Born: April 10th 1990 (18)
Full Name:Luiz Marcelo Morais dos Reis
Nickname: Lulinha
Club: Corinthians
Position: Attacking Midfielder, Winger, Forward
Compared To: Ronaldinho

Biography
Bursting on to the scene is Lulinha, the right footed playmaker made a name for himself in the 2007 U-17 South American Championship, scoring an incredible 12 goal in 7 games for the mini Seleção. Before long, the media was raving about Lulinha and rumours of a move to Europe were not far behind.

Billed as the main event of the U-17 World Championship, Lulinha was poised to set the world on alight like the yellow dwarf. Unfortunately the playmaker was not able to follow in the footsteps of Manchester United’s Anderson and win best player, Lulinha did show glimpses of talent but progressed no further than the last 16 after the Canarinha put on a lacklustre performance against 10 man Ghana whom went to become eventual champions.

At the age of 8 Lulinha started playing Futsal, which is where most Brazilians attackers hone and develop their skills. After a few years, he joined Corinthians much touted youth system. Lulinha climbed through the ranks swiftly earning his first match for the Timão at the tender age of 17. Already playing over 70 games for Corinthians, Lulinha’s goal scoring ability has yet to shine through, similar to what Manchester United’s Anderson is experiencing, scoring just 3 goals in that span, which is a really worrying statistic considering Corinthians spent a season in the Second Tier of Brazilian football.

Nevertheless Lulinha has attacted attention from numerous European heavyweights such as Chelsea, Barcalona and AC Milan, whom have had success in purchasing players from Brazil with Kaka and Pato.

Whether its the Brazilian or Italian Serie A the winger is plying his trade, Dunga will certainly be keeping tabs on him for his first International Cap with the Canarinha.

Skill Set: (Out Of 10)
PASSING:7
SHOOTING:7
TACKLING:3
CONTROL:9
FIRST TOUCH:7
HEADING:4
SPEED:8
STRENGTH:4
PENALTIES:9
FREE KICKS:7
CORNERS:6
LEFT FOOT:8
RIGHT FOOT:10*
CURRENT ABILITY:5
POTENTIAL:8

Summary:

Quick on the ball, decent free kick and a vast array of trick and flicks to make a certain goofy Brazilian blush. It is easy to see why a lot of people think Lula is the heir to the former 2-time world player of the years throne. However I feel Lulinha is far from the finished article he has a lot to learn, he tried to play his way out of trouble and has a habit of wanting to be hero which leads him to making the wrong choices, especially in a pass or shoot situations, though this can be corrected with good coaching and/or experience.

Being 5’7 he may find it trouble dealing with large European defenders. It would be wise for the lad to go the the Portuguese league, similar to Diego and Anderson,  to get some experience especially with the physical side of football.

Unfortunately his ridiculous minimum fee release clause (£24m) may deter suitors, and teams high in the football hierarchy may be the only suitors, with Chelsea and Barcalona being linked with the Brazilian. He has the skill set and the potential, whether he realises it will be the big question.

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

£100M, I repeat £100M for a player, and you want to offer him £500,000 / week – to quote Chris Rock: “You can do what the f*** you want to me for that much money!” and who wouldn’t.

Last time I checked this is football not baseball, where over inflated prices and contracts are the norm. I believe Kaka, born Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite, joining Manchester City will be a huge mistake on his part, mainly because of the drop in prestige.

Do not get me wrong, there are benefits of him joining Manchester City, especially on the Brazil front; there will be a strong Brazilian contingent at Manchester City consisting of JO, Robinho and Elano. Compared to Ronaldinho and Alexandre Pato who are at AC Milan, gloomy Ol Manchester does not seem to be that great.

Since the departure of Shevchenko to Chelsea in the summer of 2006, the playmaker became the focal point of Milan on and off the pitch. The end result: AC Milan winning another champions league title and the midfield maestro hard efforts culminating in the world player and Ballon D’or awards, even managing to appear on the TIMES 100 list of influential people, on top of all this Kaka is a perfect role model to kids compared to other stars, looking at you _ _ _ _ _ _ _.

Kaka signed to AC Milan from club Sao Paulo for around £4.25m (I bet Arsene Wenger regrets rejecting him when he was in his late teens), selling him for £100M would mean a profit of £92m+, then again no player, and I repeat no player unless their name is Edson Arantes do Nascimento in his prime, is worth £100m.

The benefits of Kaka joining City would be:

• Money, money, money, MONEY: Reports of him being offered £500 000 a week would mean he would get money in the bundles, also being the most expensive player eclipsing Zidane’s record £54m. However i highly doubt KAKA is part of the new age mercenary of footballers (looking at you Robinho.)
• Walk in to the first team: Kaka would easily walk into city except Kaka does not need City, City does not need Kaka. They have enough players who can do the job such as Elano.

  Comparing Elano to Kaka is like comparing a Mercedes to a Bentley and having both is great- both great cars, but the Bentley will always win. Having both would be great, but you can only drive one, if you want another analogy it’s like having two wives; one will always be the favourite, and another will be disgruntled.

  In addition you can only accommodate one, but if you are a Russian gymnast, you could accommodate both it is possible though the likelihood of Mark Hughes keeping both satisfied whilst avoiding the polygamous marriage ending in disaster is similar to the chances of Cristiano Ronaldo getting married first thing tomorrow morning to a sober Amy Winehouse.

• Partnership with Robinho: A devastating partnership can be formed with Robinho and Kaka and this would massively help out Dunga as he will get two Canarinho starters playing with each other each week. However Kaka is already doing this with the rejuvenating Ronaldinho, whom, when I last checked, is much better than Robinho.
• Premiership: The Premiership is arguably the best league in the world, and Kaka playing 100mph football per week is always going to be a benefit and it will increase his skills, especially his fantastic speed asset. Having another world player of the year plying their trade in England would surely boost revenues.

Now for the negatives:

• Match made in hell. Football and money do not mix. Name me one player who has done well playing for a club, not for the honour or merit, but for the fame and fortune… don’t worry I’ll be here all week.
• Pato and Dinho over Robinho and JO. Ronaldinho VS Robinho, Pato VS JO. AC Milan has got this on lock; two time World player of the year who fell from grace, but is making a comeback against money hungry mercenary who turned down a chance to work with world cup winning coach for £250,000 and the adoration of fans desperate for the abolishment of over 40 years of hurt. Then future world class striker with the ability and potential to be next winner of the Ballon D’or against a £17m flop-so-far.
• Ancelloti better manager than Mark Hughes. Where is the loyalty, Ancelotti is one of the main reasons for the former world player of the year becoming one of the best players in the world. I doubt Mark Hughes is capable of taking the Brazilian to new heights or maybe even get the best of the Brazilian like Carlo has. Maybe he could, but I highly doubt it.

All for all, KAKA joining City would be a step back. Maybe a team like Barca, Arsenal or United could make him excel and would allow him to become a better player. Whereas City on the other hand, I highly doubt. He may become a flop, he may succeed and knock united of its perch as King of the world, but I pinched myself and woke up.

His career especially with the gold and green machine which is Brazil, would die a slow and painful death, that is just my opinion, and I sincely hope it does not happen, but if you like for it to happen post your opinion.

From Soccerlens.com - Football News