Although two weeks have not yet passed into the new year, it can already be said that 2023 beckons for Luis Henrique, the Brazilian winger of Real Betis.
At the beginning of the year he celebrated his 22nd birthday, three days ago he scored his first league goal against Rayo Vallecano which was also a winning goal and on Wednesday he will play in the semi-finals of the Spanish Super Cup against Barcelona in Saudi Arabia.
"He is a great player who is in great shape," declared his teammate Sergio Canales, who, like everyone else, was waiting for the introverted Brazilian to explode.
It took time and there are enough reasons why.
Luiz Henrique arrived at Betis the previous summer after Fluminense had to sell him for only 13 million euros as a result of financial problems that plagued the club.
He arrived at Betis in excellent shape and determined to succeed, but registration issues prevented him from playing in the first rounds of the season.
In the meantime, confidence decreased and difficulties increased.
Coach Manuel Pellegrini made it clear that the integration would be gradual, and indeed it was.
Only in the extreme fifth round did he make his debut in the lineup, and he finished this game against Villarreal with an assist for Rodri's winning goal.
Right after that came two goals in the Europa League - against Roma and against Ludogorets - which even brought Luiz Henrique to the extended list of 55 players in the Brazilian squad for the World Cup.
He didn't pass the final screening of course, and his hacking stopped.
In December, when football was just restarting after the World Cup, the player was informed that his father had passed away prematurely.
"Rest in peace," the player wrote on social media, "at least you saw your son fulfill your dream and play soccer in the team you loved so much, Fluminense."
Henrique with Pellegrini, photo: EPA
In the midst of all this, Luis Henrique managed to become one of the most talked about players in Spain today.
What he was able to show in his first four months in Spain was enough for Betis to take him on as a personal project when the World Cup break came.
His Brazilian teammates Luis Filipe and William Jose took him under their wing in the difficult personal moments, while the professional team built a special program to upgrade his abilities and decision-making.
"He made a lot of basic mistakes at the beginning of his career," said Pellegrini, "but we continued to work with him because we saw how much potential he has in technical operations."
This potential could be seen in the winning goal against Rayo at the weekend.
There was speed, power, accuracy in the kick with the weak right foot and a breaking power reminiscent of other Brazilian players.
Henrique against Bilbao in the league.
It took him time to acclimatize in Spain, photo: AFP
"Pellegrini demanded that I watch videos of Vinicius so that I could learn how to combine defensive work with finishing in front of the goal," said the player, "I want to reach his, Neymar's and Rafinha's levels," he added, "and I believe that with a lot of hard work I will be able to It".
After everything he's been through and done, you're asked to believe him.
to believe in him.
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