Rising Star from BRASIL!

Rising Stars Of The Brasileirão 2005: Mining For Talent In Minas Gerais

As Brazil celebrates the ‘Tiradentes’ holiday, commemorating Minas Gerais’ revolutionary past, Goal.com Brazil correspondent Aaron Marcus finds himself in Belo Horizonte to start the first of a series of articles on rising stars as the Brasileirão 2005 gets rolling...
The state of Minas Gerais lies inland, tucked away from the Brazilian coastline behind the states of Rio de Janeiro and Espirito Santo. Its name means ‘General Mines’, and French geologist Gorceix summed up the landlocked state as having “A breast of iron and a heart of gold”; the two metals being exploited for a frantic century after abundant seams were commercialised in the eighteenth century.

Although the mineral wealth may have dried up, Minas’ two great clubs still manage a bit of alchemy from time to time, combining gold and iron to cast players of world-class quality. The melting pot is the Mineirão; Belo Horizonte’s imposing temple of football, nestling in the chic neighbourhood of Pampulha. Architectural works of art by local geniuses Oscar Niemeyer and Burle Marx are overshadowed by the 140,000 capacity stadium – rivalling Rio’s Maracanã and São Paulo’s Morumbi when cauldrons of fervent fans fill the stands. As in the case of San Siro in Milan, the Mineirão is shared between two feisty rivals.

Of late the more traditional Atlético Mineiro (CAM – Mineiro Athletic Club) has been stumbling around a trophy desert, their last non-state win dating back to the 1997 Conmebol Cup, and 2005 marking a potentially infuriating five years without even the comfort of a Mineiro trophy landing in the trophy room. Cruzeiro, 13 years the junior of their monochrome rivals, have earned more attention recently; Ronaldo’s 1994 season bringing the world’s press to the ‘Toca da Raposa’ (Foxhole) and particularly the 2003 treble (Copa, Brasileirão and Mineiro trophy) causing waves of interest.

Both rivals enter the Brasileirão 2005 with rumbling stomachs; young promises know that this is the time when heroic reputations are forged and this year there will be at least two players looking to make the leap from wet-behind-the-ears promise to fully-fledged starlet; Ramón Osni Moreira Lage in the black and white corner, with Kerlon Moura Souza in the blue corner. With hindsight it looks as if 1988 was a vintage year for Minas and Brazil in general.

Fact File

Ramón

ATLÉTICO MINEIRO

Position: Forward
Full Name: Ramón Osni Moreira Lage
Date of birth: 24-05-1988
Birthplace: Nova Era (MG)
Weight: 69kg
Height: 1,79m

This year’s under-17 South American Cup in Venezuela was a showcase for Atlético’s great new hope, his stellar performance lifting him out of the filofaxes of club spotters and onto the front pages of Brazilian sports papers. It also gave the 16 year-old the exposure that tipped the balance in favour of his promotion from the junior side to a bona fide first team club player.

Coach Tite coincides with the opinions of ex-Galo tacticians Jair Picerni and Paulo Bonamigo, predicting a rise to world-class prominence in Ramón’s near future. The ex-Corinthians trainer gave the green light for the step up on the 20th. of April, giving the precocious talent the Brasileirão 2005 as his first challenge. The youngster is aware of the opportunity, but shows commendable caution in not rushing in like a fool; “Everything’s happening so fast at the moment, and I’m hoping for a chance to show my worth but if a starting place takes longer I’ll still be working to raise my game on the sidelines”.

The attacking midfielder / striker feels comfortable working with Tite, fellow under-17 glowing promise Anderson (Grêmio) giving the thumbs-up about the Gaúcho coach, “Tite is the sort of trainer that puts emphasis on the group as a whole, but he’s always got time for the younger members of the squad. That’s fundamental for me, and I’m going to work my heart out to show him and the club that they’re right to trust my football”. After his five goals for the budding Canarinhos, Tite gave the youngster a metaphorical pat on the back; ”I’m really looking forward to working with him in the senior team; I need to keep an eye on his football because this kid really promises but we don’t want to crush him under the weight of too much responsibility too soon.”

Talking about the recent trophy-winning experience, Ramón highlighted the feeling of “overcoming some dubious refereeing calls to show Brazil is the best” and his pride and enjoyment in wearing the yellow shirt in the company of two close pals from the CAM juniors – central defender Samuel and right-back Casagrande, “I was bowled over by their play, loved playing with them and this shows the strength of Atlético’s footballing base.” Galo fans will be puffing out their chests and strutting with pride if Ramón shows even half the talent he has in the Brasileirão.


RAMÓN, THE NEW RIVALDO IS HERE! Wake up Milan! 17 years for a great football. Arsenal has offered 5 million Euros for he.