Francisco Conceição: The Portuguese Winger Stepping Out of His Father’s Shadow
At 21 years of age, Francisco Conceição has emerged as one of the rising stars of Portuguese football. He underwent a remarkable breakthrough season at Porto in 2021-22 under the wings of his father, manager Sérgio Conceição, and whilst he never quite managed to be more than a supersub, his performances attracted the attention of the reigning Eredivisie winners Ajax, who signed him for €5 million as a replacement for Antony following his move to Manchester United.
Having failed to make an impact in Amsterdam, ‘Chico’ returned to Porto on loan the following season, which was soon made permanent for €10 million. Francisco has been given a release clause of €60 million, which has temporarily halved to €30 million until July 15, and when he does eventually depart Porto, he will be entitled to 20% of that transfer fee.
After the minor setback in the Netherlands, Francisco has hit the form of his life and made the right wing spot his own, excelling in attack at the Dragão and helping to vill the creative void left by Otávio following his move to Al-Nassr. This meteoric rise even earned him a national team call-up ahead of the European Championship, and it did not take long for “Chico” to make his presence known.
Francisco dropped a stunning Man of the Match performance right on his national team debut, registering two assists against Finland. An unused substitute in the next two friendlies, he would replace former Porto teammate Vitinha in the 90th minute of their first group stage match vs. Czechia and scored a last-ditch winner. He returned to the bench before playing the full 90 in Portugal’s 2-0 loss to Georgia.
So, as the masses have already got a quick glimpse of what the boy is capable of, here is a deeper anatomy of what might turn out to be one of the surprising elements in this Portugal squad coming into Euro 2024.
Looking from a general perspective, Francisco’s profile is that of a mercurial and technical winger, with a tight turning radius, outstanding close control and an eye for playmaking in central zones. His game revolves around getting the ball into the penalty area from wide via carries and crosses. He is one of the outliers when it comes to passes and touches in the penalty area in the Primeira Liga, with more than 4 successful delivery attempts per 90.
Bruno Fernandes describes the Porto winger as “irreverent”, and this can’t be more accurate. Francisco definitely had that arrogance in his game, especially with the ball at feet. A true maverick, not necessary in a reckless way, but rather in the sense that he knows for certain what he is capable of.
This is visibly apparent in the way he drives at defenders – fierce and relentless, throwing himself completely into each and every play. This, however, is why he should be better off sticking to the touchline for the time being, as his temperament might not yet be suitable for taking up more central roles.
A compact build, standing at a low center of gravity coupled with quick, small strides allows Francisco to make frequent and consistent contact with the ball while carrying. The way he glides with the ball strikes some resemblances to Eden Hazard, but with less engine.
This thereby enables Portugal’s #26 to execute constant sharp changes of directions, which, when combined with his tricky feints and drops of the shoulder, has proven to be a real headache for most defenders to deal with. Those agile feet also equip him with the ability to swiftly readjust himself to manipulate angles in the box, either to get shots off for himself or to set his teammates up. The second assist for Bruno against Finland is a good illustration.
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This body composition also gives Francisco good control over his gears – the Portuguese winger has little to no problem with decelerations on the carries. He utilizes this to square up defenders, keeps them on their toes, before hitting them off guard with a good sudden burst.
Despite not possessing the necessary pace and power to blast his way past defenders on the outside and over long distances, his change of pace is frightening. It is more than decent enough to generate good separation for Francisco in shorter ranges, such as around the edge of the box or close to the byline.
Those are where Chico is the most formidable as a dribbler – he won various penalties for Porto from these types of situations. He also utilizes these short explosive bursts brilliantly when cutting inside, using a variety of touches – long, short, to disrupt the rhythm of defenders. The young Portuguese possess a very good feel when it comes to heavier touches – he rarely overdoes it.
Francisco, as aforementioned, is a high volume crosser, whipping 7.25 crosses per 90 – with roughly 34% accuracy to show for efficiency. Albeit the weight of those are still pretty inconsistent at times – mainly due to him setting the final touch either too far or too close. As we speak, this is a weakness that should naturally be ironed out as he matures and acquires more senior minutes. He is a good set-piece taker as well, either direct or indirect.
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Quite predictably, Francisco Conceição isn’t exactly the guy you would expect to dominate physical duels. His low center of gravity affords him a relatively good resistance against shoulder charges, more than enough to hold his own, but most of the time he would prefer getting himself out of trouble via small touches or by recycling the ball.
Not so keen on half-turns – it seems like he doesn’t have the upper body poweress for those kinds of situations, but instead, Francisco prefers receiving to feet and facing play most of the time. Another issue that he sometimes gets into is dwelling a bit longer than necessary with the ball in the final third.
This is something he would perhaps need refinements on, as he showed a lot of potential when it comes to sending through balls in behind for under/overlappers. Statistically, Francisco is among the very best when it comes to key passes in the Primeira Liga, registering an impressive 2.1 per 90.
For a winger, his workrate is very impressive – put plenty of effort into tracking backs. He averaged 1.48 successful tackles per game in last season’s Primeira Liga, which put him in the 98 percentile among all forwards.
This profile is one of a kind in the Portugal roster, which means that, even though a starter spot is still unlikely, there’s a decent chance there will be occasions where he might be counted on in the upcoming tournament. The European Championship has long been known to be the stage for breakout youngsters to assert themselves, and with interests already drumming up from the likes of Bayern München and Chelsea, this would be a good chance for Francisco to get the next big step of his career.
So, Chico, eyes up, stay sharp!
By: Trung Huu Nguyen / @glaskara_
Featured Image: @GabFoligno / NurPhoto