As Neymar and Pato shared the goals during Brazil’s final group game against Ecuador, there was a silent assassin roaming about in the midfield; mostly unseen, going about the job of destroying the Ecuadorian moves time and again. For much of last season, Lucas Leiva did the same job for his club, consistently the stand out performer; never giving any less than 100% but usually giving much more.
Having graduated from being branded a flop by a large portion of our own ‘fans’, he has moved from starring in the Reds midfield to being the backbone of Brazil’s team; the base from which all their attacks are launched and the destructive hub which gives steel to the fanciful skills and flair that the South American giants are known for.
Playing the role made famous by Dunga during the 90’s for Brazil, Lucas will no doubt remain the unheralded hero for Brazil – a role he will no doubt willingly fill for his club next season – but he is a hero nonetheless and one who is vital to the Brazilian cause. For all the tricks and ability that South America’s most populous nation has, they will get nowhere without somebody of Lucas’ type; he is a rarity in his own country and we should be glad to have him.
In his 3 games so far during the Copa America, he is already easily topping the table for successful tackles, with 15. But, perhaps slightly more surprisingly for some, he is also sitting comfortably in second in the successful passes table, with 197, over just 3 matches. Sure, the majority of these are probably nothing more than short, no more than 5 yard passes but these are often the most important.
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Where does he play though? With Gerrard, Adam, Downing, Aquilani, Henderson aswell as Spearing, Shelvey and others. I assume Poulsen, Meireless, & Cole will have moved on before the season starts.
Lucas is d only holding midfielder we have rite now. I think he’ll still play(I mean start) a lot of matches despite the competition for places.
This is the flip-side of complaining about a lack of depth to the squad. Can’t please some people.
Agree totally! Some people are always drawn to the negetive. To win the league we need a large squad and to win matches, we need a strong midfield. Best I,ve felt about liverpool in a long long time!
The only worry is if, what if we dont win a title next season. He would know the feeling of winning and will want it again. He may want a move. My suggestion is to go for everything we get a chance at, instead of focusing on one!
I’m an argentna fan and also want lucas fresh for the new season, so i’d rather brazil crash out of the qtrs!
guys get out of the idea of us winning the league it wont be happening this year. our squad is still a bit off from chelsea and city especially in th most important area, defance