The 2025 Brazilian Championship finished, won by Flamengo, it was time to reward the best player. Giorgian de Arrascaeta, 31 years old, who has been playing in our football since 2015 (Cruzeiro until 2018, Flamengo since 2019), won.
Arrascaeta, or Arrasca in the popular shorthand (and Arráshca in the Rio pronunciation), won two awards: the very traditional Ballon d’Or, created in the 1970s by Placar magazine and offered since 2016 by ESPN, and the Craque do Brasileirão, existing since 2005, in partnership with CBF-Globo.
The midfielder is going through his best phase. In 33 Brazilian Championship matches (out of a possible 38), he scored 18 goals, just behind Cruzeiro striker Kaio Jorge (21 goals), and provided 14 assists, more than anyone else. Outstanding.
Immune to the injuries that hampered him in previous seasons, Arrasca shone even more in 2019, when, also physically intact, he scored 13 goals and contributed 14 assists in the Brasileirão won by the Rouge et Noir.
And suddenly, reality sets in: Arrascaeta is not Brazilian, but Uruguayan.
Because he is the athlete missing from a Brazilian team which, even with a great coach (the Italian Carlo Ancelotti), lacks confidence, due to the modest fifth place in the World Cup qualifiers which begin in six months.
Arrasca would fit perfectly into the Canary Islands team, as a third midfielder, one who has the freedom to create, without having to score a lot – let the midfielders do it, like Jorginho and Pulgar do at Flamengo –, highlighting his strengths: reading the game, effective short passes (ball passes), precise finishes at short and medium distance.
Additionally, he is well above average in terms of dead balls, which as we know can decide matches.
Arrascaeta, it should be noted, is a player who dictates the pace (pauses and accelerates), to create offensive plays that do not require as much haste. He’s not a slow player, but his pace suits him well. For playing at high speed and on the counterattack and for scoring with constant pressure, it is not really recommended.
It was largely for this reason that, thanks to the style of play adopted by his country, Uruguay, of recovering the ball and coming out quickly to catch up with the disorganized rival, undertaking a “structured rush”, the number 10 stood out little.
Arrasca’s positioning in Celeste proved insufficient. He plays as a centralized midfielder, not an open midfielder, on the wings. Especially since, when he is open, he ceases to be a midfielder (it’s in the name, midfielder plays in the middle), he becomes a winger.
It would be beautiful to have an Arrascaeta in green and yellow. Because, which is absurd given the squad, Brazil does not have a single star with his characteristics.
Our best midfielder today, Matheus Pereira, from Cruzeiro, who has not yet been called up by Ancelotti, is more vertical, more sharp. Lucas Paquetá, a possible name for the World Cup, is not doing very well and is showing inconsistent performances.
Ancelotti’s Brazil is formatted to play with two midfielders and four attackers (two in the middle, two on the wings). Without Arrasca, especially because we don’t have one.
And without Arrasca to fuel the attack, who will do that? One of the middle attackers retreated, out of his habitat and without the quality to do so. We will improvise – we are even good at it, but this should be the exception and not the rule.
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