Danilo Pereira has scored three goals for Paris Indy Paris in his last two matches, and the Portuguese midfielder scored his first double in Paris' 5-1 win over Lille. Let's explore the growth process of this midfielder today.
Growing up
Danilo was born in September 1991 in Bissau, the capital of Guinea-Bissau. At the age of 5, the Pereira family moved to Lisbon, where he received his football education at the Benfica Youth Academy. Life in Pereira in his early years was not good, and he said in an interview about his early life experience in Portugal:
"I was only living with my mom at that time. She's a nurse and has a lot of work, so when I was a kid I used to go to school alone, play soccer, or with friends. It was a tough time, but it was also good, and those days made me know that I was a kid with a dream. ”
Instead of signing his first professional contract with Benfica, Pereira went to Parma, Italy. After being loaned to Greek league club Aris for a while and Roda JC club in the Netherlands, Pereira returned to Portugal in 2013 to sign with Maritimo.
Pereira made a total of 70 appearances in Maritimo, scoring four goals and providing two assists for the team, at which point he first saw a defensive stance. In 2015, Pereira moved to Porto.
In his first season at Porto, he scored six goals in 33 league games, a career high, and helped Porto to a league runner-up. In 2016, he was named Porto Football player of the Year for his outstanding performances.
And his excellent performance has also won the favor of Paris Saint-Germain. In October 2020, Pereira joined Paris Grande on loan.
When he first arrived in Paris, Pereira played the role of centre-back under then-Paris manager Tuchel. Although he did not play his favorite position, Pereira still did a good job of defending. In the 2020/21 season, he made 23 appearances for the Greater Paris League, scoring 2 goals and having 1 assist.
Paris Saint-Germain ended up no. 2 in the league at the end of last season, which triggered a permanent transfer clause for Danilo Pereira, who extended his contract with the club until 2025.
This season, Pereira became Pochettino's most used defensive midfielder. He has currently scored 4 goals in 15 league games, 3 of which have been scored in the last 2 games.
On 6 February 2022, in Paris Saint-Germain's away match against Lille, he scored the first double of his career to help the team win 5-1.
When talking about Pochettino's guidance to himself, he had a lot of emotions: "Pochettino helped me a lot. He explained to me what I should do if I were a good player or an accomplished person. “
"His expectations and trust in me have increased my confidence and the rest of the coaching staff has also given me confidence to be able to do my job well. Whether it's defensively or midfield, I expect to be good enough from start to finish. ”
Technical style
As a good defensive midfielder, the first thing Danilo Pereira can trust is his strong stealing and interception ability.
Pereira is currently averaging 1.1 interceptions and 1.1 clearances per game this season. His ability to grasp the timing of steals and his awareness of interceptions during defense are excellent.
Pereira was always able to intercept or steal an opposing attack before it was fully launched or unfolded. He also has the ability to fill in gaps in defense and destroy the ball before the opponent shoots or completes the last pass.
In addition to excellent defensive ability. Danilo Pereira's passing vision and passing accuracy are also good. This season he has a passing accuracy of 94%, the highest among ligue 1 midfielders. This also reflects his versatility in the team position to some extent.
When he partnered Paredes this season, he was able to effectively make up for Paredes' lack of running and the weakness of his ability to shoot the ball. His excellent defensive ability also allows him to play the role of a central defender when the team formation is pressed to ensure the stability of the defense.
Let's look forward to what the 30-year-old midfielder will do for us in the next game!