A defensive midfielder of Liverpool F.C. and Brazil, Lucas Pezzini Leiva was born on January 9, 1987 in Dourados, Mato Grosso do Sul and...
A defensive midfielder of Liverpool F.C. and Brazil, Lucas Pezzini Leiva was born on January 9, 1987 in Dourados, Mato Grosso do Sul and is the nephew of former Brazilian footballer Leivinha. Starting his career with Gremio,winning the state championship and also coming third in the Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A.
Also at Gremio, he became the youngest player ever to win the Bola de Ouro (Golden Ball), something won previously in recent times by Zico, Falcao, Careca, Alex, Fowi, Romario, Kaka, and Tevez. His perfomances caught the attention of Liverpool and many clubs and the Merseyside team announced they had signed him in May 13, 2007 in the region of £6.5m and joined the Reds two months later after his stay in Gremio and in 221 appearances for Liverpool scored 6 goals.
Why He Is Not Rated Highly?
Three words- He is Brazilian.
Not necessarily because he is but of expectation. Lucas Leiva moved into the Premier League around the time when Kaka and Robinho were in the limelight for their brilliance on the ball, tricks, simply put amazing football skills something Brazil is renowed for. The lack of coverage of the Brazilian league at the time meant there was little knowledge of Lucas and the belief was they were going to get something in the league of Kaka and the rest. But they were wrong.
He was viewed as the ideal replacement for Xavi Alonso after the Spaniard's departure given what he (Alonso) brought to the team at the time. His long range passing, positional discipline and his work ethic and formidable partnership with Mascherano and Gerrard was nothing short of magical at its best.
 |
| Macherano, Gerrard and Alonso forged a good partnership for Liverpool back then |
Goals, goals, and goals and the Brazilian is having none of that. He had no goals last season and incredibly no assists as well. He had a 100% shot accuracy- meaning none of his shots were off target, impressive right? Truth is, he managed just a SINGLE shot all season and like the saying goes "If you don't buy the ticket you cannot win the lottery".
Why He Should Not Be Underrated
In an era where possession football is becoming the order of the day, Lucas Leiva is really essential to Liverpool's game. He is the controller in the Reds’ midfield, he dictates the rhythm of their game, the tempo and all. He knows when to pass the ball to the flanks or channel it down through the middle or even hold it to break play.
 |
| Lucas has the best tackles per minute ratio in the premier league |
About 88% of his passes were accurate last season, and while they might be made up of backward and sideway passes you cannot really fault him for that. Brendan Rodgers has come with the philosophy of keeping the ball and attacking as a unit, each unit maintaining a reasonable line and it is clear to show why over the past two seasons Lucas Leiva passing distance is an average of 17 metres because he keeps it simple and is tactically, not required to be expansive. Creating 16 scoring chances is a respectable stat for a player who is not the link between the midfield and attack but the defence and the midfield.
Among the his compatriots in the league, he led them in Minutes Per Tackles Won, he might not have that the discipline of Xavi Alonso but the Brazilian puts in work. He is the epitome of a tireless midfielder and would chase lost balls over the pitch to recover possession, strong in the air and puts in a lot of tackles.
Critics might argue about him being beaten on 1-on-1 situations, although it is something he could work on, he is left with little chance. Steven Gerrard has become less mobile by the seasons past and as thus on the counter-attacks creates this wide gap between him and Lucas that explosive players would take advantage of.
Players like Lucas are felt greatly in their absence as evident of Liverpool's start last season and the way it ended after his return in December cum performances from Suarez, Sturridge, and Coutinho. It might be a hard ask to get into the Brazilian team next season for the World Cup but in no means should Pezzini be seen as average player.
Written By: ChukaMVP. You can follow him on twitter Follow @chukamvp
Before you leave, Kindly take some seconds to vote for my blog for the OYAA awards as the best sports blog. Click Here. Thank you as you do so!
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE;
Underrated Player Of The Day: Karim Benzema
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE;
Underrated Player Of The Day: Karim Benzema
