Ex Bordeaux favourite Carlos Henrique took time to speak about his move to France with the south-western port city, where he ended up spending nine years in from 2005. Amongst other things he was asked about the route young homegrown players are now taking and whether they leave the continent too early for the money and bright lights of Europe.
His response was very revealing and summed up the state of the game not just in Brazil but in South America as a whole. Chelsea’s 18 year old forward Kenedy and Bordeaux’s own Diego Rolan were used as prime examples.
“Yeah. Especially that (the way players are poached early) has all changed in Brazil. When I was young, my training was different. The purpose was also to sell the player but not sell them right away. He had to train a player to make a good pro, so that the club wins titles and then sell them (at a steeper price). Everything changed. From time to time you see a youngster and you wonder if he has the quality to play professionally. And yet he plays.”
It is merely the state of the game, with added exposure to European football and the increased commercialisation brings the ability for these clubs to poach the best talent from around the world. Brazilian players have this romanticised value attached to their style of play that follows them around during their careers thus you can’t see this production line into Europe halting any time soon.
