Uilson and Douglas Santos both worked with the coach during his time at Atleico Mineiro and insist the new boss has the team ready to take gold
There were a number of unfamiliar names included in coach Rogerio Micale’s Brazil squad for the Olympic Games.
Selecao fans from around the world were left frantically typing names into search engines in an effort to familiarise themselves with some of the young faces hoping to lead the five-time world champions to their first ever gold medal this month.
But a young and inexperienced squad could hardly be in better hands. Coach Rogerio Micale was drafted in for the Olympics after previous coach Dunga was sacked in June and, with a history of coaching youth teams, the contemporary young coach has made a career out of shaping talent for the future.
He led Figueirense to the prestigious Copa Sao Paulo youth tournament and Atletico Mineiro to its Belo Horizonte equivalent in 2010 and 2011. He also led the under-20 team at the World Cup and the team under-23 in the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto, Canada.
And a number of the players in his 18-man squad for the Games this month were discovered along the way. Uilson and Douglas Santos worked first caught Micale’s eye at Atletico Mineiro.
While Douglas Santos had long since established himself as favourite to make the cut at left-back after joing the senior squad in recent months, the inclusion of the third-choice Atletico Mineiro goalkeeper came as a shock.
Uilson, 22, was promoted to the senior squad at his club by former coach Paulo Autuori in 2014 but has failed to establish himself in the first team at the Belo Horizonte club.
However, the young goalkeeper has already shown himself an outstanding prospect and impressed when joining the squad for friendlies against the Dominican Republic, Haiti and the United States. He is set to play second-fiddle to Weverton but impressed against Japan and could yet force his way into the starting lineup.
Douglas Santos, meanwhile, had his first chance to truly impress ahead of the games in Saturday’s friendly against Japan. One of the rising stars of the Brazilian game, he appears set for a return to Europe after the games.
At just 22-years-old, he has already made over 100 appearances for Aletico after returning from an ill-fated spell in Europe.
An unused member of Dunga’s Copa America Centenario in June, the youngster was singled out as a major member of the Olympic team within the first few days of the team’s preparations at the Granja Comary training complex and has spoken glowingly of Micale.
"They have very different philosophies of work. Micale likes to do a lot of tactical training and little games while with Dunga they were very short, intense workouts. Micale is now seeking a more tactical approach."
“He is always speaking to us about playing as a collective, staying close to each other and making passing lanes. We know our opponents will be compact and he is preparing us for that.”
While Gabriel Jesus, Neymar and Gabigol will take much of the attention at the Olympic Games, the likes of Douglas Santos have major roles to play. And Micale certainly has them well prepared.
..... - Goal