‘Soluções’, Rayan and Lucho Acosta are the stars of the classic between Vasco and Fluminense in the semi-final of the Copa do Brasil

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Rayan and Lucho were solutions found by the Rio teams throughout the year. In São Januário, the arrival of coach Fernando Diniz and the consequent adoption of a more associative model generated a disconnect with Vegetti, a more fixed striker in the area, who also entered a bad phase. Little by little, Rayan moves from the right wing to a centralized attacking role.

In his third year as a professional, the young man attracted special attention from Diniz, overcame criticism, perfected his best traits, like sprinting and submission, and never stopped going to the net. At the Brasileirão, he reached the same 14 goals as Vegetti and became the second under-19 with the most goals in a championship edition, behind only Neymar’s 17 goals in 2010.

Unsurprisingly, Vasco is moving towards renewing its contract and increasing the termination fine, which currently stands at 40 million euros (R$255 million) for the foreign market. The striker is expected to become the biggest sale in the club’s history.

— He is a 19-year-old player, tall, fast, agile, who shoots with great precision from anywhere. He is left-handed, dribbles and knows how to build, score and change the game — said Diniz after Rayan scored in the 2-0 victory against the Tricolor itself, in the Brasileirão.

Among Luis Zubeldía’s successes at the helm of Fluminense, the trust placed in Lucho Acosta transformed the team. If before there were creative problems in the three-middle formation with Renato Gaúcho, the Argentine midfielder left the bench to become an absolute starter and take off once and for all since the arrival of his compatriot coach.

Measuring only 1.60 m and endowed with great skill and vision of the game, Lucho manages to get rid of markers thanks to his vast technical repertoire. One of his main characteristics is his ability to find teammates in favorable conditions thanks to his passing between the lines.

In the 2-0 victory over Bahia on the final day of the Brazilian Championship, he twice dismantled the opposition’s defense to leave Kevin Serna and Everaldo in front of goal, but the attackers failed to finish. The goal problem even poisons the season.

Although he doesn’t have many direct contributions – three goals and three assists in 21 games – Lucho is so fundamental to the offensive dynamic that his performance exceeds the numbers. As the team’s main playmaker, he is not a position-marking midfielder on the field. On the contrary, he moves all the time to find spaces between the marking lines and look for associations in attack.

In addition to his passing quality, the Argentinian showed that he had a calibrated foot. In the 2-1 win over Flamengo, he took a quick shot and put the ball in the drawer.

With only four months at the club, he has already found favor with supporters. No wonder, he is one of the most applauded names when the lineup is announced on the Maracanã screen.

Given the performance that has so far exceeded expectations, it is not an exaggeration to say that the acquisition of Lucho for $4 million (around R$21 million at current prices) — contract until the end of 2028 — was “cheap”, considering his return to the field in a short time.