Chudi has told me I’m not allowed to dub players ‘the new (insert star footballer’s name here)’ but I think I will defy him just this one time as Paulo Henrique Lima nee Ganso has all the star quality to be named the new Kaka.
The 20 year old midfielder has been running riot in Brazil with Santos as he, Neymar and Robinho have helped Santos to 100+ goals in the 2010 calendar year alone. But whilst Neymar and Robinho arguably are gaining more of the spotlight, it is Ganso (The Swan) who is pulling the string and making this possible.
When Man City allowed Robinho to join Santos in January they attempted to include a clause in the deal that allowed them to get first option on both Ganso and Neymar. Robinho warned Neymar about joining Citeh whilst Ganso himself had the sense to see the folly saying, and
“I don’t want to play for Manchester City. I’d prefer to play for a big club in Europe such as Milan [presumably AC], Real Madrid or Barcelona”
I like this guy already!
Linked with him by The Mirror, if we are infact looking at him we face stiff competition as the likes of Bayern Munich, Juventus and both Milan clubs have all been monitoring him
Jon Cotteril the Sao Paulo based Englishman who runs pitacodogringo.wordpress.com said of Ganso and Santos,
Paulo Henrique is the man who really pulls the strings… The 20-year-old has not yet acquired Kaká’s drive or physical presence, but his touch, range of passes, and vision have been behind so many of Santos’ astonishing haul of 100 goals in 2010.
There was a cry for him to be included in Brazil’s World Cup squad lead by Robinho himself and Dunga answered by including him in the 30 man provisional squad. It is unlikely Henrique will make the 23 man squad due to Dunga’s penchant for defensive midfielders but it speaks volumes for him that people including his fellow players petitioned his inclusion in the team.
Santos are no fools and realise the star they have on their hands so they have slapped a whopping €50m price tag on the wonder kid although it is very unlikely that when Ganso does finally leave he will go for that price.
Great One more of those South Americans He will sod off to Spain in no time.
How i wish Fergie could go for him,but i wouldnt hold my breath on it,He is not saf’s kind of player(Gibson is)lots of side way and backward passes at its best.This one is too good to play for utd in Saf’s time.sorry to say so.Did he mention Barcelona?i guess thats what good football gives you.
nice article that highlights video really shows how class is passing is.
one more thing though, ganso actually means ‘goose’, not swan. swam is more apt though, he’s quite a graceful player
Thanks mate.
I keep getting differeing translations as to what it means Jon Cotteril who gave me the quotes has referred to him as ‘the goose’ and ‘the swan’.
But Ganso seems more like Goose
A very good player, but it would be a suprise if Man Utd were able to sign him. I think he is more likely to go to Spain or a club like AC Milan. Also the last guy we signed like him was Anderson, who was dubbed the ‘new Ronaldinho’, and we haven’t be able to get the best out of him. It worked once when we got Ronaldo, but more or less we have struggled with these young foreigners. I think we miss Carlos Quieroz who had a skill of developing youngsters. I would love for him to return next season if things don’t work out for him with Portugal. We could do with him developing Anderson, Nani, Obertan, Pogba, Hernandez, Diouf, Macheda, Welbeck, Smalling, Rafeal, Fabio and Gibson. Imagine of all these youngsters actualy developed to a high quality level. We wouldn’t need to spend any money for a few years.
Come on, he’s not that good! Or else the video editor is pretty terrible. 1:56, 2:45, dodgy dribbling skills, 5:29, hospital pass, silly backheel, also so many dodgy shots, rebounds, tap-ins and keeper half touches. He’s a great passer and the 2nd video makes him look better but I dont think he’ll be in Kaka’s class, he wont be the best player in the world in his career. Remember Lucas Leiva got young player of the year in Brazil. Also “ojijo”, what do you mean he’s too good to play for Man U in Saf’s time? You reckon he’s better than Rooney, Tevez, Ronaldo, Scholes, Giggs, Beckham, Cantona (to name a few)?! His best talent is passing and Rooney, Scholes, Giggs and Becks piss all over him when it comes to knocking a ball round the pitch. There’s been some outstanding talent in Saf’s time, and unless this guy grows some wings and a beak, he wont stand out from that list
Good point Tom about Quieroz. Perhaps his biggest strength is in working with youngsters as some in the Portugal squad find him too much of a strict teacher. But Ronaldo obviously developed well under him and found him as a strong mentor. Solskjaer is doing a great job with the reserves, but we need really strong coaching and mentoring for the “juniors” in the senior squad as well. If we are trying to build our squad from youth development, then finding a unique coach for these types of players must be a priority.
Also, thank God for the Carling Cup, as there would otherwise be little room for these in-between players to develop their skills.
I have watched Ganso play for Santos on numerous occasions so far this season, and he is yet to disappoint me. The two most brilliant things about his game are exactly the things that the current United team lacks: Technique and creativity. Seeing as Brazilians tend to dislike the Premier League (For good reason), it is very unlikely that we will get Ganso. Whichever teams does land him will be very very lucky indeed.
Hey what kind of anti-spam plugin do you use for your blog