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Stats 10 March 2023, 20:35

Caio Henrique is among the most decisive fullbacks on the planet!

Caio Henrique is among the most decisive fullbacks on the planet!
Currently the assists leader for AS Monaco in Ligue 1 this season (7), the Brazilian defender appears at the top of the most decisive fullbacks in the world over the past year, in the most recent CIES newsletter.

He serves caviar on a plate. The Monegasque assist leader in the league, with seven in 23 matchs, Caio Henrique has become a reference when it comes to delivering the final ball. Like his fellow left-sided attacker, Aleksandr Golovin, of whom he is ahead by one (6 assists), the Brazilian defender has distinguished himself with his accuracy on crosses, balls in over the back and at set pieces.

The second-most decisive fullback

He thus finds himself in a very good position in the ranking of the best passers on the planet over the past year – from March 1, 2022 to March 1, 2023 -, as ranked by the Football Observatory (CIES). The Monegasque left back ranks second in this category, just behind the Neapolitan Mario Rui. With ten assists over the period and an index of 9.2, Caio appears ahead of players like Jordi Alba or Andrew Robertson.

Among the world’s top passers

To establish these rankings, the CIES relied on data compiled by WyScout over the year, coupled with a weighted score: a “sporting coefficient” of the matches played. In other words, each contested match is given a higher or lower index, depending on the opponent and the importance of the match in question. Given a score close to 10, AS Monaco’s number 12 therefore appears in the world’s Top 50 best passers.

Final balls for Eliesse and Memo

While knowing that with this method of calculation, he has in fact sometimes given more assists than certain players who rank ahead of him, but who play in leagues where the index of matches is higher (Bundesliga, Liga, Premier League, Serie A). Recently, for example, he set up Eliesse Ben Seghir for his third professional goal against Auxerre (in a 3-2 win). He also distinguished himself in Clermont, allowing Guillermo Maripán to open the scoring (in a 2-0 win).

Since I started here, I have always had this desire to help the team. It is a form of reward for all of the work I do each week. I made 12 assists last season, and I have a goal in the back of my mind to surpass this.
Caio HenriqueOn his preference for making assists

Third-most assists on the team

He now has 25 assists in 118 games in Rouge et Blanc, and the 25-year-old Brazilian is second only to Wissam Ben Yedder (28) and the Tsar (31), among the best in the squad. He will look to show this status again this weekend against Reims (Sunday, 5:05 p.m.), as the second-most influential fullback when it comes to providing assists.

Rise. Risk. Repeat.