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

Photo: Gabriel Silva/CearaSC

For nine years holding the CBF’s Youth Development Club certification and with one of the best youth academies in the Northeast, Ceará continues to refine its athlete development work. Forward Melk, one of the eight players promoted to the main professional 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, just 19 years old, has roots in futsal and joined Vozão’s youth academy at 15, becoming one of Vovô’s attacking weapons this season. This year, the player has been directly involved in 14 goals, with six goals and eight assists.

Learn a bit 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 recruitment processes. The initiative brings together young players from all regions of the country and consists of a selection process in which athletes are evaluated over the course of a week.

Those approved in this initial evaluation are integrated into the age-group teams to train alongside the players and their respective coaching staffs. At this stage, the professionals observe whether these athletes’ competitive level matches 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 João Marcos, then coach of the pilot project. Among 32 athletes, Melk, with a slight build, stood out for his skill, intelligence, and good use of his left foot. Interestingly, in that tryout, Melk was the only young player approved.

Despite his young age, the professionals saw in him potential for development and game understanding, later confirmed by Delmiro Mendonça, coach of Vovô’s Under-15 team. After the pilot project, Melk trained with the group for another three weeks until he 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’s youth categories.

Whether as an attacking midfielder or 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 two-footed ability and improved his medium- and long-range finishing, becoming the set-piece taker for the teams he played on.

Rise to the professional squad

The current No. 40 in the squad was promoted to the professional team 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 attractive and, above all, effective football, Melk began to be used in the professional 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.