Dias and Silva get mentioned a lot together, which is not surprising. As well as being another central defender who came through the Benfica academy, Silva also wears the No 66 shirt – the number that Dias had on his back when he played for the club.
Listening to coaches who have worked with both Silva and Dias, there are similarities between the two but also differences, as players and also as personalities. Indeed, he struggled to settle when he first moved to Lisbon to take up a residential place at Benfica’s academy in Seixal, after impressing at the club’s regional talent centre in Viseu. Silva’s family lived over 290km away and he ended up going back home for 12 months.
Coelho offers fascinating insight on Silva as a player and a person, including an example of why clubs need to be patient when trying to get players to come out of their shell.