By Sam McGuire
You’ll either think of Romario, Ronaldo and Adriano, players with pace, power, trickery and ruthless finishing ability, or you’ll think of Roberto Firmino and those who have followed him, like Gabriel Jesus, the false-nine type attackers who offer more than just output.
Despite the differing profiles, they do share particular traits. In their own distinct ways, they bring joy to football.
Seeing Ronaldo burst past opponents and slalom his way out of what looked like a dead end before slowing time down to pick out a finish was incredible to watch. It was remarkable to see a player operate with such power only to then adopt a deftness to his approach in the blink of an eye. Similarly, it was just as remarkable to see Firmino switch from full on pressing machine, fuelled by the desire to regain possession and control, to someone who would nonchalantly execute a flick into the path of a teammate to bypass a defensive line.
Check out the latest Brazil squad and the centre-forwards fall into one of the two categories. Matheus Cunha, João Pedro and, to an extent, Richarlison, fall into the Firmino category. The likes of Endrick and Vítor Roque fall into the Ronaldo category.
There might soon be a third category for Brazilian forwards though and it’ll be named after Igor Thiago.
Thiago’s traits compared to strikers in Europe’s Big 5 leagues
The 6’3″ forward has been one of the standout performers in the Premier League this term and has 16 goals to his name already. He’s already broken the record for most goals in a single English top-flight campaign by a Brazilian, surpassing the 15 scored by Firmino, Gabriel Martinelli and Cunha.
With 17 matches remaining, Thiago is going to be eyeing up more goals to really cement himself as the most productive Brazilian attacker in Premier League history. Ironic really as the 24-year-old couldn’t be further removed from your traditional Brazilian forward.
He isn’t full of tricks. He’s not necessarily quick. He is powerful but in the same way that most tall attackers are. If you watched him play without knowing his nationality, you’d be forgiven for thinking he was a traditional, old-school British striker. Someone like Dominic Calvert-Lewin. He’s got good feet for a big man, he’s good in the air, and he’s a physical presence.
The Premier League top scorers
Thiago isn’t there to put in a show. He isn’t looking to wow fans. He’s there to put the ball into the back of the net. The No. 9 is all business. It might explain his unique rise to the top.
The centre-forward started out at Cruzeiro but was signed by Ludogorets Razgrad in 2022. His goals for the club caught the eye of Belgian side Club Brugge and he moved there in June 2023, with Ludogorets Razgrad selling him for a Bulgarian record.
He was involved in more record deals less than 12 months later when Brentford paid a club record fee for him. It was also a club record sale for the Belgian side.
Eyebrows would’ve been raised when the Bees signed off on a £30million deal for a forward who had scored goals in Bulgaria and Belgium. However, everyone should’ve known what Brentford were doing. They got it right with Ollie Watkins, Ivan Toney, Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa. If they’re moving for a striker, they would’ve done their homework.
A knee injury in his first pre-season game for the club meant his first full campaign for the club was a bit of a write-off. He was supposed to replace Toney as the main man but had to watch on from the sidelines as Wissa and Mbeumo scored a lot of goals for the Bees.
After the sales of Wissa, Mbeumo, club captain Christian Nørgaard and the loss of manager Thomas Frank in the summer, many tipped Brentford for a relegation battle. Yet here we are in January and the Bees are fifth in the table, two points behind reigning champions Liverpool.
Key to their surprise success this season has been Thiago.
The Brazilian forward has scored 46% of the goals for Brentford and he’s been involved in 17 of the 35 they’ve scored. The No. 9 has found the back of the net against Liverpool, Newcastle United and Manchester United this term. He also scored a hat-trick against Everton and followed that up with a double in the win over Sunderland.
Thiago has been ruthless for Keith Andrews’ side. Only Haaland (20) has more goals than the Brentford man and the City forward is the only player in the Premier League to boast more goal involvements too (24 to 17).
Thiago’s Premier League shot map this season
What is even more impressive is how sustainable it all looks for Thiago, despite playing in a team that is considered inferior by most.
He’s taken 50 shots, a number only Haaland can better. He’s split his efforts well, too, with 23 via his right foot, 18 via his left and nine headers. The one big takeaway from his shot map this term is how he just seems to be in the right place at the right time. That isn’t luck either, that’s by design.
Of his 50 efforts, just two have come from outside of the penalty area. It goes some way to explaining why his underlying numbers are as incredible as they are. Thiago has an Expected Goals per 90 average of 0.64. His xG on Target per 90 average, a metric that highlights finishing and shot placement, is 0.74. So, in a nutshell, he’s adding value to his shots and that is no doubt why his goal return on a per 90 basis is 0.82. He’s getting high value opportunities and adding value to them. That is a recipe for goals. It’s why, if nothing changes between now and the end of the season, he’s destined to score more goals.
Thiago isn’t flashy. He’s just a hard worker who puts the team first and wants to score goals. He isn’t a Firmino or a Gabriel Jesus, but he’s proving to be just as effective in his own way.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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