Wallace and Diego Caito seize chance and earn starting roles at Grêmio | OneFootball

Unheralded signings Diego Caito, 22, and Wallace, 21, have rapidly earned starting roles at Grêmio under Luís Castro after arriving from Goiás and CRB.

According to Globo.com, Caito debuted on 26 July against Fluminense in the Brasileirão, replacing Pavon at 23 minutes of the second half. He then scored at 43 minutes of the second half to prevent defeat at the Arena and has kept his place since.

Wallace, used during friendlies in the World Cup break, made his official bow against Mirassol in the first leg of the last 16. Retained for the return on Wednesday night at the Arena, he delivered another assured display.

Caito said they had come from Serie B, where matches were more combative and space was scarce, and that they viewed this as the chance of their lives. Wallace said they try to simplify each action to help team-mates play well.

Castro praised the pair’s immediate impact and noted that scouting in lower divisions attracts doubts, while insisting they were right. Their arrivals suit a cost-cutting drive after roughly R$ 100 million was spent earlier this year on Nardoni, Tetê, Enamorado and Leo Pérez, with opportunistic deals now preferred.

Against Mirassol, Caito completed 33 passes, misplaced 10, made one tackle and one block, and committed one foul while being fouled once. Wallace completed 36 passes with two misplaced, made two blocks, committed one foul and was booked.

Source: Globo.com

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