In collaboration with Goal, Voetbalzone regularly highlights young players who can go far in the future or who are already earning their spurs in (inter)national top football. This time the focus is on António Silva, the 19-year-old defender who broke through at Benfica this season and is being tipped to join Portugal at the World Cup in Qatar.
Benfica’s youth academy has been producing top talent for decades, with recent examples including Bernardo Silva, João Félix, Rúben Dias, Renato Sanches and João Cancelo. It won the prestigious UEFA Youth League last season by beating Red Bull Salzburg 6-0 in the final. As with all clubs with a strong youth academy, the challenge is to find the right time to throw talents in front of a first team. Which former trainer Jorge Jesus was heavily criticized for giving young talents too few opportunities during his period at Benfica.
Silva has played sixteen official matches for Benfica’s main squad so far.
That has changed this season, however, with former PSV coach Roger Schmidt at the helm and willing to give youth players a chance should the situation arise. After a wave of injuries in his last line, Schmidt opted to let the eighteen-year-old Silva make his debut against Boavista (0-3 win) at the end of August. More than two months later, the teenager has become an integral part of Schmidt’s starting eleven, he has been able to measure himself at Champions League level with the world top and he is associated with some of the biggest clubs in global football.
Where it all started
Silva took his first steps in football in his hometown of Viseu. When he was 11 years old and had visited a handful of local clubs, it was clear that he had the potential to become a professional footballer. Silva visited Sporting Portugal’s youth academy several times and FC Porto also showed interest in signing him, but the choice ultimately fell on Benfica, the club he had been a fan of from an early age. ?There were not only peaks, because Silva got homesick and had to return to Viseu for a short time. By the middle of his teens, however, he was completely settled in Lisbon.? He excelled on the pitch and shortly after his 17th birthday, Silva made his debut for Benfica’s Under-23s. Last season, the youngster played every minute of the match in the Youth League and scored an important goal in the eighth final against FC Midtjylland (2-3).
The big breakthrough
After making several appearances for Benfica’s second-ranking squad in Portuguese football, Silva was expected to spend the 2022/23 season at that level. But when Schmidt was left with only one fit central defender (Nicolas Otamendi, ed.) before the meeting with Boavista on August 27, Silva was allowed to make his appearance.? A yellow card in the seventh minute didn’t bode well, but the teenager recovered and put in a strong performance.
Although he had to take the reserve bench the following week, he started every game since then. Silva scored seven times in his first fifteen official duels in the main squad of Benfica clean sheet.? “Silva is eighteen (now nineteen, ed.), but when you see him on the pitch, he doesn’t seem that young,” said Schmidt after one of Silva’s first appearances. “It was already clear during the preparation that he is a talented player and that he is already a professional player who can handle the pressure of playing for Benfica’s first team and he has shown that many times this season.”
In the group stage of the Champions League, Silva excelled with Benfica against Juventus, among others.
His achievements
Although there are not many recognized top strikers in the Portuguese Primeira Liga, a Champions League group with Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus has given Silva the chance to measure itself against some world stars. To say he passed the test would be an understatement. Silva knocked Dusan Vlahovic out of the game in mid-September and stopped the Juventus striker in Turin from scoring in a handsome 1-2 win.
Silva did it again a few weeks later when he faced the star front guard of Paris Saint-Germain: Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Neymar at the Estadio da Luz. The teenager once again played very well, especially keeping Mbappé in check. Silva almost topped off his impressive performance with a goal, but that was kept from him by a great save by Gianluigi Donnarumma. The young center defender also impressed in the subsequent encounters with PSG (1-1) and Juventus (4-3 win). For example, Mbappé only scored from the penalty spot and Silva opened the score against Massimiliano Allegri’s team by heading a free kick by Enzo Fernández against the ropes.
Strong properties
With his 1.88 meters Silva is a physically strong defender. He wins many aerial duels, but perhaps his strongest qualities are anticipating when to intervene and tackling himself. This season, Silva has regularly countered promising attacking goals with well-timed interceptions. The Portuguese youth international is also very comfortable with the ball. His ability to find fellow players with a short pass or a long ball is striking in a positive way.
The new Ruben Dias?
It may be a simple comparison, but there is certainly evidence that Silva will follow in Dias’ footsteps and eventually leave Benfica to become a star in one of Europe’s five biggest leagues. Silva calls the Manchester City centre-back an idol of his and even wears the number 66 shirt that Dias wore when he moved up to the first team at the Estadio da Luz.
In Portugal Silva is compared to his compatriot Dias
“I look up to Ruben Dias a lot,” Silva told CNN. “He started playing here and look at what he has accomplished at Manchester City and also in the past at Benfica.”
Dias has been impressed by Silva’s performance from afar, and according to reports in Portugal, the ex-Benfica star has contacted the club to request an autographed shirt from the teenager. Silva also cited Virgil van Dijk (with whom he is also compared) and Antonio Rüdiger as role models. Especially because of his qualities on the ball, Silva is reminiscent of these big names.
Silva’s performances have led to calls for a surprising spot in Portugal’s World Cup squad, with many now seeing him in the long run as a potential partner for Dias to form a rock-solid center within the national team. “I’m not saying he should be called up to the World Cup,” former Benfica defender and Portuguese International Hélder Cristóvão said in a recent interview. “But what I do want to say is that, at this level of his development and given the level of his performance, he is a real possibility to go to the World Cup in Qatar.”
In the longer term, Silva’s future is already being talked about almost daily in Portugal, as some of Europe’s biggest clubs are associated with him.
Real Madrid are said to be keeping a close eye on his development, while Manchester United have reportedly sent scouts to watch him in action against PSG.
The new five-year deal Silva signed in September includes a €100m breakout clause, so it probably won’t come cheap. But if he continues to perform like this, the bidding war to take him away from Benfica could well become one of the biggest ever for a centre-back.