Gabriel Moscardo: the midfield powerhouse wielding blood and thunder

The definitive SCOUTED50 profile arrives.

SCOUTED50 is our collection of the fifty young talents we believe are best positioned to break into the mainstream during 2023/24. Throughout the season, we’ll be detailing all fifty in definitive profiles.

The full list can be read here. Here’s our profile on Gabriel Moscardo, who ranked #16.

This profile was produced as part of a commercial collaboration with SkillCorner, SCOUTED’s official data partner. SkillCorner’s tracking and performance data is used by more than 140 of the world’s biggest clubs, leagues and confederations. Learn more.

All stats correct as of 21/12/2023 unless otherwise noted.

Despite their status as one of the most successful and widely supported teams in Brazil, Corinthians have consistently fallen short in producing their own academy talent compared to other Brasileirão clubs.

There have been unicorns along the way; Willian is arguably their greatest success story after leaving for Shakhtar Donetsk in 2007, Malcom secured a move to Barcelona after impressing in France, and you could even stretch back to Edu Gaspar who swapped São Paulo for North London just after the millennium.

But there’s a new generation breaking through with ambitions of changing that narrative, led by Gabriel Moscardo who found himself at the centre of a European transfer tug-o-war with less than 30 senior appearances to his name, and his impact within that time should not be understated.

Long-standing stereotypes mean we are all guilty of projecting elegance and finesse onto players breaking through in Brazil, but there is nothing subtle about the blood and thunder approach of Moscardo who might as well be playing with a hi-viz jacket on - you simply cannot miss him.

Mostly deployed as the deepest midfielder, the 18-year-old is tasked with patrolling central spaces and screening any danger in front of the back four which affords midfield partner Maycon licence to break forward, although he is also comfortable further upfield should opportunities present themselves.

Corinthians endured a difficult domestic campaign throughout 2023 but were undoubtedly more competitive with the teenager in their side, whose tenacity and aggression added much-needed bite to an ageing middle third.