Barboza given time to adapt as Palmeiras mirror Flaco López plan | OneFootball

Palmeiras have used the World Cup break to bed in new signing Alexander Barboza, while recharging the squad and fast-tracking the centre-back’s integration.

According to Nosso Palestra, the defender was signed from Botafogo before the restart, is working daily at the Academia de Futebol with his new team-mates, and will have valuable adaptation time before official matches return.

This approach is not new. In recent years the club did similar with Merentiel and Flaco López, unveiled before debuting. They arrived with the window shut and used that spell to learn the staff’s methods, build fitness and adapt to the style.

With Barboza the pattern repeats. After successful years at Botafogo, he comes in to strengthen a unit that relies on high levels of understanding. The lull helps him absorb defensive concepts, improve conditioning and develop on-pitch rapport.

That groundwork could matter once the calendar turns intense with the Campeonato Brasileiro, the Copa do Brasil and the CONMEBOL Libertadores. The expectation is that Barboza will be more adapted and ready to contribute from his first opportunities in the alviverde shirt.

Source: Nosso Palestra