Felipe's late blast

The football of today every time precocity is more important and the stars of the future are sought before. While Ansu Fati wonders the world and becomes a starter in the National Team without having reached the age of majority or Luka Romero sees how Spain and Argentina are already talking about their recruitment after debut in First with 15 years and 219 days, there are also opposite cases.

And on that opposite side of the scale is the athletic Felipe Monteiro. The 31-year-old Brazilian central, one of the most prominent signings of last season in LaLiga, celebrated 350 games in his career during the international break sporting the last 19 minutes with Brazil against Bolivia replacing Thiago Silva. In total they are: 17 at União Mogi, 34 at Bragantino, 116 at Corinthians, 142 with Porto, 39 with Atlético and two with Brazil, making his international debut on September 12, 2018 at age 29.

Very late first appearances with his national team and some 350 games that, compared to other players, imply a low number for his age. And more considering that in the last six seasons he has played 257 games, just over 42 per year thanks to your resistance to injury. For example, the captain of Atlético, Koke Resurrección, accumulates 504 games with 28 years, 460 only with the first mattress team (plus 44 with the National Team). Saúl, for his part, has been in 319 meetings at the age of 25, six less than Felipe.

Gallons at Atlético

But everything has an explanation. How Benjamin ButtonFelipe seems to have been rejuvenating with each year of his career after beginning to emerge when most footballers have been in first class for years. As AS explained in his signing, the center-back's beginnings were completely atypical. At 19 years old, Felipe even gave up football after being rejected in the tests of more than a dozen clubs. Then, it happened to work handing out mushrooms for his father-in-law, in restaurants in São Paulo. Until the Bragantino became interested in him after analyzing his DVD and signed him at the age of 20 to play directly in the 2011 Brazilian Second Division. After 33 games and showing a technical, solid and elegant football, he caught the attention of the then Corinthians coach, Tite, who hired him.

Athletic Shield / Flag

At 26 he came to Europe, signing for Oporto and in Portugal he began to make it clear that, despite being a stranger, he was a full-fledged central defender. Three seasons later he headed to Atlético, where now it seems settled in the starting eleven. If last season started as the center room for Simeone, playing a single minute between the first four days (in Butarque), at the start of the 2020-21 campaign has played it all, 270 minutes. In Balaídos he could start on the bench after returning from a long trip with Brazil, but right now sitting him down is a risk.

The loss of Giménez in the first four days, three after contracting the coronavirus and against Celta for discomfort, has led Simeone to bet on a center of the rear formed by Felipe and Savic against Granada and Villarreal and for the Brazilian along with Hermoso against Huesca. Felipe finds it difficult to get into shape, Simeone explained that due to his weight and height he needed time to get to 100%, but since the start of the season he has shown the stripes he won a year ago. Positioning, sobriety, passing game and good ball output for a center-back who seems to be a better player with each passing year and that once he is in his thirties he wants to be a key player at Atlético so that he can enjoy his first Copa América and his first World Cup when many players face the last.