Nick Dorrington
In early December, reports in the Spanish press suggested that Coritiba’s young striker Keirrison was on the verge of joining Valencia, with Liverpool, Barcelona and Real Madrid keeping a watching brief over proceedings. By the third week of January he had apparently spurned the advances of Europe’s top clubs in favour of a move to lowly São Paulo side Desportivo Brasil. But, like a lot of things in modern day Brazilian football, all is not as it seems.
Desportivo are owned by the Traffic Group, one of the leading sports event management companies in the world, and one that holds particular prominence in South America as the organiser of almost all of the most important football competitions in the region. Primarily based out of São Paulo, they have regional offices in Miami and Amsterdam, and own the United Soccer Leagues First Division side Miami F.C, among other interests.
In recent years they have diversified from their original modus operandi, and have begun to delve into the slightly murky waters of investing in promising young players, in the hope of turning in a big profit when they eventually move to Europe. As such, Desportivo are merely a vehicle to side-step FIFA’s ruling against third-party ownership, allowing Traffic to register players with the club before loaning them out to bigger teams.
Brazilian top flight side Palmeiras are most often the initial beneficiaries of Traffic’s purchases, as they provide a good platform upon which a player can prove his ability and attract interest from Europe. Traffic’s biggest success story to date, 22 year-old defender Henrique, was an instant hit at the Palestra Itália, playing just a handful of games before Barcelona paid €8M for his signature in June 2008.
Like Henrique, Keirrison will be given the opportunity to develop his game at Palmeiras under the watchful eye of highly respected coach Vanderlei Luxemburgo. The 20 year-old was joint top-scorer in the 2008 Brazilian league, but is still an unfinished article, and will benefit hugely from playing in a side that will compete in the 2009 Copa Libertadores – South America’s equivalent of the Champions League.
The exposure afforded by participation in the Libertadores will be sure to raise Keirrison’s transfer value should he make an impact on the tournament. Strong performances in the 2008 Libertadores saw the likes of Thiago Neves and Marcelo Moreno, among others, secure moves to Europe. Those two deals alone were worth a combined €16.5M, so it is clear to see where the advantages lie for Traffic in sending Keirrison to a club that will be competing in the continent’s premier club competition.
While many Brazilian clubs have been quick to copy São Paulo’s solid, counter-attacking template for success, Palmeiras play a more considered brand of possession orientated attacking football. Luxemburgo will be keen to assist Keirrison in developing his build-up play – one of the few areas of his game that was lacking at times for Coritiba last season – in order to successfully integrate the talented youngster into his side – development that will be advantageous to the player and eventually to Traffic.
Keirrison isn’t the only recent Traffic purchase who will be strutting his stuff for Palmeiras in 2009. 19 year-old winger Marquinhos, signed after an impressive debut season with Vitoria, will also joins the ranks of the Verdão, who are benefiting greatly from the partnership at a time when money is not readily available in the Brazilian game.
Traffic originally dedicated €13M to signing players on behalf of Palmeiras when their agreement was signed in 2007, meeting once a month to discuss potential purchases with the club. Having tasted encouraging profits from their early purchases, a similar level of investment is likely to continue for the foreseeable future.
Group president Julio Mariz has stated that they expect to make a 30% profit each year on player investments. The figure is lower than some of their rivals in this field, although Traffic’s more conservative, buy-in-bulk approach allows for greater consistency in their profit margins, even in times such as now, when the European market is potentially less lucrative than usual.
While many would question the ethics of player investment, Traffic are also doing their utmost to discover their own talent by developing a world-class youth training facility for Desportivo. They are temporarily based in Barueri, but will soon move to a newly constructed training centre in the city of Porto Feliz, 100km outside São Paulo.
Desportivo signed an agreement with Manchester United in November 2008, which will see coaches from the English champions’ academy visit São Paulo to assist with the training of the players. With the financial backing of Traffic and a talented group of coaches led by former Santos midfielder Pita, it will surely not be too long before they are producing players capable of plying their trade in the Brazilian top flight and beyond.
For now, however, it is investment in players that is proving to be the most lucrative avenue for Traffic, and in Keirrison they surely have a talent capable of bettering the €8M received for Henrique last summer. He may have rejected European advances for now, but don’t be surprised to see Keirrison lighting up a league near you come the second half of 2009.
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