Where are Maik, Lucca and academy kids? Senior pace too much, says journo | OneFootball

One of the São Paulo fans’ biggest favorites are the players who come through the youth ranks in Cotia. However, not all of them are stars, and the adaptation to the professional level is not always as immediate as Tricolor supporters imagine.

One of the best examples is right-back Maik, who under Crespo even became the undisputed starter, overtaking Cédric, even before Lucas Ramon arrived.

Ramon arrived, took over the spot, Roger Machado was also hired to replace Crespo, and Maik now appears as the third option on the right side of the field.

The coach spoke about the issue and said these are “choices for the moment” within the Tricolor squad. However, journalist Arnaldo Ribeiro pointed to another issue that may be holding back the youngster from Cotia.

According to him, São Paulo’s youngsters have been struggling a lot with professional training at the Barra Funda training center and have been piling up injuries. Maik and Lucca were two who suffered some knocks in recent weeks. Hugo Fernandes, a defensive midfielder who returned from knee surgery, has never managed to regain his ideal rhythm.

“Maik is the third backup because he doesn’t train. He just can’t train anymore. He lost his spot to Lucas Ramon and lost his standing to Cédric. Not because he is bad, but because he is always in pain,” Arnaldo Ribeiro said in his live stream this week.

For the match against Vitória this Saturday (11), at least forward Lucca is back, having recovered from pain in the front part of his right thigh. He traveled with the squad that will face the team from Bahia in Salvador in the Brasileirão.

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