First-team standout, Melk is a product of Ceará SC’s youth scouting | OneFootball

Photo: Gabriel Silva/CearaSC

With CBF’s Youth Development Club certification for nine years and one of the best academies in the Northeast, Ceará continues to improve its player development work. Forward Melk, one of eight players promoted to the senior squad, has stood out in the Brazilian Série B and emerged as a positive example of Alvinegro’s scouting department.

Born and raised in the capital of Ceará, Melk, only 19 years old, has roots in futsal and joined Vozão’s academy at 15, becoming one of Vovô’s attacking weapons this season. This year, the player has been involved in 14 goals, with six scored and eight assists.

Learn a little about the young player’s journey, from his arrival at Cidade Vozão to his rise to the professional team of Alvinegro de Porangabuçu.

Melk arrived at Mais Querido at just 15 years of age through the pilot project. Coordinated by Villener Félix, the mechanism is one of Ceará’s youth scouting processes. The initiative brings together young players from all regions of the country and consists of a trial in which the athletes are evaluated over the course of a week.

Those approved in this initial evaluation are integrated into the youth categories to train alongside the players and their respective coaching staffs. At this stage, the professionals observe whether these athletes’ competitive level is compatible with that of the teams representing the People’s Team.

Melk’s case is unusual, as the boy was added to the evaluation group after the selection process was already underway, at the request of the pilot project’s then-coach, João Marcos. Among 32 players, Melk, with a slim build, stood out for his skill, intelligence, and good use of his left foot. Curiously, in that trial, Melk was the only young player approved.

Despite his young age, the professionals saw in the player the potential to develop and a strong understanding of the game, later confirmed by Vovô’s Under-15 coach, Delmiro Mendonça. After the pilot project, Melk continued training with the group for three weeks until he officially became a player in Vozão’s youth ranks.

At the club since 2021, Melk has played for Alvinegro de Porangabuçu’s Under-15, Under-17, and Under-20 teams, winning the Ceará Under-17 Championship twice and the Northeast Under-20 Championship. Wearing the No. 10 shirt, Melk scored 31 goals in the People’s Team youth categories.

Whether as an attacking midfielder or a winger, Melk has always shown skill and the ability to make the difference in matches, largely thanks to his futsal background. In addition, with the support of the coaching staffs, the player developed the ability to use both feet and improved his medium- and long-range finishing, becoming the set-piece taker for the teams he played for.

Rise to the senior team

The current No. 40 earned promotion to the senior squad after leading Ceará’s Under-20 side in Mais Querido’s historic campaign in the São Paulo Junior Football Cup in January this year. In the Copinha, he contributed two goals and two assists.

With dynamic and, above all, effective football, Melk began to be used in the senior team, playing in the Ceará State Championship, Copa do Nordeste, Copa do Brasil, and Série B. The player renewed his contract with Ceará until December 2028.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.