Earlier today it was reported that Houston Dynamo would be close to reaching a deal for defender Micael Dos Santos Silva, 21, currently in the current Brazilian champion, Atletico Mineiro. Rodrigo Caetano, soorting director of the Brazilian team, confirmed the information and also added that the club extended the link with the player for the loan to be made:
“We loaned him to the MLS. Now, the club is being defined, but he has a renewed contract, because if you lend an athlete, for him to get the minutes, we automatically always extend the contract “ , said Rodrigo Caetano to Rádio da Massa, also quoted at Globo Esporte.
And after talking to some Atletico Mineiro fans and doing my research, I come here once again with this column explaining a little more about the player’s history, how he plays and what to expect.
WHO IS MICAEL DOS SANTOS?
Micael, just 21 years old, was born in Presidente Prudente, in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Before signing with Atletico Mineiro in 2019, Micael was at Internacional de Limeira, a small team from the interior of São Paulo. According to Transfermarkt he is 1,83m, which can be considered around 6’0” or 6’1”.
For Mineiro, Micael won several titles including the Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A and the Copa Do Brasil (equivalent to the US Open Cup), both trophies won in 2021.
HOW DOES HE PLAY?
A traditional centerback, Micael stood out in “Galo” on the left side of the defense, being left-handed certainly helped the player. Although not as tall as most defenders in Brazil, Micael was the backup of two great defenders in Brazilian football: Réver (one of the greatest players in Atletico’s history) and Junior Alonso (Paraguayan International and captain).
For Internacional de Limeira, Micael played a few games as a left-back, but because of the depth in the ‘Galo‘ squad, Micael only played as a centerback at the club.
Micael’s greatest attributions are his positioning. For not being considered tall, the centerback makes up for it in terms of having great positioning and speed, in addition to his left foot helping him to build the game from behind.
In his Academy days, at Atletico’s U20, Micael was considered a dominant defender within the category. His best year was in 2020 when, together with the club, he won the Brazilian U20 Championship.
FIRST TEAM AND FIRST IMPRESSIONS
Even though he has a contract with the professional team since 2020, Micael even participated in the gameday roster a few times but it had not been used. After Atletico won the Brazilian championship with several points away from the second place (Flamengo), Micael won an opportunity in the last game of the 2021 championship against Gremio of Porto Alegre.
Before we talk about the game, we should contextualize this game:
The game was not worth much to “Galo” who was already champion and was getting ready to play in the Copa do Brasil Final. But for Gremio, everything was worth it. One of the biggest teams in the country, Gremio was in a desperate situation and needed a victory to try to get out of the relegation zone. Despite being seventeenth in the competition, the squad had world-class players such as Douglas Costa (today at LA Galaxy), Rafinha (former Bayern Munchen) and Lucas Silva (former Real Madrid). I was in the broadcast of that game for Nossa Radio USA.
Gremio forced all the plays of the game on Micael, who was just playing his first game as a professional. Douglas Costa and Rafinha on the right side of the attack left the defender in serious trouble. Game ended 4-3 to Gremio but didn’t avoid the relegation. Micael ended that game with a 6.3 rating. Sincerely, he couldn’t do much in that situation. He didn’t had the best first impression but certainly wasn’t his fault.
Micael made one professional appearance for Atletico in 2022 at a game in the State Championship, but technically Atletico is very superior to the opponents in the state championship so we couldn’t see much from him during the game.
PERSONAL OPINION
Micael is a young defender with few minutes for some time. It is still in the development stage. I would be interested to see him play for Houston Dynamo II in the MLS Next Pro before testing him in MLS.
Overall a good defender who needs time. As one fan well specified to me: “He won’t be the solution to Houston’s problems, he’s not ready to be a starter” but he can be a good option over time.
(Cover: Pedro Santos/Atletico Mineiro)
