Flamengo produces the next talented striker, Lorraine is "Basileo"?
In today's Brazil Under-17 squad, 17-year-old Lorraine Lucas Pereira de Sousa is an important part of the current Brazilian Under-17 team, and he helped Flamengo beat Palmeiras to win the Brazilian Under-20 championship in early September. After the likes of Ndrique, França and Roque, Lorraine is becoming one of the most watched Brazilian stars for European clubs, and although he lacks senior team experience, this does not affect his general favor.
Born in Rio de Janeiro on July 4, 2006, Lorraine, like many famous samba stars, has shown extraordinary football talent from an early age. As a young man, he moved to various local clubs in Rio de Janeiro before joining the youth academy of Madureira Sport, where he often played well during his youth team matches.
Lorraine's excellent performance attracted the attention of flamengo scouts and soon the youngster arrived at Flamengo, one of the best clubs in Brazil, where he continued to improve in competition with Brazil's most talented peers and he also won a call-up to the Brazilian Under-16 national team - considered the new "golden generation" of Brazilian football. On his 16th birthday, Lorraine excitedly received his first professional contract.
However, the real progress that Lorraine made was in the 2022-23 season. He made 5 appearances in the Brazilian Youth League, scoring 2 goals and helping Flamengo to the title, and in the Copinha Championship he scored 2 goals in 2 appearances. Lorraine also made his senior Flamengo debut in January and scored in his second senior appearance against Bangu shortly after that month, becoming the youngest Flamengo player ever to score a goal. Another important moment for him was in the Under-17 Southern Youth Championship – Lorraine played an integral role in Brazil's Under-17s, helping the team win their 13th title. His most impressive performance in the tournament was providing an assist against Ecuador to help Brazil equalise. This 1 point proved to be crucial and Brazil ended up winning the title by only 2 points more than Ecuador.
The most important reason for Lorraine's domestic fame is his dribbling skills. There is no shortage of dribbling masters in Brazil, but what sets Lorraine apart is that he maintains excellent vision during dribbling. Unlike the likes of Esteban and Savio, Lorraine is better at suppressing opponents through physical superiority, and in almost any case, the burly Lorraine will not be afraid to advance forward with the ball. He has strong confidence in dribbling and often earns set-piece chances for his team even if he fails to dribble past his opponents. Whether on the wing or in the middle, Lorraine has the ability to deliver precise and tricky passes after dribbling the ball.
Lorraine usually only dribbles the ball frequently when close to the opponent's penalty area, because he does not want to slow down the team's game. The youngster also has an excellent ability to move on the wing. Since he is a left-footed player, he will use a bottom-breaking style on the left and an inside dribbling on the right. Another suitable position for Lorraine is the attacking midfielder, which maximizes his creativity. In addition, Lorraine also has a good sense of goal, which is a big reason why he is popular with many clubs. Outside Brazil, Lorraine is considered similar in style to Leo – also tall, fond of taking the ball on the wing and possessing the qualities of a scorer. Even Lorraine is consciously honing his set-piece skills, and from time to time he is able to rub a wonderful arc with his left foot, which also helps him deliver beautiful long passes to his teammates.
Although very young, many believe that Lorraine has the potential to become the next Samba star. Roc Nation Sports, the agency owned by famous rap musician Jay-Z, has signed Lorain, and in the Brazilian market, the company has also represented many popular stars such as Vinicius, Paqueta, Martinelli and Endrick; Flamengo also recognized his talent early on and signed Lorraine to a contract with a €50 million termination clause. However, that hasn't stopped European clubs from chasing Lorain, with Chelsea and Manchester United being front-runners in the battle for Loraine who is also said to be on the watch list of Real Madrid's Scouting head Calafat.
Despite his talent, Lorraine is currently far from "finished" and needs at least two seasons of top-level racing experience to really make a difference in the senior team. Sometimes Lorraine will show his "freewheeling" side on the court, and when the senior team plays with the ball, Lorraine will inevitably be tackled by his opponent more fiercely, which requires him to choose his dribbling line more carefully and improve the fineness of his feet. He's not a No.9 like Ndrik or Roque, or the kind of player who likes to show Samba, but his combination of personality and skill is worth looking forward to. Perhaps Lorraine could follow Ndrick's model, sign a contract early, and then stay with Flamengo for two more years before landing in Europe when ready.
(Santiago-Wang)