PortuGOAL Figure of the Week: Félix Correia’s roundabout route back to the top
Following on from João Pereira, Vítor Bruno is the latest victim of Gil Vicente – the club that gets managers of the Três Grandes sacked. The iconic cockerel of Barcelos bested Futebol Clube do Porto by three goals to one in an incredibly entertaining spectacle for the neutral.
From red cards for Nico González and Samu Aghehowa, to a scenario dignified for the soap operas: Gonçalo Borges’ equalizer being ruled out by VAR, due to Otávio’s foul at the opposite end of the pitch, which resulted in a penalty. This intense encounter went from 2-2 to 3-1 in a blink of the eye.
Gil Vicente made it seven straight matches unbeaten, with Félix Correia at the forefront of all attacking efforts. The penalty dispatcher has scored in three consecutive matches, meriting his nomination as the PortuGOAL Figure of the Week.
Correia buries Porto
Félix Correira emphatically dispatches his spot kick past Porto’s international penalty-saving specialist goalkeeper Diogo Costa to confirm Gil Vicente’s 3-1 victory on Sunday:
From Lisbon to Manchester to Turin to… Barcelos?
Félix Correia is the 23-year-old two-way wide attacker that you haven’t heard of (yet) despite representing the likes of Sporting Clube de Portugal, Manchester City and Juventus in this early phase of his career in top-flight football.
Despite arguably taking a step backwards, trading Turin for Gil Vicente, Félix Correia is an example for all promising, ambitious talents to consider and reflect upon.
The Academia Cristiano Ronaldo housed and honed Félix for ten years, before an 18-year-old Correia traded Sporting for Manchester City.
“I’m much more mature. I came back with a lot more valuable life experience. At the time, I didn’t have the same competitive mentality. My mindset was totally different, and it helped me a lot to go abroad, live on my own and have other experiences in my life, not only on the pitch. In other words, I’m a completely different Félix today.”
When questioned by Portuguese publication O Jogo, Correia guaranteed that he would’ve stayed at Sporting if he knew what he knew now.
Putting the cart before the horse, the common mistake taken by the naïve. Félix, in hindsight, showed humility, and is reconstructing his career at Gil Vicente in an impressive manner.
Another Felix I know could potentially learn a thing or too…
Before Gil, came Marítimo. Individual performances were promising and Correia quickly became an integral member of the squad in a short period of time, but Marítimo could not avoid relegation. Since then, Félix has increased his numbers in terms of goal contributions in every passing season, already cementing this 2024/25 season as his most productive, and we are in the month of January…
Stop that, Félix Correia ???????? (via @vsports_pt) pic.twitter.com/czBEJTBZuB
— B24 (@B24PT) May 7, 2023
Not your typical winger
No player has scored more goals for Gil Vicente than Félix Correia, the player who leads the entire league for line-breaking passes this season.
Correia is capable of playing on either flank, in a supporting role down the middle, or as an adapted wing-back. His defensive contribution and responsibility underlines his maturity and pathway as a player, despite being known for his irreverent style – a typical 1v1 specialist who shines on the flanks when isolating his marker and using an uncanny dribbling ability with elite close-control.
Félix Correia ????????#UnidosPelaLenda #GalosDeLuta pic.twitter.com/1zOD0ij4KD
— Gil Vicente Futebol Clube (@GilVicente_fc) October 6, 2024
Ever improving
Félix, mirroring most wingers, lacks top-level reliability when defining plays in the final-third, not due to lack of vision or variability, but he is improving his consistency and composure.
Sporting Clube de Portugal will be looking at their former player as a left-sided reinforcement, as well as FC Porto as Félix’s career is taking an upwards ascension, supported by the likes of Mory Gbane and Kanya Fujimoto, an impressive pair of midfielders providing the foundations for Correia to shine.
Regardless of where his future lies, PortuGOAL’s Figure of the Week looks set to continue to create and impress at the highest level.