Paulinho brings stardust but Suwon need to use him properly

Suwon Samsung's most eye-catching pickup of the summer transfer window was Cheonan City's Paulinho. The Brazilian was linked with various K League 1 clubs but Suwon have their man, and to succeed, they need to occasionally change strategy.

Firstly, Paulinho is a brilliant player and Suwon are privileged to have him. In one-and-a-half seasons at Cheonan City, the number 10 registered 17 goals and six assists in 37 games. He's short but he's very quick, with a great turn of speed, is a set-piece specialist, and only two players have more goals than the Brazilian (9) this year. Suwon are finished with Big Bird but in Mireu, the wide expanses could really suit a player of his talent.

But didn't Suwon have a number 10 last year, and waste him on the flanks? Rodrigo Bassani scored what could have been the most important goal of Suwon's history. The attacker linked up with An Byung-jun, running hard at the FC Seoul defense, and drove home an unstoppable 20-yard effort to claim all three points.

However, Bassani was heavily criticized as a Bluewing. It is possible he just isn't a K League 1 standard operator. But it is also possible Suwon never got the best out of a player with 6 goals and 6 assists for Bucheon FC 1995 this season. For an upcoming podcast, I asked Bucheon's Takahashi Kazuki what impact Bassani has had on his team.

"He (Bassani) is amazing. He is doing very good for my team. The first game against Cheonan at home, wow, he was amazing. When he touches the ball, he always makes a difference. He is like Messi. Not, Messi, he's top dog. But Bassani is our top dog. When he has the ball, I think he is going to make a goal or an assist."

Bassani scored an incredible free kick in a 1-0 win over Gimpo last month. Taking a pass on the right flank, Bassani charged at the visiting defense before Conor Chapman hauled him down. Gimpo's defensive wall included one player lying on the turf, behind the wall, to prevent Bassani from sliding his free kick under the jumping wall. It made no difference. He did exactly that and Bucheon won a decisive game. The Japanese midfielder continued;

"He's like magic, Brazilian magic, because sometimes I get the ball, and I just look for Bassani. But sometimes I feel danger if I give the ball to a player in the middle. Maybe he will lose the ball. So sometimes I cannot pass the ball but if Bassani is there, I don't think. I just pass the ball. He's different. You can not compare him to another player."

This is the player Suwon Samsung let go in the off-season and never properly replaced. One glaring flaw in Suwon's season has been the painfully slow transition from defense to attack. The midfielders are too happy to pass it sideways and backward, without any great pace or urgency. Peter Makrillos, to his credit, has looked the most capable of releasing the frontmen quicker since his arrival from Seoul E-Land.

Let's compare Bassani's output to Suwon's headlining current attacking crop.
Fejsal Mulić: 7 goals, 0 assists. 
Kim Hyun: 4 goals, 4 assists.

Kim Ju-chan: 2 goals, 1 assist.

Son Suk-yong: 2 goals, 3 assists.
Tungara Aboubacar: 0 goals, 0 assists.

Reminder: Rodrigo Bassani: 6 goals, 6 assists.

Paulinho: 9 goals, 1 assist.

I wrote on this site before that almost every time Suwon faces K League 2 opposition, they have an inferior attacking trio. Paulinho balances the books but the danger here is the output of their current stars. The players have never found consistency despite Suwon absolutely hogging possession in most of their games.

Suwon were warned about Paulinho's brilliance when he put his side 1-0 on the stroke of halftime against the Bluewings last month. He was superb that day, comfortably Cheonan's star man, but his side lost 2-1 at the death. In an instant, he makes the team much better. Regularly for Cheonan, he played on the left of a front three and that's where he's likely to be deployed for Suwon. New manager Byun Sung-hwan trusts his 4-3-3 and while Suwon are difficult to beat, they're not winning many games.

Paulinho celebrates one of his nine goals this term.

At times, they'll have to go one up top (likely Mulić) with Paulinho playing behind him as a proper number 10. That will mean rejigging the entire front and playing four in midfield. Suwon, especially at Big Bird, are predictable and easy to defend against. Paulinho can't change that all on his own. They failed to get the best out of Bassani; the jury remains out on their latest acquisition.

If Paulinho clicks, Suwon have an outside chance of top spot. If the goals and assists dry up, we'll know for sure there's something fundamentally wrong with their setup and approach. The trip to Yongin will be fun if the Brazilian rips it up.