In recent years, Flamengo has developed some of the hottest Brazilian prospects in Europe, with the likes of Paquetá, Vini Jr., and Reinier all being sold for significant sums. The next big star coming out of Flamengo’s youth academy is the 20-year-old forward, Lázaro. The Brazilian came into the spotlight after scoring two late game-winners in the semi and final of the 2019 U17 World Cup. Since then, he has been slowly breaking into Flamengo’s star-filled first team.
In the first few months of the year, Brazilian clubs compete in their regional state championships. Flamengo is known for taking this time to give opportunities to their young stars. Lázaro has been leading the charge this year, having received a lot of support from the new manager, Paulo Sousa. With only three starts and a few substitute appearances, Lázaro has 2 goals and 2 assists.
In this scout report, Lázaro’s playing style will be examined through statistical and tactical analysis. More specifically, the 20-year-old’s strengths and characteristics will be looked at in detail.
Positioning
Lázaro has proved to be a very versatile player. In the youth academy, he mainly played as a centre-forward or an attacking midfielder. However, he can also play on either wing. In Paulo Sousa’s 3-4-2-1 tactics, Lázaro has surprisingly featured as a left wing-back. On other occasions, he has also played as an inverted left-winger as he is right-footed. In summary, he can play anywhere in the attack.
The image below provides basic information on the Brazilian, along with his heatmap and statistical rankings for the Carioca 2022. Despite being 181 cm, he ranks surprisingly high in both aerial duels per 90 and aerial duels won (%). Additionally, he is leading the charts for statistics in the passing and dribbling department. As these are some of his main strengths, they will be examined in depth later.
The image below is his heatmap throughout his whole career so far – including some youth competitions. Recently, he has been most often used as an inverted left-winger. His heatmap bleeds into the left half-space as he will naturally cut into his right foot with frequency. More lightly, his heatmap also covers all of the final third displaying his versatility.
