Images from the match between Botafogo and Palmeiras raised the name of one player in particular. Botafogo were leading 3-1 and had a penalty in their favour in the 83rd minute. However, Palmeiras ended up winning the game 3-4 with Endrick the standout performer. With the Brasileirao on the line, and with just a few months to go before the Brazilian talent arrives at Real Madrid while enjoying his first senior Brazil call-up, Endrick is beginning to evolve as a player. His margin for improvement in level and style is huge and and our data and maps give us clues to that.
In our availability chart we see how Endrick has become indispensable for Abel Ferreira in the last nine games, where in eight of them he started. It is worth mentioning that Endrick, in the little more than 300 minutes he played in the Brasileirao 2022, focused especially on finishing, while this season he has gone through a period of anxiety and responsibility that has affected him, with many days without scoring a goal.
Palmeiras have played all season with a 4-2-3-1 formation as their main tactical formation, but in the period in which Endrick has been a starter the team has played four matches with a 3-4-1-2 or 4-3-1-2 system, that is, with two strikers instead of one. This has changed Endrick’s zones and role, opening up space to imagine him in the future. Although he is a fantastic finisher, with undoubted instinct and enormous determination, Endrick is so much more. In the last six games, as we can see on the radar below, he has been more about generating and getting involved and less about finishing.
This is reflected very well in the evolution of his heat map. The Brazilian has been especially good at forming an attacking duo, without wingers receiving on the wing, being free to go down, receive open, draw diagonals with the ball or play at different heights. A much more versatile Endrick for the future.
From being a striker who can get forward and finish in the box to a player who generates more danger from further out and through individual plays or quality partnerships (he produces 14% of his team’s Expected Threat, compared to 8.6% last season). These maps show that 39% of his carries are made from the right side of midfield and from the right side of the right front. An evolution that is in line with his physical evolution and which opens up the horizon of his tremendous potential.
Founded in 2017 as a consultancy, Driblab has driven innovation through data in all aspects of professional football. Thanks to a transversal model, its database collects and models statistics in all directions. From converting matches and videos into bespoke data for training academies to developing cutting-edge technology, helping clubs, federations and representative agencies in talent scouting and transfer markets. Driblab’s smart data is used by clubs all over the world, with success stories such as Dinamo Zagreb, Real Betis and Girondins Bordeaux among others. Here you can find out more about how we work and what we offer.
