Charles Hembert, former assistant to Rogério Ceni at São Paulo, spoke to L’Equipe about 20-year-old defender Lucas Beraldo’s difficulties at Paris Saint-Germain. He explained that the young Brazilian was not a full-back, before praising his immense qualities.
Hembert “Never before arriving at PSG had he played left-back”.
“The starting point for assessing him is his positioning. Before arriving at PSG, he had never played left-back. We asked ourselves that question several times when he first started out, but we didn’t think he had the body or the defensive range for it. We mustn’t be mistaken in identifying his profile.
Hembert: “He has everything to succeed, but we need to give him time”.
He’s a player who builds with exceptional technical quality, who’s never under pressure when restarting, and who knows how to break down lines with the ball at his feet. If we’re waiting for a rough central defender who’s going to go hard for contact, no. We need to combine him with this type of player. That’s the kind of profile we need.
Lucas is a very intelligent, serious person who is willing to progress. I have no doubt that he’s going to improve. He has everything to succeed, but we need to give him time.”
It’s easy to have doubts about a player, especially when the club is spending a lot of money to get him. That said, doubting does not mean humiliating, judging or “burying”. That’s the problem with soccer today: everyone has a clear-cut, random opinion that can change from one second to the next. Nuance doesn’t exist (anymore), it’s either fantastic or rubbish.
We’re reduced to asking for time for a player from Brazil who’s only 20 years old. At the same time, today’s generation doesn’t know that just under 30 years ago, a PSG legend, Rai, arrived on the scene. Yet in his early days, the Brazilian was a shadow of his former self.
Nothing is easy in soccer, there are few places and they’re expensive, but if so many people are talking about Beraldo’s qualities, it’s surely not for nothing. Let’s hope he manages to reach that next level, to silence all those malicious tongues who haven’t even waited to cry foul about his presence at PSG.
