SLNA: Be patient with rookie Alves dos Santos

Playing the full 270 minutes, hitting the target once, not scoring any goals and not having a single successful assist for his teammates. Obviously, these are extremely disappointing statistics for striker Alves dos Santos. If he does not quickly prove his talent, the risk of having to sit on the bench, or even having his contract terminated is not small for the foreign player born in 1990.

That does not mean that Alves dos Santos did not contribute to SLNA's achievements in the last 3 matches of V.League 2019. Objectively speaking, although he did not leave a strong impression in the goals of the Nghe An team, the Brazilian striker's positivity still helped a lot in SLNA's overall playing style.

Alves dos Santos has yet to score a goal for SLNA. Photo courtesy

Possessing an ideal physique and a strong physical foundation, the 29-year-old player often moves widely, forcing the opponent’s defense to be stretched. Thanks to that, his teammates playing next to him such as Olaha, Ho Khac Ngoc, Cao Xuan Thang, Nguyen Sy Nam… have more space to approach the opponent’s goal.

In addition to his ability to press and move widely, Alves dos Santos is also quite skillful and sophisticated in handling the ball - a characteristic of players from the "Samba country". The backheel pass to Ho Khac Ngoc in the 36th minute, or the situation of eliminating goalkeeper Bui Tan Truong but kicking the ball wide of the goal in the 49th minute in the match against B.Binh Duong on March 7, are typical examples.

Of course, it cannot be denied that Alves dos Santos still often misses the ball, controls the ball clumsily and makes inaccurate passes. This is understandable, because the foreign player born in 1990 is only playing in his first season in Vietnam. Therefore, 3 matches cannot say anything.

Don’t forget, before becoming a dangerous striker and having great importance for SLNA, striker Olaha also went through a very bad time, similar to what Alves dos Santos is facing. In V.League 2017, it was not until the 10th round (against HAGL) that the Nigerian player scored his first goal for the Vinh home team.

Olaha also experienced a streak of 9 consecutive scoreless matches in V.League 2017. Photo courtesy

Finally, the results have come. Olaha was one of the biggest contributors to the 2017 National Cup championship (scoring 1 goal in the second leg final against B.Binh Duong). In the 2018 V.League, Olaha contributed 8 goals for SLNA, ranking 2nd after Phan Van Duc (9 goals).

Through Olaha’s case, it can be seen that what Alves dos Santos is showing is not a serious problem. What the Brazilian foreign player needs at the moment is time and trust from the SLNA coaching staff. Let’s wait and see whether Alves dos Santos can prove his talent or not?