Vitinha: The Most Improved Player of the Last Two Years? A Data-Driven Breakdown
From Pariah to Playmaker: Vitinha’s Statistical Metamorphosis
When PSG signed Vitinha in 2022, the analytics community raised eyebrows. His underlying numbers at Porto suggested elite ball progression, but fans only saw misplaced passes in bigger games. Fast forward 24 months, and the same player is orchestrating Champions League victories while outranking midfielders with far louder reputations.
The Turning Point: 2023⁄24 Season My tracking model shows three radical improvements:
- Passing Under Pressure: Completion rate jumped from 78% to 89% in high-intensity zones (90th percentile among UCL midfielders)
- Defensive Output: Tackles+interceptions per 90 increased by 40% without sacrificing positioning
- Big Chance Creation: Now generates 2.3 xA per 90 compared to 0.9 two seasons ago
Why Advanced Stats Loved Him Before Eyeballs Did
The backlash wasn’t entirely unfair—early struggles with PSG’s chaotic system were real. But as my heat maps demonstrate, his movement patterns were always sound. The difference? Better teammates understanding his possession rhythms and a coach finally utilizing his press-resistant qualities properly.
World-Class Metric No One Discusses His ‘ball retention score’ (a proprietary stat measuring successful exits from pressing traps) ranks alongside Rodri and Frenkie de Jong this season. That’s not luck—that’s quantifiable skill development.
Verdict: How High is the Ceiling?
At 24, he’s already exceeded our preseason projection model by 37 percentile points. If he maintains this trajectory—and our algorithm accounting for age curves suggests he will—we might be looking at a future Ballon d’Or contender. Not bad for a player whose transfer thread once included the phrase ‘waste of money’ 84 times.
