Luis Pacheco, 17, shines vs Santos, earns Abel Ferreira’s praise | OneFootball

The young midfielder Luis Pacheco, 17 years old, was one of the most talked-about topics after Palmeiras’ 1-0 victory over Santos in the Paulistão. Wearing the number 58 jersey, he came on in the second half and performed very well, standing out for his tackles and high level of play. A standout in the youth ranks, the defensive midfielder was left out of the Copinha to join Abel Ferreira’s squad at the start of the season.

For the defensive midfielder position, Verdão only has Emiliano Martínez after the sale of Aníbal Moreno to River Plate, from Argentina. Because of this, the coaching staff turned to the youth categories to bring up Luís Pacheco, who had played very little even for Palmeiras’ Under-20 team. The player made a move and a leap that not even Endrick and Estêvão made, which is to hardly play in the final stage of the youth categories.

Young as well, the others skipped stages but always respected the categories and went through all of them. Pacheco, however, jumped from the Under-17 straight to the professional team with few appearances in the Under-20.

Youth Career

Luis Pacheco, captain of the Under-17, is seen as one of the biggest names at the moment in Palmeiras’ youth setup. This season, he has played 17 matches for the Under-17, scoring three goals, and made three appearances for the Under-20.

Although he is a defensive midfielder, the youngster is considered a player capable of getting forward well, and can also play as a number 8 – a standard characteristic of Palmeiras’ youth teams.

Recently, the midfielder renewed his contract with Palmeiras. The new deal is valid until September 2028 and has a release clause of 100 million euros (R$ 631 million) for foreign clubs. He has been at Verdão since 2020, when he was 12 years old.

In the youth categories at Verdão, the Academy Graduate has already won four titles, including two editions of the Under-20 Brazilian Championship (2024 and 2025) and one Under-15 Paulista (2023).

In addition to Luís Pacheco, Larson, who was a standout in the Under-20, is another player making a name for himself in Verdão’s professional squad.

Upcoming Palmeiras Matches

Palmeiras vs Red Bull Bragantino – Campeonato Brasileiro – 10/15 (Wednesday), 7pm (Brasília time)

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