Benfica had been known for unearthing talents like Angel Di Maria, Jan Oblak, Axel Witsel, and recently Darwin Nunez and selling them for a hefty sum. They have earned just over $900 million from these transfers. In the summer of 2022, they sold Darwin Nunez for a whopping $100 million. It shows Benfica’s development of young talents.
One such talent that came through Benfica’s youth academy is Antonio Silva. Silva won the UEFA Youth League Award in the 2021–22 season, and he played a part in Benfica’s first European trophy in 60 years. His outstanding performance earned him a spot on the first team.Despite it being his debut season, the Portuguese seamlessly slotted into the backline. He and Nicholas Otamendi kept the defensive backline of Benfica tight, conceding only seven goals in 13 matches played. Their home and away records are both strong, with the former winning seven matches, drawing zero, and losing zero, and the latter winning five, drawing one and losing zero. They sit at the top of Liga NOS.
Who is Antonio Silva?
The young Portuguese man began kicking the ball at the age of nine, joining the local Penalva do Castelo. He then joined Repesenses in 2012, spending three years at the club. During his time spent there, he came under the radar of top Portuguese clubs, having multiple sessions with Sporting CP.
Despite Porto showing interest in him, he ended up joining their rivals and his boyhood club, Benfica’s youth academy, in 2016. Initially, he struggled with homesickness, but once he settled, he became one of the top young talents in the Benfica youth system.
With Jan Vertonghen leaving the club and Silva showing great promise, he was promoted to the first team. The teenager has not been disappointed, with them conceding seven goals in 13 matches (the best record in Europe’s top seven leagues).
The blue spot indicates where he made the most passes, and defensive contributions in the form of tackles made, interceptions, recoveries, and touches made while deployed as a right centre-back.
Defensive Contributions
Silva is a no-nonsense defender. He averages 2.01 tackles per 90, putting him in the 90 percentile. It places him in the top 5% of all defenders. From the heat map (middle), we can see that he made tackles in the defensive third. He won 12 tackles, and he made 8.73 recoveries, taking him to the 99 percentile. From the first heatmap, we can see that he made most of his recoveries in the defensive third and middle third. He made 1.78 interceptions per 90, taking him to the 75 percentile. From the heat map (last), we can see that he made interceptions in the defensive third. If we go by his defensive actions (tackles plus interceptions), he made 3.71 per 90, which puts him in the 88 percentile.
He is a tackle monster because, from the above visualisation comparing him to other defenders from Liga NOS, he is behind Seck, who has made the most tackles and won them against dribblers. Dribblers have problems facing Silva, and he has been the rock of Benfica’s defence. His tackling against dribblers is 1.61, which puts him in the 99th percentile. It puts him in the top 1 percentile of defenders. His positioning is good, as he reads the game and positions himself accordingly. Despite not being the fastest of the defenders, he makes up for it with these traits. Silva is usually the last man in the backline of Benfica’s defence. He is the one making the offside trap run. The mixture of skill and intelligence helps him overlook his weaknesses, and it allows him to play to his strengths.
Passing Monster
Silva is a ball-playing defender. He likes to pass the ball from the back. The defender completes 8.23 long passes per 90, putting him in the 94 percentile. It is the best figure for a defender. He has made a total of 1381 passes, of which he has completed 662. He made 66.62 complete passes out of 90, putting him in the 98th percentile.
From the visualization, we can see that he ranks into the top quartile in passes complete and passes attempted. He ranks in fourth place behind Goncalo Inacio, who completed the most passes.
From the visualization, we can see that he completed 82 long balls, compared to other defenders. He ranks in seventh place behind Pedro Alvaro, who made the longest balls with 91.
Silva ranks into the top one percentile of defenders of short, medium, and long passes.
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From the above visualization, we can see that he ranks in the top quadrant in making passes to the final third and progressive passes.
5.22 passes were made to the final third by the Portuguese. Silva made a total of 52 passes to the final third, which puts him in the 94 percentile and puts him in the top five percentile of defenders. He made 34 progressive passes. His progressive passes have come mostly inside the box. He made 3.41 progress passes per 90, taking him to the 89 percentile.
Goal scoring ability
He is not only good at defending and passing; he also scored two goals. Against Juventus, he scored one headed goal and one right-footed goal. He was on target 0.4 times out of every 90 shots he took. He scored 0.2 goals.
Final Verdict
Despite playing only 16 games this season (six UCL), he has a slew of clubs vying for his signature, including Manchester United, Paris Saint-Germain, Liverpool, and newcomers Newcastle. This is a testament to his being so talented. As per the football insider, Liverpool can have their own Ruben Dias if they complete the signing of the youngster. But Benfica won’t sell him for cheap, as Benfica slapped 100 million euros on the table for the youngster, which surely will deter many clubs. But will Benfica part with the youngster in the middle of the season, where he has become the backbone of the defense? The sky is the limit for the youngster; when his time comes, he will be more than ready to play for a big club.
