Belé and Pacheco make Palmeiras debut in match full of Crias da Academia | OneFootball

Forward Erick Belé and midfielder Luis Pacheco made their debut for Palmeiras last Saturday, in the rout over Juventude, winning 4-1 at Allianz Parque, in a postponed match from the 12th round of the Brazilian Championship. In addition to the youngsters, the bench was filled with players developed in Verdão’s youth academy.

In total, the bench featured nine Academy Graduates. They are: Allan, Benedetti, Erick Belé, Gilberto, Heittor, Larson, Luighi, Luis Pacheco, and Riquelme. Coach Abel Ferreira highlighted the value placed on the youth academy at the club.

“Since we arrived at Palmeiras, the youth academy has been highly valued, those are the facts. Many of them have been sold, in a team whose main function is not to showcase players, but to win titles. We’ve done a bit of everything: betting on the academy, selling players to strengthen our finances, which were not as we wanted when we arrived. But, with the responsible management of our president and sporting director, we managed to make everything grow at the same time,” said Abel, in a press conference after the match.

Caution with the debuting duo

Belé and Pacheco came on in the second half of the clash against Juventude. The first replaced Raphael Veiga in the 35th minute, while the second took the field in place of Andreas Pereira in the 41st.

Abel spoke about the debuts of Belé and Pacheco and remained cautious with the pair. While the forward is part of the under-20 squad, the midfielder still plays for the under-17s. However, the coach believes the latter has the ability to play with the older youth category.

“Now, I want to see him play in the under-20s (Pacheco). If the coach believes in him, we have to put him in to play at the lower level (under-20). He’s a player with potential, he’s under-17. So, if he played for the first team, I think we can move him up to the under-20s and give him continuity at a higher level, because he’s a player with the potential for it. We also count on our youth coaches to help him get minutes and continue playing at a higher level. He’s really above the level required for the under-17s, he can clearly play in the under-20s, and I hope that happens,” Abel pointed out.

“We have a coach who is always attentive to everything that happens in the under-20s and under-17s. And when we had to call up from the under-17s, as was the case with him and Belé himself, we have a deep knowledge of everything that goes on in development. There are still many years left to play in the under-17s, under-20s, to keep growing and, one day, who knows, be one of the possibilities for the first team,” he added.

The Palmeiras manager emphasized that the same process should occur with Belé, who is generating excitement among the Palmeiras fans.

“We have to cool down the expectations of our fans. Playing in the under-20s is one thing, playing professionally is another. There’s a maturation period, being with us, growing in training, and understanding the speed and intensity with which the first team plays,” Abel highlighted.

Next Palmeiras match

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