Vitor Roque joined FC Barcelona in the last winter transfer window with much fanfare and with very high expectations from the fans. However, the Brazilian did not have a memorable start to his career in Europe and had to leave the Blaugrana club to continue his growth and development in the last summer transfer window.
The youngster joined the La Liga team Real Betis on loan, and this move is already looking to be paying dividends for him. Yesterday, he scored his first goal for the Verdiblancos in the 82nd minute of the game, after coming off the bench in the second half. He had also shone with the Brazil U-20 team in the last international break prior to this game.
As SPORT has reported, the Real Betis head coach, Manuel Pellegrini, was full of praise for the €30m-rated Brazilian forward as he talked to the media after the game last night. The Spanish tactician believed Roque had shown an ability with this goal that all the great goal-scorers have:
“He is a powerful player, who moves quickly into open spaces. The goal is a typical striker’s goal, being alert for the rebound; the great goal scorers have always come from rebounds.”
Pellegrini went on to explain his decision to hand a substitute cameo to Roque for this match:
“He finished because he believed until the end, so I’m happy for him because he came off two games in Brazil with jet lag, a time difference, so I think 30 minutes for him and for Gio [Lo Celso] was more than enough. Now they’ll reintegrate into daily work, and we’ll be able to count on them.”
Having achieved this major milestone with his new team, one can hope that 19-year-old Barcelona loanee will continue to play an important role in Pellegrini’s squad for the rest of the season.
