When Everton arrived at Grêmio in 2012, he was a 16-year-old who wanted to be a footballer. He is now a Brazil striker who has won the Copa América on home soil and finished as the joint top scorer in the tournament. “That is our biggest trophy,” says Francesco Barletta, the director of the Grêmio academy as he sits in his cold, slightly bare office on the outskirts of Porto Alegre. “We don’t play to win, we play to develop. When the players get to this level, it is a source of joy for us.”

Everton was not the only Grêmio academy product in the Brazil team that lifted the Copa América in July. Barcelona midfielder Arthur also came of age in Porto Alegre. Everton and Arthur won the 2017 Copa Libertadores together in a Grêmio squad that included six further players who had joined the club as teenagers – including Luan, who was voted player of the tournament.

Despite their tender years, Everton and Luan are now approaching the status of elder statesmen in the Grêmio side. A new, younger generation, including Jean Pyerre, Pepê and Matheus Henrique, are coming through and proving they are just as skilled. All three of them were on the pitch last week as Grêmio beat Palmeiras in São Paulo to qualify for the Copa Libertadores semi-finals for the third year running. The club’s ability to bring through youngsters is impressive but, given they developed players such as Ronaldinho and Douglas Costa, that productivity should come as little surprise.

“Our main objective is to form first-team players,” says Barletta. “Our second is to produce players who can adapt to any working model at any club in the world. From the teams at the highest level to the bottom tier of the state leagues here. We believe they are players who will carry the seal of the club, so they have to be prepared for any situation.”

Arthur and Everton enjoy Brazil’s victory over Peru in the Copa América final. Photograph: Luis Acosta/AFP/Getty Images

Stepping out of the breeze-block building that houses the coaches, analysts and other employees, the first noticeable thing is the biting cold and thick, low cloud. This is the deep south of Brazil in the middle of winter, not the one they put on postcards. Undeterred by the inclement weather, training sessions are already in full flow on the eight pitches in front of us.

As we watch the young players in action, the academy’s technical director, Wagner Gonçalves, explains the culture and context of the club. “The history of Rio Grande do Sul state is based on conflict,” he says. “The state, at its origin, is based on the idea of separation from the rest of Brazil. There was a war against the rest of the country. It’s like the Basques in Spain. They have their own identity; they stood up to the empire. Gaúchos are fighting people. Grêmio has to take on Brazil, to go to the Maracanã, to take on the Paulistas, and win.”

We walk across the wet grass and he explains two of the ongoing sessions. The first is led by three coaches who work with all age groups, focussing solely on the fundamentals: passing, shooting, control, heading and tackling. The next is a small-sided game designed to work simultaneously on keeping possession, counter-attacking and working the ball out wide.

Gonçalves stops and sketches a map of Brazil on a notepad. “Our state is here,” he says, pointing to the southern tip of the country. “But the centre of Brazilian football is here: Rio, São Paulo and Minas. The quality football in Brazil is concentrated there.” Being isolated forced Grêmio to innovate. “We widened our radius. We started going to Argentina, Chile, Uruguay and Colombia. And to Europe: to Germany, Portugal. Even to China. There are lots of countries playing football differently. This age group [under-17s] has already been to four different nations. They’ve played Inter, Boca, River and all the big clubs in Brazil.”

“Diversity of opponents is the secret. We’re able to observe our players in various different game situations. When we go to Uruguay, the game is more about physical confrontation. Paraguay, a lot of aerial balls. Argentina, speed. Chile, transitions. Colombians attack more, so you can work on the defence.”

Developing players is not just about training them. “Every department is very involved,” says Gonçalves as he points across the pitches. “There’s the coordinator of physical preparation. And the assistant coordinator, Bruna; the psychologist, Fernanda. Everybody is out watching the sessions.” As well as the psychologist and coaching staff, the boys also receive support from a full-time education co-ordinator Gheisa Neves, and social worker Rosangela Medeiros.

With boys arriving at the club from the age of 14 and having to adapt to differences in climate and culture, Medeiros is a key part of this process. She makes initial contact with each trialist and creates a “social profile” of them after getting to know a little of their story. For those fortunate enough to be accepted, she will speak to their families at length.

Arthur, who grew up in Goiás, 2,000km to the north, is one of the boys she remembers with particular affection. His parents were well off enough to rent him an apartment nearby but others are less fortunate. “There are boys who have hidden steak in their pockets or gained four kilograms in a month,” she says. “That’s when it’s evident that they come from a difficult background.

“Sometimes they don’t reveal the realities to us, so we go to their homes. There are boys ashamed that they weren’t raised by their mothers or didn’t have a traditional upbringing, but I tell them not to worry. Your family is the people who look after you, push you to do better and want what’s best. That person who put you in the world, if they don’t want to be near, it’s their loss. I use my mothering and professional sides together and it’s worked very well.”

“The proof is there,” she says, pointing to a poster on the wall that shows a handful of graduates already lighting up the professional ranks. “With the exception of Arthur, and perhaps Luan, all of them passed through difficulties. Patrick came here at nine and the family home didn’t even have windows. His father was locked up and died in prison – that happened when he was already here.”

The club recognise the have a responsibility to educate the players and academic growth is valued just as highly as their onfield development. “They don’t just bring their boots in their bags,” says Neves. “But also their school records.” The players attend three local schools and Neves oversees the entire process, even giving extra lessons to those who arrive with little formal education.

In return for the schools accepting their players, Grêmio provide local students with apprenticeships, allowing them to shadow psychologists and social workers. The club have even employed some students who have excelled. The academy players are obliged to stay at school until they are 18 and are strongly encouraged to continue their studies beyond that. There are currently eight Grêmio youths studying in local universities, with fees paid by the club.

Everton’s goal against Palmeiras helps Grêmio reach the Copa Libertadores semi-finals for the third year running. Photograph: Nelson Almeida/AFP/Getty Images

Back with technical coordinator Gonçalves, we go into a room where three men stare intently at two computer screens. They are watching an Under-17 game played the previous day and recording various statistics on a custom-designed intranet. After logging on, Gonçalves brings up the profile of one of the youngsters. Everything is there: every game he has ever played, his athletic output in training sessions, his injury history, his behavioural record and staff assessments.

“We do four evaluations per year,” says Gonçalves as he takes out an enormous blue ring binder and lays it down on the table. It is Grêmio’s player production bible. “All the departments sit down to go through player by player,” he continues. “What he needs, whether that’s technical, physical or tactical video work. Work on psychology or with our social team. We call it ‘polishing’. Here, each player is treated individually. Sometimes they might not produce in training. In these cases, we conduct an investigation. What’s happening? Is it something with the family? Is it nutrition?”

“We’re patient,” insists Gonçalves. “If we lose a tournament, we investigate why we lost. We talk to the coaches. But it’s not: ‘You lost, you’re fired.’ No. That happens elsewhere. That’s the culture in Brazil, which is a problem. The best results come from continuity.”

Gonçalves also believes that players will be at their best when they are encourages to be themselves on the field. “We work on what you do best,” he says. “If you come with a certain playing style, we respect that. We don’t try to take it away. In Brazil, we’re copying lots of methods from other places. We’re losing our identity a little. We’re losing that dribble, that improvisation. Everton changed the game for the Seleção because he dribbles, he scores. We haven’t lost our essence. If you’re good at something, that is what you’ll do. You have to know who you are and what you want to do.”

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