When João Cancelo was in Benfica’s B team, he had little interest in defending but his coach still made a bet with him that he would become one of the best five right-backs in the world. Hélder Cristóvão knew the heights the teenager from Barreiro, just south of Lisbon, would reach.
Full-backs have had problems at Manchester City and at Liverpool, their opponents on Sunday, this season: Kyle Walker is injured, Andy Robertson has suffered niggles, while Trent Alexander-Arnold has struggled for form and now fitness. Cancelo, however, has offered quality and consistency throughout.
The Portugal international has started every Premier League and Champions League game this season for Pep Guardiola, the only outfielder to do so. He is equally adept on either side of defence, although pigeonholing him as a full-back would be unfair considering the breadth of his responsibilities from back to front.
“The versatility is great for João because he is happiest when he has the ball,” Cristóvão says. “When he was young, when he did not have the ball, he did not want to play. If we did an exercise with ball possession and his team had the ball, for João it was like candy but when they lost the ball it was boring for him. He would ask: ‘Why don’t we have the ball? Why do I need to suffer like this? Why do I need to close down?’”
When Cancelo arrived at City from Juventus, Guardiola was less trusting of the defender, making him Walker’s understudy until fate forced him over to the left-hand side due to a lack of options. Being liberated has got the best out of him. “He always sees the solution before the other guys,” Cristóvão says. “When the space is closed, he can see another route to pass. He is very strong, very fast. He hasn’t changed the way he plays from when I managed him, just his behaviour on the pitch as he now takes responsibility.”
Left-back is where he starts on the formation diagram but Cancelo strides into midfield and beyond. The 28-year-old has two goals this season, incredible strikes, one into a top corner with his right and another into a bottom corner with his left. He is at ease using both feet and is happy to produce wondrous trivela crosses, played with the outside of his favoured right, creating the stunning Erling Haaland winner against Borussia Dortmund.
The trivela adds a touch of mystery, an art tough to master but he is arguably the best exponent of such a skill. It is unsurprising that a player who progressed at Benfica possesses such high-level technical attributes. Under Guardiola the idea of a full-back being someone who doggedly defends against a winger and occasionally wanders upfield on the overlap in the hope of providing a passable cross is almost laughable. Gary Neville scored five goals in 400 Premier League appearances, whereas Cancelo has already reached that target in 90 matches. This is not an attempt to discredit Neville’s brilliance but to show how the game is evolving.
“Football is the most important thing in his life,” Guardiola said when Cancelo signed a new contract last season. The inspiration is his mother, Filomena, who died in a car crash in 2013 in Lisbon. “Today, even though she is where she is, I do everything to make her proud of me,” Cancelo said of his mother. There is plenty to take pride in thanks to Cancelo’s haul of major titles on his journey to becoming one of the most-respected full-backs in the sport.
“I think Benfica did a fantastic job, they gave João support,” Cristóvão says. “Everybody was there for him. He made some mistakes in this period, but the club and everybody was understanding because of the passing of his mother. It was a difficult moment. The most important thing is that João has a strong character and big personality. He takes care of his family. He deserves everything he receives in his life.”
Cancelo is as important to City as Kevin De Bruyne. His versatility and ability to understand the complexities of his role and how to optimise his capabilities are critical. Knowing when to move into central midfield and when to attack down the flank is imperative for Guardiola. He is an intelligent all-action player, eager to be involved for 90 minutes.
Dynamic forward play is highlighted when it comes to what Cancelo offers but defensively he has impressed. Cancelo has moved on from the days of being upset to not have the ball; he has won 13 tackles and made 14 interceptions, both five more than any of his teammates, in the league this season: a sign of him taking the responsibility Cristóvão tried to instil. “João is the best player I’ve worked with due to his technical qualities,” Cristóvão states. “I’ve worked with Bernardo Silva and Rúben Dias, but who most impressed me was João Cancelo.”
Cancelo’s quality and determination mean he has fulfilled Cristóvão’s prediction. Liverpool will fear his influence, with or without the ball.
