goal keeper. And we go again. When we had the possession, we were a little bit better with the passing.
But it was the same story. Their press was relentless and they were stronger and more physical. Elbows were thrown, reckless tackles. Two yellow cards in the first 10 minutes.
I was tackled once when I tried to dribble past their midfielders, it was a bad tackle, he couldn't get the ball but he caught me pretty clean. I had a cut on my ankle.
I winced in pain as I felt it. I pulled my socks up and decided to just continue. A scratch is not going to hurt. It wasn't a serious knock or injury, so I decided to not let it show.
Until now, I have never played in a particular position. I started as the attacking midfielder in the 10 role, centrally but I was always a floater. I would drop deep either on the left or the right to pick the ball and play on either side of the pitch. Coaches never stopped me, and my team played around me.
But, today I was asked to play a role. I was operating on the right side. We were playing a 4-4-2 diamond. They were playing a 4-3-3. Our team has a decent number 10. But, our wingers weren't as sharp. So, I was asked to play wide today. I don't know if we will get caught in the midfield with how they're set up, we shall see. At this stage of my career, it is not my job to question, it is my job to deliver.
Oscar and Diego were the strike pair. Oscar was quick. Diego was solid on the ball. We had a very good understanding.
My instinct was to move around and take players on, but this being my first start, I was playing to the instructions. And we haven't made any mistakes yet. I was helping out in defense, and getting the ball forward as well.
In the 18th minute, a golden chance came. The opposition held possession for a few minutes and they over committed. Our captain, Moraes is the defensive midfielder. He is very very good at his job, and he made a brilliant tackle to win back the position. And instantly he put the ball forward to me.
I didn't need to be told twice, the counter was on.
The moment the ball left his feet, Oscar and Diego knew what was going to happen. Diego ran towards the left and Oscar ran centrally. I was quicker than anyone else on the field. It was a 3 on 3. But I was quicker, so I ran past them and took the ball towards the edge of the box. And without waiting for an invitation, I took one look at Oscar and crossed the ball into the box.
For 5 seconds, the crowd held their collective breath. The ball was inch perfect and Oscar timed his run perfectly and he was in the perfect position. His head made a sweet connection with the ball and with the pace I put on the ball for the cross, there was no stopping it at that range.
GOAL!
1-0 Sao Paulo FC.
The roar of the crowd could be heard outside the training area. Even though there were only 700 odd people, it was so loud. It didn't matter that this was just a youth game, we just scored against our rivals. That was enough!
Oscar ran straight for one corner and slid on his knees celebrating wildly. I let out a roar as soon as the ball was in the net, and took off towards him.
I was the first to join him in the celebration and soon, the whole team piled on.
Once the dust settled, we could see that our coaches were asking us to not lose focus and to go again.
And I had no intention of slowing down.
Immediately after the restart, they looked a bit rattled. And I demanded the ball more and took on players with more confidence.
I put in another cross into the box from 50 yards out, but Oscar missed the target.
Diego sent out a great through ball to me, and I was 1 on 1 with the keeper, but I couldn't score. I took one extra touch in order to round the keeper, but that ended up costing me and I lost the ball in the box.
I punched the ground in frustration.
In spite of all the missed chances, we kept going. We did not let the intensity drop.
In the 28th minute, they came very close to scoring. Their striker let loose a rocket from 35 yards out with a swerve and our keeper made a world class save.
That lit a fire under them and they came at us with everything they got.
They won a couple of corners that we had to clear.
For almost 10minutes I was helping out with defensive efforts in clearing out the balls. My tackling needs work. I did not want to put in a bad tackle in a dangerous area and concede a free kick or a penalty, I wouldn't take that chance and instead aim for clearing the ball out.
Whenever I did these duties, I could see a nod of approval from coach Martinez.
In the 40th minute, things took a turn. We had a great sequence of play where we passed the ball around for almost 20-22 passes. And they were not able to close us down. Our number 10, Alveiro dropped deep, worked out really well with Diego and myself and we kept passing the ball around and making slow progress.
Suddenly, Diego thought enough was enough, looked at me once, pointed to where he wanted me to go and threaded through a ball between two midfielders into the space on the right. The moment he gave me the look, I knew what he wanted to do. My passing vision is excellent, so I could see the pass he wanted to make.
During the past few weeks, we had developed a code of sorts. Our fingers pointed to where we wanted to pass and where we wanted someone to run. Me and Oscar had an unspoken connection but Diego and I had a vocal one.
With his quality, the pass was brilliant, and with my pace, I was able to get to the ball first before their left back could. Usually when players get a ball in that area, they take it wide, get into space, make sure that players run into the box, and cross.
But, this time I didn't do that. I feinted right as if I was going to go there, he took the bait, and immediately, I took control of the ball with my left foot and took it inside.
There were already two players around me. But I didn't care. I was in the zone. I had excellent close control and I kept the ball and kept moving centrally. People who have seen me today, knew that I preferred my right foot. But, what they didn't know was that my weak foot wasn't bad.
It is 3* rated for now. I had every intention of being the best with both feet, but right now, with the improvements to my shot power and long shot accuracy, and the added bonus to finishing, I took one touch to my left and hit it with full power towards the goal from the edge of the box
My connection was sweet, and the ball looked like it was going to go for the keeper, but it kept curling away and hit the inside of the post and spilled inside. GOAL!
They were stunned. I ran straight to where my father was filming. Looked into the camera and said "Did you see that?"
I didn't know why I did that, but little did I know, this footage would end up becoming viral at a future date.
40 minutes gone. 2-0. In the majestic derby.
We haven't had a lead like this in forever. Matches were always closely contested and they were a better team than us.
But with our attacking quality, we were able to take our chances.
The game went on after the restart, they looked desperate and threw the kitchen sink at us before the break, but we defended in numbers.
We didn't want to concede before the break and give them a boost in confidence.
The crowd cheered on every tackle, every clearance. Andrey, our defender, was getting good appreciation from the fans. He put in a shift and prevented many crucial chances.
We went into the break, leading 2-0. I had a goal and an assist on my first start. In possibly the biggest game of our youth season.
I was on cloud 9.
During the half time talk, we had bad news, our number 10 was having problems with his thigh, so he would be subbed out. I would still play wide, but the new sub was not particularly good attack wise.
I asked the coach if we would switch to a traditional 4-4-2 and the sub could help out Moraes in midfield.
The coach said that this formation worked, and we should be good.
They made three substitutions at half time, two new midfielders and one new attacker came on. Our coach didn't want to change anything, and our midfield was the same as before other than the new 10.
After the first 10 minutes, the difference showed. They had fresh legs and we were tired from the exhausting half. With relentless attack, they won a penalty and scored.
2-1. 52 minutes gone.
Comebacks always happen after breaks, so we started again positively and held possession for a while. Morale was still high.
My first frustration came when after an intense passage of play in the middle, I got hold of the ball on the right. I successfully ran past my marker and put in a great ball to our number 10. He had all the time to pick a pass to either Oscar or Diego who made perfect runs into the box. Instead, he panicked and passed the ball back to the DM.
Even the crowd let out a groan.
I kept thinking, it was just one chance. We will bounce back.
But the same stuff happened again, and again. We make great runs into space, win the ball and pass to him and he would pass the ball sideways or backwards instead of playing a forward pass.
And I get it, he wanted to keep possession and didn't want to risk it. But, playing these kinds of passes put us in a passive play and we were not making any progress. I was going past the coach in the 70th minute and I asked him if I could play centrally? He just said that I was doing great here and to keep doing what I was doing.
Disaster struck in the 76th minute. In spite of all the previous misgivings, we still played through him and this time, his backwards pass was ready perfectly by their striker who dropped deep to help in defense, he intercepted it and the switch turned on. They landed a devastating counter and our goalkeeper could not do anything to stop the goal.
2-2. 76 minutes gone.
With renewed intensity, they launched attacks after attack. Our coach introduced two new subs. He took out Diego and added in a body into the midfield. He replaced our centre back as well, who showed signs of slowing down.
These subs did nothing. I mean, all the three subs were useless when it comes to attack. Whenever I was drifting into the middle, I would hear shouting from the bench to keep the shape and to go wide.
The opponents read us really well tactically and they stopped the connection Oscar, Diego and I had. So, we had to play through other channels. Without quality in that role, all our attacks fell through. And the system of 4-4-2 diamond didn't work properly without the number 10 doing his job.
I had a bad feeling about this.
We barely held on till the 90th minute. I was not happy with the way we played. We were effectively playing for a draw since they scored their second.
This could not go on. We had a couple of minutes of added time. I was running on fumes with all the defensive work I had to put in.
During the next break in play, I gave the message to our captain and Oscar that I am going rogue. I asked the midfield to cover me, and I asked Oscar to take out the central defenders.
They were hesitant, but I didn't wait for their response and the look on my face said everything. I was pissed and I was going to go for the attack.
So, in the 2nd minute of added time, our goal keeper released the ball to the DM, and instead of safely keeping possession, he trusted me and gave me the ball. It was on the right at the half way line. With everything I had, I dribbled past two midfielders and took off into the space in the middle.
Everyone expected to hand over the ball to the 10 or the other midfielder, but I didn't even glance at them and kept going past them. It might even look weird on tape, because clearly he was expecting a pass but it looked like I dribbled past my own team mate.
I ran into the crowd, kept control of the ball and may the gods bless him, Oscar made a great run at the perfect time, and two defenders had to cover him and the space in front of him.
That gave me a breathing space, and I got into the box and nutmegged their centre back in the box. I was one on one with the keeper, but there were many bodies around. I made a motion as if I was shooting, and they got ready to block and the goal keeper committed to stopping me. But, I coolly squared the ball to the right of the keeper. Oscar arrived in time, by juking his marker and scored a beautiful finish.
3-2.
Our team exploded. Oscar immediately pounced on me without even celebrating himself. Even though he scored the goal, he could tell and everyone could tell that it was a goal made by me.
I carried the ball all the way from the halfway line and past 5 players, and squared the ball up for him to add the finishing touch.
The crowd went nuts. The coaching staff were all smiles. We went berzerk. We celebrated right there in front of their goal. A couple of us got a yellow card for excessive celebration. There was a scuffle because one of our players held on to the ball when Corinthians wanted to restart the match.
It was all expected. The crowd was on our side and they got even louder in the last one minute as if that was even possible. The lungs on these guys!!!
After some warnings and reprimands, the game restarted but we played dirty and wasted the last two minutes of added time.
The final whistle blew. And all of us roared in triumph.
It was a tough battle, but we persevered.
3-2. 1 goal, 2 assists. 94 minutes played. Player of the match.
I took it all in. We celebrated with the staff and some of us went to our families. While passing through, I could hear the fans asking for what the name of the 22 kid was. We didn't have the names yet on the back. We just wore our kits with numbers on them.
Digão was the one who responded to them, and the little shit said "Remember the name, it's Kaká"!
Author's Notes
There we have it. First start at the U17 level. The majestic derby. Kaká, making a name for himself.
I have seen footage of some violent games in this derby, but for his first derby, at this level I kept it relatively mild. Just a mild scuffle at the end. Some shithousery. Nothing big.
As time passes on, we will see if he gets more aggressive or keeps his calm.
He went rogue at the end, will he face a lecture? Or does the win exempt him from the consequences?
Let me know what you think.