Premier League - Euroscout: Rodrigo Possebon

Eurosport - Wed, 24 Sep 10:21:00 2008

Euroscout packed a flask of milky tea and forked out £31 to see Rodrigo Possebon make his full debut for Manchester United against Middlesbrough in the Carling Cup.

FOOTBALL 2008-2009 Carling Cup - Rodrigo Possebon, Manchester United and Stewart Downing, Middlesbrough - 0

The Brazilian-born 19-year-old (pictured with Boro's Stewart Downing) arrived at Old Trafford from Sporting Club Internacional in January, labelled a box-to-box midfielder with fine distribution and vision.

Having acclimatised with United's reserves he made his first team bow against Kaiser Chiefs on the club's summer tour of South Africa, putting in a composed display to leave Sir Alex Ferguson glowing.

"Rodrigo used the ball well and I think the lad has got a chance," Ferguson said.

His first competitive appearance followed in the Premier League opener against Newcastle United in August, where he entered the fray as a second-half substitute.

Rodrigo was used in the same capacity against Portsmouth the following week, before Ferguson awarded him with a first competitive start against Middlesbrough at the Theatre of Dreams. This time Euroscout was there, notebook in hand.

Sitting alongside compatriot Anderson, Rodrigo settled immediately into the match - dropping into the hole to collect possession and living up to his reputation as a fine ball player.

Like all good midfielders he has the ability to create space for himself, and more often than not takes advantage to produce the right pass, at the right time - using both feet with equal comfort.

Physically, Rodrigo is far from imposing, however, and United appeared a touch lightweight with the teenager at their hub.

For this reason, it's hard to imagine Ferguson starting him in a high-octane Premier League clash against Arsenal, Chelsea or Liverpool until he's added steel to his game.

But in Europe the Brazilian could have a role to play this season. As Park Ji-Sung proved last year, neat and energetic players can thrive in the Champions League - where there is less emphasis on physicality.

Sadly Rodrigo's evening was ended by an ugly tackle from Emanuel Pogatetz, but the teenager had already done enough to suggest he could have a future at Old Trafford.

You get the feeling there's a lot more to come and, providing he grows in both confidence and stature, he could one day become a mainstay in the United midfield.

Summary: Rodrigo Possebon

Pace: 7.5/10

Skill: 7.5/10

Strength: 6/10

Aerial ability: 6/10

Finishing: 7.5/10

Movement: 8.5/10

Work-rate: 8/10

Right foot: 7/10

Left foot: 7/10

Current ability: 6.5/10

Potential ability: 8/10

Will Tidey / Eurosport

Comment 1 - 18 of 18

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  1. JULI S yeah there romving u for hating man utd nothing­ to do with foul words at all lol

    From alan, on Wed 24 Sep 12:01PM
  2. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    removing my last comments that didnt back man u proves­ my point that this is just a forum to praise manchester­ united

    From juli s, on Wed 24 Sep 11:21AM

  3. juli s you can win the ball as much as u like but if u­ virtually chop someone in half whilst doing so thats a­ foul

    From alan, on Wed 24 Sep 11:20AM

  4. wheres the comments mentioning r k s bad tackles gone­ and fergies reluctance to condem them oh yea i forgot ­ you cant be anti man on on here sorry you can only­ insult or say the opponents of man u are wrong sorry

    From juli s, on Wed 24 Sep 11:18AM

  5. how come anyone calling or insulting pogs , comments­ stay on but as soon as one that slightly suggests­ anything bad about a man u player gets removed­ ?????????? bit biased isnt it ???
    surley caling him a­ pig etc etc is insulting and should be removed he did­ win the ball first afterall , oh well this wont be­ allowed now , its anti man utd

    From juli s, on Wed 24 Sep 11:14AM

  6. SHAME TO POGOTETZ. HE BETTER STOP PLAYING FOOTBALL.­ ANYWAY POSSEBON LEARN FROM THIS TACKLE AND WILL COME TO­ A GREAT PLAYER.

    From vishnu, on Wed 24 Sep 11:11AM
  7. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    whining mancs pogatetz got the ball then his momentum­ carried him through it wasnt that bad a tackle he WON­ THE BALL stop whinging and accept accidents happen­ sometime there was NO INTENT TO HURT HIM he WON THE­ BALL FIRST , people are only making such a fuss because­ its an overprotect man united fairy that got hurt

    From juli s, on Wed 24 Sep 11:07AM

  8. How can you be so cruel to suggest that Pogotetz should­ be sold to a zoo? Spare a thought for those lions,­ tigers and elephants that would have to be on the same­ field as him.

    From trouble, on Wed 24 Sep 10:55AM

  9. dont worry Im sure ferguson will @#$% out and moan­ about it like he always does. old @#$%

    From yip, on Wed 24 Sep 10:26AM

  10. Nana nana nana nana na na na posse possebon! Possebon!­ posse possebon! Nana nana nana nana na na na posse­ possebon! Possebon! posse possebon!

    From benc9, on Wed 24 Sep 9:55AM

  11. why does the F.A have to look into it it was dangerous­ tackle but got the ball first!!!! his momentum took him­ through the player he went in to hard but ball­ first!!!! 3 matches is enough people who dont go for­ the ball should be punished

    From darren m, on Wed 24 Sep 9:37AM

  12. he played well shame the pig pog broke his leg the fa­ have got to look into it

    From alan, on Wed 24 Sep 9:29AM
  13. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    milky tea ha ha typical manc!!!!

    From darren m, on Wed 24 Sep 9:11AM
  14. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    ok fair enough realy bad tackle poggy will know it and­ will accept it but for united wnkers wnkers wnkers­ !!!!!

    From darren m, on Wed 24 Sep 9:06AM

  15. I just wish Pogotetz had walked down my road last­ night...
    Broken leg???
    Be lucky to get out alive in the­ back streets of Salford...
    If that had been a United­ player who had broken another teams players leg, he­ wouldve been banned for at least half a season...
    Am I­ right???

    From Buzz, on Wed 24 Sep 8:47AM

  16. I hope Pogatetz gets hit by a car when he's­ crossing the road. Filthy dirty animal! Just about­ every player makes a bad tackle in their career but­ most realise straight away and accept the consequences.­ This bag of sh@t was claiming innocence and refused to­ leave the pitch. An absolute disgrace!!

    From Lynx, on Wed 24 Sep 8:38AM

  17. Sounds like a decent football manager player. :)

    From Bogus5, on Wed 24 Sep 8:31AM

  18. Watching that team last night reminded me of­ Fergie's Fledgelings (hate that name).The free­ flowing football was a pleasure to watch.Infact that­ team, which was missing a shed load of senior players,­ would've been good enough to compete in the­ Premiership on its own.
    Shining stars were Possebon,de­ Silva,Anderson & Welbeck, though all the team­ played well.
    Fergie has got to start playing Rafael de­ Silva every week, even at the expense of Gary Neville­ and Wes Brown, he's that good.
    Shame about Possebon­ and the grotesque Pogotetz tackle. hope he's back­ soon.As for Pogotetz, having already broken a players­ leg (in two places!) in his less than illustrious­ career, he should have the book thrown at him.'Mad­ Dog' Pogotetz, as he is affectionately known to his­ colleagues, should receive a lengthy ban.Infact­ Southgate should be forced to sell him to a zoo!

    From M L, on Wed 24 Sep 8:28AM
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