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Murillo exclusive interview: Nottingham Forest's futsal-inspired defender eyeing big things under Steve Cooper

Murillo tells Sky Sports about his superb start at Nottingham Forest, his futsal schooling in Brazil, and his hopes of hitting "unimaginable heights" under Steve Cooper; follow Forest vs Luton on Sky Sports' digital platforms on Saturday; kick-off 3pm

Nick Wright

Comment and Analysis @nicholaspwright

Saturday 21 October 2023 15:26, UK

If you have not seen any of Murillo's first two Nottingham Forest appearances, against Brentford and Crystal Palace, it is worth seeking out footage. With his almost-square frame, the defender is hard to miss. His balletic footwork makes him hard to catch too.

It is an unusual but highly effective combination. Just ask Will Hughes, Jairo Riedewald or Marc Guehi, the three players left chasing his shadow when he embarked on a mazy dribble from inside the centre circle against Palace last weekend and almost scored an early contender for goal of the season.

"Who is this boy?" exclaimed a chuckling Alan Smith on co-commentary for Sky Sports at Selhurst Park. "It's John Barnes jinking through the middle. This is a centre-half we're looking at."

Ten days later, in conversation with Sky Sports at Forest's training ground, the mention of it brings a chuckle from Murillo too as the 21-year-old Brazilian, who already looks a bargain signing at £13.7m from Corinthians, transports himself back into the moment.

"I never really imagined that I would get an opportunity like that, but I did say to my team-mate Andrey (Santos) before the game, 'if the space opens up, I'm going to go and score!'

"Andrey was like, 'go for it!', so we said we would see what happened.

"I had the ball and I dribbled past one defender, past another defender. I'm coming up to the box, I take out another defender and at that point I'm thinking, 'I can't believe it! I'm going to score!'

"I hit the shot with my laces and the ball curved towards the goalkeeper. I think if I had hit it with my toe, or with my instep, it would have been a goal. When I watch it back, I imagine myself having scored the goal, running to the fans to celebrate…"

You sense there will be plenty of other opportunities.

Murillo is a defender first and foremost - Forest have only conceded once in two games since his introduction to the team alongside Willy Boly thanks in part to his crucial goal-line clearance against Brentford - but it is already clear he offers plenty more besides.

Across those two Forest games, only Callum Hudson-Odoi has made more successful dribbles. Only Morgan Gibbs-White has created more scoring chances. Nobody has attempted more shots.

"I'm very happy and very grateful to God for the opportunity he has given me," he says as he reflects on his rapid rise. Murillo only made his senior debut for Corinthians in April. Six months and one trans-Atlantic transfer later, he has the look of a rising star.

"I didn't think this would happen so quickly," he says.

"Before I made it as a professional footballer, things were very difficult for me in my life. But since I made it as a professional and God gave that power and that gift to me, things have been going really well.

"I feel really good about my first two games here, particularly the game against Crystal Palace because I could really show a bit of who the real Murillo is, in terms of my quality in both attack and defence.

"I think I had an excellent game."

He wasn't alone in that view. Murillo ended up with the player-of-the-match award after the goalless draw at Selhurst Park, his eye-catching performance leaving his manager Steve Cooper forlornly attempting to dampen the rising expectations around him.

"Obviously, there are areas I can improve," says Murillo. "I have to adapt and settle more. The manager is talking me through that day-to-day. But I am working hard and doing my best to be physically and psychologically prepared and good in every aspect."

Forest were not his only suitors but the decision to join them was an easy one.

"What I attracted me was that I always wanted to play in the Premier League," he says. "It was my dream to play in the best league in the world, so when Forest showed an interest, I immediately said I wanted to go and accepted with no hesitation."

The club appealed as much as the competition and Murillo is adamant they can achieve big things.

In fact, speaking to their official website after his Deadline Day arrival, he said he was targeting a Champions League spot and, eventually, the Premier League title.

They are lofty ambitions. Murillo stands by them.

"I wouldn't just sign for any club," he says. "I specifically wanted to come here and show my worth in the Premier League, and I could see that this club has a very good structure.

"Danilo and Gustavo Scarpa, who are also Brazilian, had already come from Palmeiras. Felipe was here too and, at the time, Renan Lodi as well.

"They had very good existing players and new players coming in, so I believed we could achieve great things. Working together harmoniously, I think we can reach unimaginable heights."

His admiration for Cooper is obvious.

The Forest boss resisted the urge to throw him straight into the team in September, instead giving him several weeks to bed into his new surroundings away from the spotlight. Now that he is there, though, he is being encouraged to play to his strengths.

"There is a relationship of trust between me and the club and me and the manager as well," Murillo says. "He has always made me feel at ease. He has talked to me a lot ever since I arrived. He is an excellent manager and I'm really happy to be working with him.

"In terms of how he wants me to play, what he has said to me is that he wants me to do what I was doing for Corinthians in Brazil. He wants me to put that same quality on the pitch.

"So, that's to do with the quality of my passing, playing long balls and penetrative passes. Obviously, as a centre-back, your most important characteristic is marking, but he's also looking to my passing ability."

That passing ability was clear against Palace. Before the sensational dribble from which he almost scored, there was the stunning, 60-yard diagonal from which Gibbs-White struck the post.

His technical prowess was honed on the hardcourt surfaces of Sao Paulo, where futsal, a variant of five-a-side football which uses a smaller, heavier ball and emphasises close control, skill and improvisation under pressure, is prevalent.

"I played futsal from six to 16 years old," he says. "I only started playing 11-a-side at about 10. I was very good at futsal and also at 11-a-side, so I had a difficult decision to make on which way I went. I went for 11-a-side and, obviously, it was the right decision."

His futsal schooling still shines through in elements of his technique. "We use the sole of our foot a lot in futsal and I always use that in the way I play now," he explains. "It's one of my characteristics. It helps a lot with dribbling and ball control."

The same approach has been popularised by Roberto De Zerbi's Brighton this season and there was an example of it from Murillo during Forest's 1-1 draw with Brentford.

Murillo first muscles Mathias Jensen off the ball just inside the Forest half.

He then places the sole of his left boot on the ball to coax Kristoffer Ajer into a challenge.

Ajer dives in and Murillo immediately slaloms around him, accelerating forward to launch a Forest attack.

Again, it is untypical of a centre-back. And even more so when he rounds it off by nonchalantly flicking an outside-of-the-boot pass through Ajer's legs to release his team-mate Nicolas Dominguez. But then Murillo, as we already know, is an untypical player.

"It is quite a dangerous technique here in England, because the pitches are quite wet," he says. "You have to take a lot of care and pay attention, but I am confident in my ability and my quality."

That confidence comes across as much off the pitch as on it. Carry on in the same way and Murillo, already a revelation among Forest fans, might soon be grabbing the attention of a wider audience.

Follow Forest vs Luton on Sky Sports' digital platforms from 1.30pm on Saturday; kick-off 3pm; free match highlights available from 5.15pm