Brazil assistant to watch Vinicius' against Barcelona

Brazil assistant coach Sylvinho will be in attendance when Vinicius Junior and Real Madrid take on Barcelona in the Copa del Rey on Wednesday. Uncapped teenager Vinicius strung together an impressive run of form at Madrid while Gareth Bale was out with a calf injury in January, earning praise from head coach Santiago Solari. The 18-year-old scored his second LaLiga goal of the season in Sunday's 3-0 victory over Deportivo Alaves and could feature from the start against Barca in the Copa semi-final first leg at Camp Nou.

The Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) confirmed Sylvinho will take in the match as part of an eight-game schedule in Europe.

February 4, 2019

Sylvinho has already watched two AC Milan games – the 2-0 win over Napoli in the Coppa Italia on January 29 and the 1-1 draw against Roma five days later – to assess Lucas Paqueta ahead of a pair of Brazil friendlies in March. Tite's assistant has been impressed by the midfielder's impact since arriving from Flamengo in January and feels he could play an important role for the national team in future.

"He is an important athlete who has adapted well. Milan is a great club, well organised by [Gennaro] Gattuso and with tactics similar to that of the Selecao," said Sylvinho.

"The first evaluations of Paqueta in Europe are very positive, without doubt he is a player with great room to grow."

Sylvinho will attend a third Milan game – their home match against Cagliari on February 10 – as well as Paris Saint-Germain's clash with Bordeaux one day prior and Roma's Champions League game with Porto next Tuesday.