From striker to centre-back, how Trieste shaped Léo Pereira at Flamengo | OneFootball

Léo Pereira is into his seventh successive Flamengo season, but the centre-back began as a forward at Trieste, a shift that has underpinned a trophy-heavy spell.

"Léo Pereira arrived here as a midfielder and a forward. He scored goals and had good technique. He grew quickly, and at 12 to 13 he hit a very high curve," said academy coordinator Ricardo Vargas to TMC Paraná.

"We started to convince him to play deeper. We realised that if he stayed as a striker he would not have as much success. Little by little he became a centre-back," he added.

Pereira joined in 2020 from Athletico-PR for 7 million euros, about R$ 34.2 million. He has since played 314 games, scored 19 and supplied six assists, a fixture under several coaches.

His 15 trophies place him behind only Arrascaeta and Bruno Henrique on 18, and ahead of Zico, Júnior and Gabigol, who have 13 each.

He was in Brazil’s 2026 World Cup squad, despite not starting, a marker of how far he has come after early criticism at Flamengo.

Sporting chief José Boto has signalled an intention to renew his deal, listing him after Pedro. Flamengo have already rejected a 10 million euro offer from Besiktas of Türkiye, around R$ 59 million.

Flamengo face Independiente del Valle in Quito on Thursday 10 at 21:30 Brasília time, the Libertadores quarter-final first leg at Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa. Pereira is expected to start.

Source: Coluna Do Fla

“Artificial intelligence was used to assist in creating this article based on reporting from the original source quoted.”