Michel Bastos: the new Juninho

Lyon’s Juninho has been synonymous with powerful shot and his trademark free-kicks, but his compatriot Michel Bastos is threatening to steal the spotlight from him, at least in France. Bastos needed some time to make his quality known to broader public but his impressive performances for Lille this season have attracted a lot of attention and the 25-year-old midfielder is yet to fulfill his potential.

Bastos arrived in Europe when he was just 18 years old and joined Feyenoord. However, he was quickly transferred to Excelsior, where he became a first team regular, playing 28 games in his first season at the club. Still, he returned to his native Brazil, and didn’t come back to Europe before 2006 when he signed a contract with Lille. Claude Puel noticed his potential and started handing him more first team football, but it is under Rudy Garcia this season that Bastos really shone and became known throughout Europe.

The Brazilian’s biggest quality is his great left foot and he is thought to have the hardest shot in the whole of France. He is also a great crosser of the ball, which makes him very complete player. Nine goals and five assists in Ligue 1 this season are the perfect proof of these claims. Bastos’ big quality is that he can play on either wing, or to occupy a more central midfield role, while he can also be deployed as a left-back. This versatility only adds to his qualities, which helped him get noticed by Brazil coach Carlos Dunga, who is expected to hand him a debut very soon. Lille will have problems fending off interest from the suitors that include Marseille, Lyon, Panathinaikos and a host of other European clubs. However, Bastos have recently signed a contract extension and is now tied to the club until 2012. Lille are doing really well this season and that is certainly one of the reasons why he is still not thinking about changing clubs, although he has expressed desire to play in Spain, when the time comes. Considering what a great player he is, I can only see him playing for Barcelona or Real Madrid.

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