Kaio César

Hailing from Maceió, a municipality on the east coast of Brazil, Kaio César has been one of the standout players in the first half of the season for Vitória SC, the club where he is on loan from Coritiba FBC. Born in February 2004, the young Brazilian can be a winger or even an attacking midfielder.
Kaio is a physically impressive player for his position. His mesomorphic morphology and medium-low stature give him benefits that are reflected in all the actions in the game that require physicality. With a low centre of gravity, the Brazilian is very agile and powerful – he has tremendous speed due to the high frequency of his stride and his ability to accelerate in milliseconds. He’s also a robust player, which gives him important characteristics for one-on-one duels and for actions that require him to impress with his power on the ball.

The Brazilian winger, who can play on either flank, is a player who demonstrates technical skills that are reflected in the way he unbalances individuals during a match. He usually opens his body diagonally to receive with his right foot and accelerate with his left foot (strong foot) towards the opposite goal – it’s clear from this that he knows how to direct his offensive actions. If he can’t do that, he has no problem playing backwards and moving, or turning the pressure around with an out-and-in ball movement. When he’s not pressurised from the back, due to his explosiveness, he gets on top of his opponent and has an interesting range of options at his disposal: he can feint with his body, he can feint with the ball, or he can throw the ball into space and overpower the opposition with his speed. Once he’s got ahead of the opposition and into the final third, he usually has two options: he can either exploit the space to the end line as much as possible to get down the defensive line and look for a late cross, or he can cut inside to get close to the goal: he can either cut outside again and look for the cross, or he can look for a powerful shot to the far post.

In addition to his attacks, Kaio César is a player who can generate synergies with his team-mates. Through his movements with the ball, he always manages to give the full-back on his side space to come from behind and make overlaps or underlaps. This creates superiority over the opposing defence (2×1) and allows him to create short combinations to eliminate opponents on the defensive line and open up spaces to break through and enter the opposing area. Combinations down the central corridor are also part of Kaio César’s game: when he makes diagonal runs from outside to inside, he uses the infamous ‘toco y me voy’ to tabulate with the Vitória SC midfielders and then receive the ball further forward and facing the opponent’s defensive line.

Kaio César’s competitive attitude is stupendous and this is especially evident in defensive moments, which is why I think he could be used as a wing-back in a three-centre-back system. He’s the type of winger who always supports the full-back on his side and does so in exemplary fashion: he runs backwards at a commendable speed, knows how to contain, and is aggressive when it comes to breaking into individual defensive duels in search of regaining possession. Both in defensive transition and in defensive organisation, he does what coach Rui Borges asks of him.

The player on loan from Coritiba FBC is still a player with potential, as his statistics show. This is mainly because he needs to develop his game when it comes to defining moments in the final third. As a physically powerful player, he doesn’t always temporise or pause his play. This leads him to decide quickly and although he raises his head before deciding he doesn’t always add the right seasoning for what ultimately sets many players apart: the last pass to the finish. However, given the fact that he is only 20 years old, this is something that, with time to mature psychologically and the proper accompaniment from the coaching staff, will end up evolving positively towards a greater number of good definitions in the final third and, consequently, a greater performance on the pitch.

Taking Kaio César’s potential alone, I believe he should be put on the radar of the main Portuguese clubs, especially FC Porto and Sporting CP. The first is because of the club’s relationship with technically advanced and powerful wingers, and because it’s close to the city of Guimarães. The second is because they play in a system with three centre-backs, something that could take Kaio César into the positions usually occupied by Geny Catamo and Geovany Quenda and which could be interesting for the Brazilian given his characteristics, as I mentioned two paragraphs ago. However, at the moment, looking at his performance and still not knowing what the rest of the season will be like, I believe it would be best for him to stay at Vitória SC for another season and a half if the Minho club activates the purchase clause set at one and a half million euros for 60 per cent of the Brazilian’s pass.