- Why is Joao Grimado, in numbers, the best Sub 20 winger in South America today?
How long have you known Joao Grimaldo?
Six years ago I arrived at Sporting Cristal and he was there. I have seen up close all his formative years until he was promoted to the first team. He arrived playing as a left winger, he loved to play more on that side but I always told him to go on the right because he has that profile better. Now that Tiago Nunes has arrived, he has changed his position from left to right and I think he is doing better. It’s something I always told Grimaldo.
What were its best features and what did it need to correct?
The best thing he’s ever had is speed. He had to improve the definition and he is doing it. But he still needs to practice with his left leg to be able to hook inside and hit the goal. Also in the header, the aerial game and thus could become a complete winger. He is growing up and he is still in that process.
How much does Nunes have to do with his improvement?
It gave him confidence, that is important especially when they are young. Cristal is one of the few clubs that promotes many youth players and I think the arrival of Nunes helped Grimaldo a lot because he began to put him as a starter, he gave him that confidence and continuity that had not been happening before. Other coaches put it on and took it off, it happened with Percy Liza or Christopher Olivares at the time. That takes confidence away from the players. Nunes, on the other hand, gives value to the minors and a lot of confidence, like Grimaldo.
And as for the game?
He is working on something specific with Nunes in Grimaldo because He was always a player who only liked the ball at his foot. Now Nunes makes it go further into spaceThat is something that is being worked on a lot in Brazil. Grimaldo is fast and has the conditions to go into space, I think he has been doing it and it is a point that he has improved.
As a reference, did you talk about what it means to be a Cristal player?
When I was his coach I told him that he is in the best club in Peru and that there he will have all the conditions to reach the Peruvian team or be able to migrate to Europe. Cristal is a club that has high goals and is not conformist, it wants its players to be well trained and Grimaldo is on that path.
Where would you like it to go?
I already have a team in my head for Grimaldo. It would be hard for him to go to Flamengo, team of which I am a fan. I think he would really like Brazilian soccer in general and especially Flamengo, which is a team with great players on its side and always plays forward. If he goes to Europe, I think the best thing would be a league like Spain or the Netherlands where he can learn and grow.
Is it time for you to go?
Still missing. Unless a very big and irresistible offer arrives for him and Cristal, the best thing to do is stay here a little longer and grow. Maybe I should play one more Copa Libertadores, I matured a lot with that tournament because it is another level of football. I think he should be gone in a year or a year and then some.
Should I be in the next call for the selection?
Definitely. I think the team should take advantage of a talent like Grimaldo’s. It would be good for him because playing Qualifiers or Copa América is another story. A player must do great merits to be summoned and I think he is doing it. Right now he is not above Flores or Carrillo to talk about being a starter, but I think in the future it could become equal to or more than Carrillo.
Is he the best winger in Liga 1?
I have three extremes that I like. In the first place I would put Joao Grimaldothen Bryan Reyna and then Jhamir D’Arrigo.
In what other positions do you think you can perform?
The player has to be versatile. I was a winger, but it was also 9 and 10. I played on the right, left and center because if only one position works for the coach, he will change you if he changes his idea. On the other hand, if you serve him in more than one, he will not take you out. Grimaldo can work more with his left leg and have two starts, too improve the passing game to be a second striker, just as I played at some point with Flavio Maestri.
Does it remind you?
I do see some details on it that I had. For example, daring and personality. He has my little things when facing and being fast, but I think the most important thing is that you don’t compare yourself to anyone, that you find your own style and handle it that way. As for the personality, we are both very jokers all the time, in that we are also alike.
How do you see it from the head?
Cristal does a good job with psychologists for minors, he is a boy who has shown discipline and personality to play in the first team. I think the ultimate test of how strong he is in his head was in the match against Fluminense in Rio when he had to guard Marcelo and Felipe Melo who are intimidating players and Grimaldo walked in the Maracana.
What is your ceiling?
I think it has the ingredients but many things need to be improved to make a big leap. It could reach a great in Europe like Pizarro, Guerrero or Farfán, but these three that I mentioned had something more: discipline, they improved the physical part and the decision making in the field. You have to be a complete player and the day he achieves it, I have no doubt that he will reach a great team and a great league.
Is he the best Crystal player?
I think it’s Ignacio Da Silva for being the most consistent. But as for the offensive, he would first put Yoshimar Yotún in the midfield and then Grimaldo as the most valued and powerful striker.
Is Cristal the favorite for the Clausura?
Beating Atlético Grau was a big step to win the Clausura. Cristal has a DNA of not giving anything up and the idea that a tie is useless. He also has the great demand that he not only have to win, but also win, thrash and like, that continues to this day and I think Nunes has that same DNA and always goes forward. He is favorite to reach the final.
What is the merit of Nunes in this Cristal?
The player has to create. The mechanism serves above all for defense and organization, but the player also has to create when he has the ball, put a hat or a chalaca. Many coaches say ‘play two touches and distribute the ball’, that’s the easiest because you take away the responsibility. My job at Cristal is precisely to make the players use their imagination more and I think Tiago also does it with the first team. He gives the players freedom, even Yotún who played anchored, now he is on the entire field on the right or left, the same with Castillo who ended up kicking at goal or Lora who spreads out and looks like another striker. It is a Brazilian identity that goes hand in hand with what Cristal is.
What is your current role at Cristal?
I am no longer coaching a category, but I have a more functional and specific job. I noticed that a lot of players in minors had bugs, so now I work with the technique in certain players in different categories. When they finish their training sessions, I stay with them for 30 or 40 minutes and help them with definition, control and how they can use their imagination to take risks on the pitch.
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