In praise of Chicao: Dynamos's unhonoured hero

Chicao’s consistency has been key for Dynamos

From a relatively unknown name in a list of stars to one of the mainstays in the Delhi Dynamos side, the performance of Anderson Sebastião Cardoso or commonly known as Chicao during the initial stages of the competition has been widely appreciated. Lost in the midst of famed footballers such as Florent Malouda, John Arne Riise and Roberto Carlos, the Brazilian defender has staked his claim in the side and it is his consistency that has been key to Dynamos’s impressive start so far.

Originally a center back, Chicao has been enjoying his football as a defensive midfielder for the Roberto Carlos managed side and has been one of the transfer coup’s of the tournament so far. While many not recognize the 34-year old as the same man who man marked Eden Hazard in the Club World Cup final back in 2012, Chicao in the early stages of the tournament has gone onto create a new identity for himself.

The former Corinthians defender scored the first goal of the season for Dynamos when he surprisingly stood up to take the spot kick ahead of the likes of Malouda and Riise, and despite being known for his defensive duties, Chicao has done well further ahead in the field as well by initiating attacks from the midfield and trying his luck from distance with four shots on goal in five starts.

While the defender amongst many others disappointed in the side’s opening fixture against FC Goa, Chicao recalls how Carlos has helped him adjust to the conditions here and further improve his performances as weeks pass by.

“He showed the video of us playing against Goa. He pointed our mistakes and what he didn’t want us to do. When we visualized it on the pitch, we realized we could do better. A lot of it also was related to it being the first game. The team was nervous, had an away game which was tough,” Chicao recalls

Despite having spent much of his career as a center back in Brazil’s first division, it has been in the midfield where Chicao has flourished for Delhi Dynamos. The former Flamengo star has acted as a wall ahead of the back four and his impressive tackling and interception has seen him win the ball on numerous occasions, further cancelling out opposition attacks.

Carlos used him to man-mark Elano in the side’s first home game of the season against Chennaiyin FC and the veteran was upto the task as he rarely allowed his Brazilian conterpart to get past him and limit his movement on the field.

The side registered three wins in a trot, a rather rare feat in the competition of such nature, and it has been the solidarity at the back that has helped them cement a position in the top four places of the competition.

Chicao is no stranger to tournament’s of such short span having already won the Club World Cup and Copa do Brasil, and the defender believes that is is the defensive solidarity that wins you cups of these sorts. While the ISL has already seen more than 50 goals being scored, very rarely have there been occasions where the game has seen more than 3 goals being scored.

Delhi’s games for that matter has seen a total of nine goals being scored in five games, and this is where Chicao’s leadership and experience has come to the fore for the Prashant Agarwal owned side, who apart from the two defeats have looked well stable on the pitch.

The Brazilian was shifted to the center back role against Mumbai City FC where he was exposed by the pace of Sony Norde and Sunil Chettri, but it was in the second half that a shift back to the midfield provided more stability and balance to the side. While pace is one area the ageing backline of Delhi has struggled to deal with, Carlos and the Delhi staff have done well to use the experience and the right attributes of their older players in the right manner, something former coach Harm Van Veldhoven struggled with last season.

With the side set to travel to Kolkata to face the defending champions, it is important that Carlos uses his former Corinthians teammate in the right manner to avoid being over run in the midfield yet again.