Vivaldo Semedo 🔎
Name: Vivaldo Leandro Semedo Moura Sousa
Age: 20
Position: Striker
Height: 6’4
Current club: Udinese (Vizela on loan)
It’s important to establish the level Semedo was playing at to get a good benchmark of the quality he’s facing and also to look at the quality the player himself was playing in. Vizela finished third in the second tier of Portuguese football, missing out on promotion after losing in the playoffs — where they lost to a team in the top flight. However in terms of chances created, and chances conceded, they topped the league, also averaged 54% of the ball, so a team good at dominating possession but having purpose to it. Now the quality of team varies in the Segunda Liga and according to opta, they’re League One level teams with Tondela and Vizela being on, or around par with Wycombe Wanderers; with the rest of the league the same as the mid-table teams of League One.
+ points
Attacks the box with speed and purpose
Has two runs he consistently makes — start deep then attacks near post. Starts between centre backs then feints for a cutback
Relentless presser and chaser
Ability to take powerful shots early
Powerful and speedy in a straight line
- Needs to work on
Back to goal play. Has the strength and body positioning (gets low and plants feet) to hold off defenders but doesn’t do it enough
Despite being 6’4, doesn’t win first contact enough in aerial duels. Heavy jumper and timing is off
Finishing can be erratic in front of goal. Opts to go for power over finesse most of the time and can go over/wide/straight at the keeper
Physicality + Height
Vivaldo is 6’4 but moves over short > long distances very quickly. Runs like a 100m sprinter. Head down, slowly moves up, low stature — which allows him to curve runs and breeze past centre backs, especially with space to run into. With his frame and the way he runs, it means in the press he can shift his weight quickly and continue pressing at a high intensity whilst moving from player to player. English football is built on physicality, speed and intensity and Semedo should translate smoothly in that regard. A young age so should be able to improve in his game but with the height and frame I’ve mentioned, needs to be able to go direct to. The raw tendencies to do the right thing is there, but the confidence in doing so isn’t. The tendency to get low and plant feet and use arms to hold is consistently there, but the execution of the first touch or take it on the chest isn’t.
Box movement | shooting | technique
Vivaldo’s movement in the box is by far his biggest strength. So much so that of his 51 shots last season, 30 of them were from a central position between the 6-18 yard box, with the other 21 being slightly wider or a few just outside the box. He’s at his best when the ball is wide so he can meet the ball with momentum from his running intensity. If the ball is wide right he’ll start deeper and then cut with speed to the near post, same with if the ball was on the opposite side. Of his 9 league goals, 5 were first time finishes, with all of them being crosses from the left hand side. His timing of runs because of his favoured left foot is much better than the right side, and given Wiley is a good low crosser, should fit with the dynamic between those two. What stands out is the desire to get into the box every time and to unbalance the defenders.
What he needs to work on is knowing where to be when his team has possession in and around the edge of the box. Quite often he’s not sure what run to make and when that ball is played, he’s on his heels or stretching to connect as he’s not fully settled. Those half space clipped balls towards the back-post are dangerous and if he could add the same level of movement that he has from crossing situations to central runs when the ball is being recycled outside the box then he will eventually add 3/4 more goals per season.
I also want him to run down the sides of centre backs more and use his strength to get off powerful shots — whilst he naturally occupies the middle of the pitch, he’s stronger and faster than most players he’ll come up against. For example, a game against Leixöes he did exactly that, but it was only a handful of times he did it all season. Run > ball down side > hold off defender > get shot off.
Vivaldo for the most part favours power over finesse and the strikes are usually low and hard, but not always in the corners. A lot of his quick second shots, or snap shots are central with power which is easy to save because the natural action of a keeper in close range is to spread and make the goal smaller and the body bigger. But when he does use a more calm finish, he can do it, but it’s usually when he has time to think about it. The technique is there, the power is there, the type of shot is there, the temperament isn’t yet.
All round play — (passing, heading, link-up, hold-up)
This is what he needs to work on. Through design and perhaps ability to do so, Vivaldo rarely makes 10 passes per game. He wasn’t used as a bounce pass or a target man for Vizela despite him being the size he is and the team he’s in dominating the ball most weeks. He was there to run in behind and attack the box, which worked well for him. He will occasionally drop deeper, take two touches and pass it wide, but that’s as far as it goes. The potential is there to absolutely do more, though. For example from throw ins, he backs into the defender, holds them off, travels with the ball and keeps the possession moving. I think with more coaching in a better team, he’d be a viable bounce pass option for midfielders or forwards because as I’ve mentioned before, the appetite to get set and shield is already there, it’s about getting consistency in what comes next.
Heading wise there’s two parts to this. Attacking them to get a shot on goal he’s fairly good — will opt for a downwards header rather than glancing. However from goal kicks or balls up to him, his jump isn’t natural and doesn’t use his arms to elevate enough, and often mis-timed. When he does get first contact, it’s usually behind towards the defenders as he’s just trying to get contact on it rather than focusing on the jump and then where he wants to head the ball.
Reactions.
Vivaldo’s reactions to when the team is losing is to do the same thing over and over. He’ll work extremely hard for the team, make the same runs, put himself about. A team player from start to finish. There’s an unselfishness to his game but also a ruthlessness attitude to his game. The runs he makes in the first minute are still being made in the 91st minute. He’s relentless and repetitive in what he can control with the potential to have take-over ability. Against AVS, with the score 2-5 on aggregate, Vivaldo is still pressing, still wanting to get a goal — his head never dropped.
Pressing.
Throughout Pezzolano’s managerial career in second tier football, one thing has remained consistent, intensity from the front and the want to win the ball back quickly once the ball has been lost. Vivaldo definitely ticks the box. Ranked #1 for strikers in the Portuguese second tier for pressures per 90, he will hassle, chase and press should that be the role he’s been asked to do, or he’ll do it anyway. He can be too eager at times and bundle someone over, or go too quickly into a player, but more often than not he doesn’t give fouls away high up the pitch.
Projection.
The take-over potential Vivaldo has is pretty big. Needs to improve and iron out the basics, but he’s only 20 and played roughly 40 games at senior level. The physical traits are there, the speed is there, the power is there, the shooting technique is there, the movement is there. Wouldn’t shock me at all if he improves to such a high degree he’s in the conversation as first choice striker by seasons end. I’d be shocked if Vivaldo’s game isn’t attempted to be model’d on Osimhen — the way he bursts into the box at such velocity is Osimhen lite, and the ability to snap shots quickly with power, low and into the near post is like him too. The raw ingredients to be a leading Championship striker in a few years are there, it’s whether Watford can platform his talent and the player himself can improve and work hard every day to do so. Through balls, low crosses, players close to him in settled possession is how you get the best out of him. Once he knows how to jump and time his headers, his game goes up another level too. Watford have got a good one here.