Estêvão Willian Almeida de Oliveira Gonçalves (born 24 April 2007), known as Messinho or Estêvão, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a winger for Campeonato Brasileiro Série A club Palmeiras.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Estêvão Willian Almeida de Oliveira Gonçalves | ||
| Date of birth | 24 April 2007 | ||
| Place of birth | Franca, Brazil | ||
| Height | 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Winger | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Palmeiras | ||
| Number | 41 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2017–2021 | Cruzeiro | ||
| 2021– | Palmeiras | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2023– | Palmeiras | 13 | (2) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2023– | Brazil U17 | 5 | (3) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 30 April 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 17 November 2023 | |||
Early life edit
Willian was born in Franca, Brazil, and began his youth career with the academy of Cruzeiro in 2017.[1] The following year 2018 at the age of 10, Willian signed a professional contract with Nike, making him their youngest Brazilian player to sign with the company, surpassing Real Madrid footballer Rodrygo.[2]
Club career edit
Willian moved to the youth academy of Palmeiras on 6 May 2021, signing a trainee contract.[3] In the 2022 season, he helped the Palmeiras youth teams win the Campeonato Paulista Sub-17, Campeonato Paulista Sub-15, Copa do Brasil Sub-17 and Campeonato Brasileiro Sub-17.[4] In October 2023, Willian scored a hat-trick in the Campeonato Brasileiro Sub-17 final which ended in a 3–0 victory against São Paulo, to help his club to achieve their second consecutive title in the competition.[5] On 7 December 2023, Willian made his professional debut for Palmeiras, coming off the bench in the 78th minute of a 1–1 draw away at Cruzeiro which sealed the Série A title win for Verdão.[6] At 16 years and 8 months, he became the club's fourth youngest player ever.[7]
Willian came back to the Palmeiras U-20 team for the Copinha 2024, and became a notable player of the competition and a primary player for the team in the competition. On 24 April 2024, he scored his first goal for Palmeiras in a 3–1 win over Liverpool during the 2024 Copa Libertadores group stage, becoming the third player under 17 to achieve this feat following Ângelo Gabriel and Endrick.[8]
International career edit
Estêvão Willian was first called up to represent the Brazil U17s in October 2022 for a set of friendlies in October 2022.[9]
Style of play edit
Willian, similar to his idol Lionel Messi, is known for his electrifying dribbling and pace. He originally used the nickname 'Messinho' as an homage to Messi, due to similarities in their playing style.[10] Despite starting his career at the tender age of 16, Willian's mature understanding of the game and penchant for decisive moments reflects his innate footballing intelligence.[11]
Career statistics edit
Club edit
- As of 6 May 2024[12]
| Club | Season | League | State League | Cup | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Palmeiras | 2023 | Série A | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||||
| 2024 | 5 | 1 | — | 1 | 1 | 2[a] | 1 | — | 6 | 1 | ||||
| Career total | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 | ||
- ^ Appearances in Copa Libertadores
Honours edit
Palmeiras (Youth)
- Campeonato Paulista Sub-15: 2021
- Campeonato Paulista Sub-17: 2022
- Copa do Brasil Sub-17: 2022, 2023
- Campeonato Brasileiro Sub-17: 2022, 2023
- Copa São Paulo de Futebol Júnior: 2023
- Campeonato Paulista Sub-20: 2023
Palmeiras (Senior)
References edit
- ^ "Joia da base do Cruzeiro, Estevão Willian deixa o clube e tem nome registrado no Palmeiras". ge.
- ^ "Joia da base do Palmeiras, Estevão Willian renova contrato com empresa de material esportivo". Lance!.
- ^ "Estevão Willian, o Messinho, deixa Cruzeiro e assina com o Palmeiras - Superesportes". Superesportes. 6 May 2021.
- ^ "PSG sinaliza investida de mais de R$ 400 milhões por Endrick e Estêvão; Palmeiras quer mais". ge.globo.com (in Portuguese). 21 November 2022.
- ^ "¡Exhibición de 'Messinho': 'hat-trick' y título para el Palmeiras!" (in Spanish). Mundo Deportivo. 22 October 2023.
- ^ "Palmeiras conquista segundo título brasileiro consecutivo e amplia hegemonia com 12 no total" [Palmeiras wins second consecutive Brazilian title and expands hegemony with 12 in total] (in Brazilian Portuguese). Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras. 7 December 2023. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
- ^ "Estêvão entra no ranking dos mais jovens a fazerem estreia profissional pelo Palmeiras; veja top 10" [Estêvão enters the ranking of the youngest to make professional debut for Palmeiras; see the top 10]. ESPN (in Brazilian Portuguese). 8 December 2023. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
- ^ "IFFHS continental news: Copa Libertadores". IFFHS. 12 April 2024.
- ^ "Palmeiras tem três jogadores convocados para a Seleção Brasileira". 19 October 2022.
- ^ ""My dream is to be like Messi and play for Barcelona"". www.besoccer.com.
- ^ Davis, Krishan (16 February 2024). "Estevao Willian: The 'out-of-this-world' wonderkid trying to shake the nickname 'Messinho' - chased by Europe's elite but dreaming of Barcelona". Goal.com.
- ^ Estêvão Willian at Soccerway. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
- ^ "Palmeiras iguala feito do Palestra Itália e chega ao tricampeonato estadual" [Palmeiras matches the achievement of Palestra Itália and reaches the state championship three-peat] (in Brazilian Portuguese). Federação Paulista de Futebol. 7 April 2024. Retrieved 8 April 2024.
External links edit
- Estevão Willian at playmakerstats.com (English version of ogol.com.br)
- Palmeiras profile