Passing, defending, pressing – Andre puts in perfect audition for Liverpool in

Watching Andre in the Copa Libertadores final saw the midfielder showcase exactly why he can be a more than effective No. 6 for Liverpool, especially in possession.

At the start of 2023, Fluminense manager Fernando Diniz told his talented 22-year-old midfielder Andre that he wanted to keep him until the end of the year.

Once the January transfer window was shut, Diniz needed Andre locked in for the full campaign, which in South America runs throughout one calendar year rather than across two as is the case in Europe.

Despite an enquiry from Liverpool in the summer as to his availability, Andre kept his word.

On Saturday night, he was rewarded with a Copa Libertadores title – the biggest club prize in South America and the equivalent to a Champions League.

It was a historic one at that, as it was the first time Fluminense have lifted the continent’s top prize.

Loyalty and character

Andre’s response to the situation in which he has found himself this year, and the high regard in which he is held by his current manager, are both part of the reason for Liverpool’s keen interest.

He valued loyalty to his current club over making more money sooner, which he would have done had he moved to Europe in the summer.

“It was a really hard decision,” he said. “I think that if I’d have accepted that offer, I don’t know if I’d feel 100 percent comfortable with myself.

“Because I gave my word to Diniz, and he values your word a lot, the honesty.

“He always says that when we do things the right way, good things happen.”

That was certainly the case here.

For such talented, ambitious players, offers from Europe are difficult to turn down or delay, but Andre’s decision to stay has seen him claim an honour that will remain one of the most cherished in his career, regardless of what he wins in the future.

Learning from Diniz

It also saw him continue to learn under one of the most highly regarded coaches in the game in Diniz.

This is a lauded, heavily analysed tactical system which is seen as part of the future of how football will be played.

It has been referred to by Diniz himself as appositional, in contrast to the Pep Guardiola-style position game:

“Because I like having the ball, people associate me with Guardiola. But stop there.

“His way of having the ball is the opposite of mine. In Guardiola’s teams, after two minutes you see that the players obey a space. Whoever is on the right stays on the right, whoever is on the left stays on the right and the ball reaches those spaces.

“Of course, Guardiola changed, the full-backs, like Cancelo, passed.

“The way I see it at this moment is almost appositional. Players migrate positions.

“It’s a freer game, we get closer in the sectors of the field and in these sectors, there are changes of position.

“I think this has more to do with the…