Welliton
Club: Spartak Moscow
League: Russian League
Nation: Brazil
Position: ST
Height: 5'8"
Foot: Left
Weak Foot: * * * *
Skill Moves: * * * *
Attacking Workrate: High
Defensive Workrate: Low
Average Cost: 2,000-3,500
Card Type: Rare Gold
Base Stats:
Pace: 92
Shooting: 79
Passing: 67
Dribbling: 76
Defending: 47
Heading: 78
Why is he so good?
Welliton isn't actually exceptional in all areas of his game. His pace feels less than 92 and his dribbling is fairly heavy. That said, he always manages to outpace defenders (even if it does seem like he is slower) and his dribbling, if you couple it with some skill moves and technical dribbling techniques, is actually very good.
His main attribute is his pace. He accelerates pretty well, however he feels quite heavy not only when running. He doesn't seem to accelerate that fast, although his actual sprint speed is very high. After a few seconds of speeding up he will shoot, a bit like a rocket, across the pitch. He can easily outrun defenders and other players when at full pace. That said, his transition from standstill/jogging to fully fledged, top speed sprint isn't the best.
His attack positioning is magnificent though. He is similar to Falcao in that he makes some of the best runs you will find. He stays onside well and will almost always meet the ball successfully.
That said, when he does meet it, he can do so with a bit of a heavy touch. This ties in with his entire dribbling, though, as it is not the best you will find. His touches can be heavy and imprecise. His actual dribbling can also be on the clunky side and lack any real finesse. That said, he isn't exactly 'hard' to dribble with because his agility is rated 86 so, generally, his turning is great.
What's more, if you use the different technical dribbling techniques then he will be easy to use.
Being a striker his shooting plays a big part in how good he is overall. After all; striker who can't score is a very useless striker indeed. His shooting is excellent though. He can finish on both feet and his shots are like bullets. His finesse shots are also very accurate and almost always find the target. He can finish from difficult angles, in 1-on-1 situations and from distance. He is very good in this department, if not excellent.
I was pleasantly surprised by Welliton's passing. He hooked up well with other players and rarely seemed to play a pass wrong. His chip through balls were efficient and good.
In terms of heading, Welliton isn't astounding because, while he has high jumping, he is still only 5'8" and his lack of height proves an annoying hinderance here. He tends to win the ball well from passes, but goalkicks and corners leave a fair amount to be desired.
Defensively I was pleased with his ability to close down and tackle pretty well but overall he didn't do much here.
Overall Welliton is a fantastic player. He has great pace and shooting and his dribbling is good too. Forgetting his stats for a moment and just thinking of the player himself and why I recommend him, it is just because he is good. He makes fantastic runs and is an efficient goalscorer. He is just a great player.
