Dudu

Curitiba's other academy has a claim on Dudu. At six he was already kicking a ball with his father around the city; by seven he had joined Coritiba's futsal and football ranks, only to cross to Athletico Paranaense's academy at eleven — a move between the city's two biggest rivals that shaped the rest of his development.

The goal people in Curitiba still talk about came in the Serie B against Botafogo-SP. Dudu picked the ball up inside his own box, drove the length of the pitch, went past three defenders and finished with a clean strike — the kind of run that gets compared to the Puskás Award shortlist regardless of whether it was ever submitted for one.

His rise through the youth ranks was rapid enough that Athletico handed him a first professional contract in September 2022, before he had played a senior minute, and followed it in November 2023 with a deal running to December 2029, complete with a release clause set at €60 million. He was included in a first-team squad for the first time in April 2023, against Fortaleza, and made his senior debut in January 2024 against Londrina in the Campeonato Paranaense. That year he also featured in the Copa Sudamericana group stage against Danubio.

With Brazil's under-17s, Dudu was named the outstanding player of the 2023 South American Championship, finishing the tournament with three goals and six assists, and he was part of the squad that won the Torneio de Montaigu in 2022. He has also been capped at under-15 level. At club level, an Athletico first-team trophy has so far eluded him — his medals to date have all come with the national youth sides.

He wears number 53 at Athletico Paranaense, plays off his left foot, and remains a product of the club's academy rather than of any transfer.