(Athletico Paranaense & Bra)
Striker-turned-pundit Edmundo hailed
the left-back as the revelation of the
2018 Brazilian championship and
has been calling for the 21-year-old’s
inclusion in the national team, even
though as recently as the middle of last
year his audience would have been
entitled to respond with a “Renan who?”
Having joined Athletico at 13, he made
his first-team debut in 2016, followed by
a handful of games the following year.
For the first half of last season he
remained in the B squad, and even when
first-choice Thiago Carleto was sold to
Saudi Arabian club Al Ittihad, Athletico
brought in an experienced full-back to
give them cover.
Yet they need not have worried as
Lodi grabbed his chance. With pace,
self-assurance and an interesting left
foot, he made an instant impression
- especially in the club’s triumphant
Sudamericana Cup campaign. He caught
the eye with his cultured crossing and
displayed an ability to break into the
penalty box and shoot with either foot.
In a land famous for attacking full-
backs, Lodi would seem to be the best
of his kind to appear in a while.
“This kid is a monster,” said club coach
Tiago Nunes after Athletico had won the
Sudamericana. “He really helps the team.”
If Lodi was starring for a traditional
giant from Sao Paulo or Rio he may
already have been sold to Europe. But
the team from Curitiba in the south
does not attract the same headlines - although Juventus are far from the
only European side to have him on their
radar screen.
At the end of last
year the player said
of his situation: “My
wish is to stay, but we know that it’s
difficult. Proposals are coming in, a
lot is going on.”
Athletico responded by extending his
contract to December 2022, but they do
not expect him to stay anything like that
long. Rather, it is a defence mechanism in
a bid to ensure that they get full value for
their discovery when he leaves.
That may depend on their fortunes
in this year’s Libertadores Cup, where
they have been drawn in a tough group.
If they can fight their way out of it then
the chances increase that they will keep
him until after the European summer
transfer window. But if they fall early he
will probably be on his way.
Sooner or later the rapid rise of the
most promising Brazilian attacking full-
back of the last few years will surely carry
him to the other side of the Atlantic.
Tim VickeryRENAN LODI
“This kid is a monster”
Athletico coach Tiago NunesMOST WANTED