Joao Felix

SportingCP96

emotional range of a teaspoon
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Feb 17, 2014
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Sporting Clube de Portugal
Now I usually have posted threads about Sporting youth products over the years but this one is different he is not a Sporting Youth product but rather a player from our biggest rival and my most hated team a Benfica youth product. ( I am disgusted in myself that I am writing this :eek::wenger: )

With that being said I simply can not deny or unsee what I have seen from this kid, he is 18 years old and just oozes class. He broke into Benfica first team this year and has not looked back has an eye for goal and apparently the big games as well (scored 2x vs Sporting already). He plays in what I would call the 9.5 position in football he is not a striker but he is not a number 10 either he is somewhere in-between that though he steers more towards the 10 role but dont get it mistaken. His touch is class his technical ability is class and he always knows where to be in the box. He most remind me of Joao Vieira Pinto a Portuguese legend who played for both Benfica and Sporting.

His name might not be known to most on the CAF just yet but I have no doubt he will be linked to United sooner rather than later as do most Portuguese players. Easily the best player to come out of their academy since Bernardo Silva and I would argue he has a higher ceiling. As always I will provide some videos to help you get a better look at him.





 
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Watched him in the last Sporting - Benfica game (was very good) and I know him from Football Managers - he turned out to be absolutely outstanding player for me and my Wolves, eventually leading us to winning Premier League :lol::lol::lol:
Quite a few Portuguese friends of mine have also mentioned that he's class and perhaps the biggest talent in last few good years. Have to say I'm quite hyped for the lad and would love us to take a punt.
One to monitor. I wonder how much he will play until the end of the season, is a first choice player for Benfica at the moment?
 
To me he's one of the guys that will be in the just below best-player-ever category. More Rui Costa, Luis Figo than Ronaldo or Messi. Not that there's anything wrong with that.
 
Red Star One said:
Watched him in the last Sporting - Benfica game (was very good) and I know him from Football Managers - he turned out to be absolutely outstanding player for me and my Wolves, eventually leading us to winning Premier League :lol::lol::lol:
Quite a few Portuguese friends of mine have also mentioned that he's class and perhaps the biggest talent in last few good years. Have to say I'm quite hyped for the lad and would love us to take a punt.
One to monitor. I wonder how much he will play until the end of the season, is a first choice player for Benfica at the moment?
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He currently is a starter and I don't see him losing that starting spot anymore he is fantastic. I also agree probable the best Portuguese talent in a good while and he deserves the hype he is getting.
 
VanGaalyTime said:
To me he's one of the guys that will be in the just below best-player-ever category. More Rui Costa, Luis Figo than Ronaldo or Messi. Not that there's anything wrong with that.
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I completely agree I see him having a very similar ceiling to that of Rui Costa and as you pointed out their is nothing wrong with that at all. He will be world class no doubt in my mind.
 
Ish said:
A bit less when it’s a Benfica prodigy? :p
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I literally wrote this thread with the most "salty" face. I despise them as much as United do Liverpool.

I simply could not deny how good he is so I had to do it.
 
Ish said:
:lol:

Fair play bud. Would be interesting to see what position he ends up.
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To get the best out of Felix he needs to play right behind the striker he likes to use combination plays and the defense is attention on the striker as a way to get an edge in the box. Like I said he is closer to #10 then a 9 but he is not your typical 10 which is why I said he is something in between almost like a hybrid in a 9.5 role.
 
SportingCP96 said:
To get the best out of Felix he needs to play right behind the striker he likes to use combination plays and the defense is attention on the striker as a way to get an edge in the box. Like I said he is closer to #10 then a 9 but he is not your typical 10 which is why I said he is something in between almost like a hybrid in a 9.5 role.
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Yeah which is interesting. There’s a lack of top class 10’s out there today, IMO.

I’m struggling to think of any of the top aides who play with a pure 10 through the middle these days. But I guess as football evolves, so too do the players. By the looks of the video, he’s flexible enough to play a variety of positions across the front. Even the Silva’s and de Bruyne has tweaked their game a bit for Pep.
 
Ish said:
Yeah which is interesting. There’s a lack of top class 10’s out there today, IMO.

I’m struggling to think of any of the top aides who play with a pure 10 through the middle these days. But I guess as football evolves, so too do the players. By the looks of the video, he’s flexible enough to play a variety of positions across the front. Even the Silva’s and de Bruyne has tweaked their game a bit for Pep.
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I agree the natural number 10 is a dying breed the last I remember just off the top of my head is maybe Kaka and Riquelme. Maybe Ozil? but Felix is none of those guys if you ever say JVP play they are very similar he is a quick thinker and his technical ability especially in close quarters allows him to get out of situations with relative ease.
 
SportingCP96 said:
I agree the natural number 10 is a dying breed the last I remember just off the top of my head is maybe Kaka and Riquelme. Maybe Ozil? but Felix is none of those guys if you ever say JVP play they are very similar he is a quick thinker and his technical ability especially in close quarters allows him to get out of situations with relative ease.
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Yeah. I think Ozil was probably the last top class 10 (in his prime I’d say he was top class) but even he often found himself shifted out wide to shore up the midfield.
 
Ish said:
Yeah. I think Ozil was probably the last top class 10 (in his prime I’d say he was top class) but even he often found himself shifted out wide to shore up the midfield.
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I definitely agree Ozil In Madrid was world class. He averaged like 20 assists a season in his prime. He was fantastic.
 
Any idea how we’d make him, Pogba, Martial and Rashford work in the same line up? 4-2-3-1 with Pogba in mid two the only way to go?
 
Red Star One said:
Any idea how we’d make him, Pogba, Martial and Rashford work in the same line up? 4-2-3-1 with Pogba in mid two the only way to go?
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I would say a switch of formation to a classic United one. I would go with a 4-4-1-1 with Joao Felix in the CF role in behind the striker (Rashford) in the middle of the park I would have Paul Pogba and then a box to box mid type player a guy who can break up play. in the wings Martial? and a signing preferably a winger who can beat a man. Back 4 Shaw Lindelof Bailey(?) Dalot (?) GK De Gea

I would give Pogba the license to move up more and Felix would be able to drop back when United are defending so it would turn into a 4-3-3 with 3 men in the middle and when United are attacking Felix would be in behind the striker to cause the opposing defense many headaches along with the wingers getting in behind.
 
VanGaalyTime said:
To me he's one of the guys that will be in the just below best-player-ever category. More Rui Costa, Luis Figo than Ronaldo or Messi. Not that there's anything wrong with that.
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Calm down. He'll be very lucky to become half as good as Rui Costa or Figo were and he's definitely more of a João Vieira Pinto anyways.

He's class, will definitely make it into a top club soon enough but I doubt he'll ever become that sort of star. There's a reason number 10s are a dying breed in football, imo he'll have to play a sort of Griezmann type role as a second striker and he's going to have to increase his end product for that to happen.

Biggest compliment I can make is that I already hate him. cnut.
 
Peyroteo said:
Calm down. He'll be very lucky to become half as good as Rui Costa or Figo were and he's definitely more of a João Vieira Pinto anyways.

He's class, will definitely make it into a top club soon enough but I doubt he'll ever become that sort of star. There's a reason number 10s are a dying breed in football, imo he'll have to play a sort of Griezmann type role as a second striker and he's going to have to increase his end product for that to happen.

Biggest compliment I can make is that I already hate him. cnut.
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:lol::lol::lol: You and me both
 
VanGaalyTime said:
To me he's one of the guys that will be in the just below best-player-ever category. More Rui Costa, Luis Figo than Ronaldo or Messi. Not that there's anything wrong with that.
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You're setting the bar too high using two of the best players ever to play the sport.

There's a big chance he won't come out that good, and that's fine.

Afterall, Figo was one of the most skilled driblers and crossers in the game, and Rui Costa was a player with a vision beyond the mere mortals.
 
André Dominguez said:
You're setting the bar too high using two of the best players ever to play the sport.

There's a big chance he won't come out that good, and that's fine.

Afterall, Figo was one of the most skilled driblers and crossers in the game, and Rui Costa was a player with a vision beyond the mere mortals.
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As weird as it sounds even though he is a legend I feel Figo is so underrated. He was incredible and probably had the best fake shot technique in the game he fooled defenders left and right.
 
SportingCP96 said:
As weird as it sounds even though he is a legend I feel Figo is so underrated. He was incredible and probably had the best fake shot technique in the game he fooled defenders left and right.
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Figo was absolute class and yes, a bit underrated.

He had that Messiesque body feint, so so beautiful to watch.

I also liked the way he used to hit a ball. He wasn't bending his knee when shooting at all, he was mostly shooting with the leg straight and that is a very difficult technique.
 
youmeletsfly said:
Figo was absolute class and yes, a bit underrated.

He had that Messiesque body feint, so so beautiful to watch.

I also liked the way he used to hit a ball. He wasn't bending his knee when shooting at all, he was mostly shooting with the leg straight and that is a very difficult technique.
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Exactly that whenever he shot he literally would put his foot though the ball and the way he used his body feints as you Mentioned were so beautiful to watch. He had a very elegant play style absolute class player who does not get as much recognition as the other legends.
 
SirAF said:
Mendes client?
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Primarily Soccer ProMaster, apparently — but with some sort of understanding with Mendes, yes, at least according to this article:
Já Luís Filipe Vieira está firme na intenção de manter o médio-ofensivo, atualmente representado pela empresa Soccer ProMaster mas que delineou uma parceria com Jorge Mendes
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https://www.ojogo.pt/futebol/1a-lig...oes-com-seis-tubaroes-a-espreita-9238292.html

Also listed on their transfermarkt profile: Link.
 
SportingCP96 said:
Exactly that whenever he shot he literally would put his foot though the ball and the way he used his body feints as you Mentioned were so beautiful to watch. He had a very elegant play style absolute class player who does not get as much recognition as the other legends.
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Yes, one of my all time fav players.

I stumbled upon this last night, absolutely terrific : yt dot be/x07LUqRzgjI (modify the link as I can't post them).

 
At this point I really have to question what our 58 scouts all over the Europe are doing?
Why haven't we unearthed any gems like Felix till now?
 
I flagged this lad up in the summer when he was being linked with West Ham.
Maybe he would benefit from a couple of years at a solid, midtable team like them and then move on similar to the route Neves is likely to take?
 
aditya826 said:
At this point I really have to question what our 58 scouts all over the Europe are doing?
Why haven't we unearthed any gems like Felix till now?
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Every one of the top clubs knows about him.
 
SirAF said:
Ed, do your thing.
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He's not the best fit with Rashford and Martial, to be fair — one of them at a time, yes, but I don't think all three can start in the same XI and perform at a close to optimal level because the shape will be slightly tapering and there might be a few overlaps, especially considering they're all young and not very thorough wrt. their positional discipline or understanding of space. Félix seems to be close to an Italian trequarista in terms of playing style as things stand: part forward, part offensive midfielder, part striker through central areas — along the lines of Dybala or perhaps Zola, and both of them played at their best with one striker (another would muddy the waters and curtail their influence, unless he was tactically disciplined or in the grafter mold à la Mandzukić). To add, IMO Félix should stay at Benfica for a couple years yet, and resist the temptation to move to an elite club before he's ready and more mature (both mentally and physically) — a good talent but one wrong move where he finds himself on the bench as a low-priority player could hamper his development relative to his peers. Only 19 right now so there's no rush, unless the buying club has a coherent developmental plan for him. For what it's worth, Napoli would be the perfect club for him if he does leave Benfica — Callejón and Mertens are both on the wrong side of 30, and Ancelotti has experience with Kaká (who peaked as a forward despite also playing as an attacking midfielder). Reckon the slightly lower athletic intensity of Serie A will suit him, too.
 
Gentleman Jim said:
I flagged this lad up in the summer when he was being linked with West Ham.
Maybe he would benefit from a couple of years at a solid, midtable team like them and then move on similar to the route Neves is likely to take?
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By then he would require at OTT transfer fee.

We need to get to our knack of signing wonderkids, enough of this blockbuster signings.
 
He's a good talent but not half as good as the media portrays him to be. Take anything from Benfica with a pinch of salt, they control the press here.
 
broccoli said:
He's a good talent but not half as good as the media portrays him to be. Take anything from Benfica with a pinch of salt, they control the press here.
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I agree and that has been the case with every single Benfica youth player and player. I remember when they dubbed Nelson Oliveira the “ golden boy “ of Portugal.

With that being said none of that is the case with Felix. Just like Bernardo Silva and cancelo this one is the real deal.
 
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