When Carlo Ancelotti speaks, you listen. That is generally how it works, so when he praised new Chelsea winger Estevao Willian, it was always going to be of interest.
Talking ahead of his first match in charge of Brazil – an eventual 0-0 draw on Friday morning against Ecuador – Ancelotti was asked about the 18-year-old. “Estevao, I already knew about,” he said after taking training throughout the week.
“I hadn’t seen him in person, only through videos and on TV, but I see what everyone sees: that he is a player with extraordinary, special talent, very young, and who still has things to learn.” Ancelotti then selected Estevao to start on the right in a strong Brazil team including Alisson, Marquinhos, Bruno Guimaraes, and Vinicius Jr.
“Estevao is a talented player, humble, has drive and personality,” Ancelotti continued pre-game. “He has immense creativity, a ton of qualities.”
The former Chelsea boss added: “Obviously, he has all the characteristics to be a very important player for the future of the national team.” It will now be down to Enzo Maresca to help unleash the potential in England.
First it is back to Brazil for a World Cup qualifier against Paraguay. It is a vital game after Brazil found themselves in a genuine battle to get to America in 2026. They have won just six of 15 matches so far and are only two points above Colombia in sixth.
Paraguay will start the game one place and two points ahead. For Ancelotti, it is a chance to get to know his team a bit better after years of turmoil.
The Brazilian football federation has been in need of change for a while and Ancelotti is seen as an answer to that. Alongside young players like Estevao, who is still only 18 but accelerating his development, and Andrey Santos, they hope the future will be bright.
For Estevao, after Paraguay, it is over to the Club World Cup in America for him. Not yet in Chelsea colours, Estevao will be playing for Palmeiras for a bit longer.
Chelsea agreed to let the teenage prodigy feature in the famous green of Palmeiras for FIFA’s new tournament later this month. He will then join up with Enzo Maresca and his new side for a very brief pre-season.
Palmeiras will fancy their chances at getting through the group stage, too. It is an opportunity for Chelsea to get another look at Estevao in a different environment.
He had a stellar 2024 in Serie A, scoring 13 times and assisting nine in 31 league games. He surpassed the tallies that Neymar was putting up at Santos at the same age and started to deliver on the hype of South America.
These performances earned him a callup earlier this year to the Brazil team with three substitute appearances. He has made a comparatively slower start to 2025, though.
Although he had a strong Copa Libertadores group (scoring in four out of the five matches he played), the quality of opposition must be put into some perspective. Estevao then failed to score in the opening 11 league games before the international break.
He did manage three assists but his output has dropped off. At his age, it is only natural. The attention he gets is only going to grow, though.
People now watch Estevao play for Palmeiras and Brazil just to see what Chelsea have on their hands. His debut did not go exactly to plan, with Estevao’s physicality put under the microscope.
Chelsea know that it will take time to nurture this talent. Estevao will be carefully integrated without the expectation that he is an immediate starter. There are eyeballs on him as if he already is a world star but the reality is very different.
It takes time to get up to speed with a new league and a new country. Estevao will be moving away from his home and settling somewhere else. There is an environmental acclimatisation period and a sporting one.
Teenagers do not often emerge rapidly onto the scene to the very top. Some do, and they take the headlines, but Chelsea will not be demanding this or relying on it immediately with Estevao.
They already have Noni Madueke, Cole Palmer, and Pedro Neto all able to operate on the right. Tyrique George favours that side as well. Estevao is unlikely to start make Enzo Maresca’s first XI when the Premier League kicks off in August and it will surely be a while before he is truly ready to make a tangible impact.
The comparison is naturally with Real Madrid’s Vinicius Jr, who moved at a similarly young age. It was three full seasons before he exploded. From scoring eight league goals with four assists in three years to 27 contributions in a single campaign.
Vinicius Jr managed less than 1,000 La Liga minutes in season one before slowly growing. That is what Chelsea will look to do with Estevao via substitute appearances.
He is not yet up to the task of deciding huge games but he is able to provide moments of quality. His first real involvement against Ecuador was a neat one-two on the right before driving inside the field to open up a pass to Richarlison.
The ball was underhit and a chance wasted but Estevao’s ability to find space and wriggle out of it was on display. Ecuador went with a bullish approach to deal with him. One occasion he was shoved over inside his own half when dribbling out of danger with a nice touch to fool his opponent.
It wasn’t subtle and showed how dangerous Ecuador felt Estevao was. The final touch was missing on this occasion but Estevao produced glimpses.
He flicked a pass around the corner to Richarlison to move the ball forward but then took a poor touch in the centre of the pitch to waste an opportunity. Not put off by the mistake, Estevao pressed well to force a pass backwards and that running was effective again when he won the ball back on the edge of the Ecuador box.
Estevao had the chance to shoot on his favoured left foot but chose to pass instead. It was the wrong decision and Estevao never found Richarlison, who had three men around him anyway.
He tried another flick, this time on the right, but it went straight out of play with nobody close. Ancelotti’s response was to put his arms out, telling Estevao to relax and calm down.
Another wayward touch and pass followed with Estevao cutting a frustrated figure but soon after he was running directly into the Ecuador box and found a good area to cross from. On his weaker right foot, and at this stage being doubled up on, the ball went safely to the goalkeeper.
The theme of being shut down continued into the second half. Every time he received the ball he was shown inside by two yellow shirts. Estevao tried to make something happen after skipping past one tackle but again couldn’t weigh the pass correctly.
None of this stopped him from playing his normal way. A first-time pass over his head picked out Richarlison and threatened to launch a counter attack only for the Tottenham man to lose the ball.
He then produced a brilliant pass across the pitch to Vinicius Jr. His teammates had confidence in his corner taking, putting Estevao on balls coming in from the left, swinging away from goal, and he put in several nice deliveries.
One run against Brighton’s Pervis Estupinian catches the eye, too, as he leaves the full-back on the floor before surging upfield with Ecuador quick to block off his passes. Often left without much help, he twice ran down blind alleys before being taken off.
It would be easy to jump to the conclusion that Estevao simply isn’t ready for Chelsea based off this but the reality is that he is still learning on the job in senior football. This is another step up for him and the Premier League will be a bigger leap again.
Estevao will need time to improve but Ancelotti can see his quality and is willing to watch him flourish. If Ancelotti sees it then everyone else surely will do soon as well.
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