1. Now 23, Willian moved to the Ukraine for $19 million in 2007, just before his 19th birthday, on the back of impressive performances at both the Under-20 South American championships and Under-20 Worl Cup in the same year. Brazil won the continental title, with a side that included Alexandre Pato, David Luiz, Marcelo and Renato Augusto amongst others. However, they were eliminated in the Quarter-Finals of the World Cup by Gerard Piqué’s Spain.
2. Willian first came to prominence as a 16-year-old in 2005 at the prestigious Copa São Paulo de Futebol Júnior tournament, which he won with Corinthians. On the back of this early success, by the end of the year, he had been selected to play with the first-team in various friendlies. At 5’8″ Willian is not tall, but his low centre-of-gravity makes him a fine dribbler, whilst he possesses a fine array of passes and a powerful shot that have served him well to date.
3. Moving straight into the Shakhtar first-team, Willian struggled initially to adapt to the Ukranian game. But, after a slow first season, has emerged as one of the key members of the side, alongside fellow Brazilians Fernandinho and Jadson. Primarily a creator of chances, his goalscoring rate is decent, but not prolific. Yet, when he does score, there is a tendancy for the goals to be just a little bit special.
4. In his time in Ukraine, Shakhtar have acheived almost unprecedented levels of success. In four years Willian has won three league titles, two Ukranian Cups, two Super Cups and of course the 2009 UEFA Cup, the club’s biggest achievement in their history. Since, in the 2010-11 season, the Ukranian side made the Quarter-Finals of the UEFA Champions League for the first-time, with Willian central to the side’s play.
5. The year 2011 was huge for the young star, with interest increasing on the back of Shakhtar’s impressive performance in European competition. Arsenal and Barcelona were amongst the strongest links, but now it seems Chelsea may be heading the queue in January 2012. Last year also saw Willian’s form rewarded in the form of a call-up to the Brazil squad, making his first two appearances for the Seleção in November, before in December earning a nomination for the Samba Gold Trophy, given to the best Brazilian player in Europe each year.
A couple of Willian’s highlights:
A sublime run and finish against Chernomorets
A curled effort against Metalurg
A fine assist for colleague Jadson
