It was something of a surprise when it was announced that Macclesfield, the phoenix club of the liquidated Macclesfield Town, were signing Marcelo Pitaluga on loan from Liverpool back in July.
After all, the highly-rated teenager was a £1m signing from Fluminense back in October 2020, having impressed Alisson Becker and won the FIFA U17 World Cup with Brazil the previous year, and trained daily with Jurgen Klopp ’s first team.
Meanwhile, having won promotion as North West Counties Premier Division champions last season, Macclesfield would be competing in the Northern Premier League West Division - the eighth tier of English football.
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Admittedly early loan stints to non-league sides are not unheard of when it comes to the first senior steps of a talented young goalkeeper’s career. A look at the England squad for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and you’ll see Jordan Pickford and Nick Pope as the Three Lions first and second-choice keepers, having shone for Everton and Newcastle United this season.
But a closer look at their CVs and you’ll see stints with Darlington and Alfreton Town in the Conference Premier, and Harrow Borough in the Isthmian League Premier Division, Welling United in the Conference South and Cambridge United and Aldershot Town in the Conference Premier respectively.
Speaking to Liverpool goalkeeping coach John Achterberg, Pitaluga realised it would be a good move for him to make such a switch himself.
“John Achterberg came to see me a few weeks ago and explained it could be a good opportunity for me,” the 19-year-old revealed after making the move. “When we spoke more seriously about it, and I saw the club for myself, I really liked it and it just came naturally.
“It will be most important for me to get regular game time, and if I can help the team with good performances, clean sheets and helping our goals together, that's what it's all about.”
Macclesfield might be eighth tier but they won’t stay there for long. An ambitious side with senior professionals Neil Danns, Nicky Maynard, Luke Murphy and Mark Duffy in their ranks, they have higher aspirations in mind.
With former Leicester City and Blackburn Rovers midfielder Robbie Savage the Silkmen’s director of football, he played an integral role in convincing Liverpool to loan Pitaluga to Macclesfield in the summer.
“When you strip it down, it's incredible - a team which didn't even exist last year has signed a £2million player from Liverpool, one of the richest clubs in the world,” he was quoted by the Mirror back in July. “Marcelo was in the Brazil squad who won the Under-17 World Cup two years ago, and he is so highly-rated at Anfield that Jurgen Klopp put him on the bench four times for the first team last season.
“We would like to thank Liverpool for making it happen, and the bottom line in our deal is that Marcelo will play every week to gain experience. Even if he makes the odd mistake, he will be trusted – just as Liverpool are trusting us to look after him.
“It was vital, absolutely imperative, that we were promoted from the North West Counties Premier Division last season because different transfer rules apply to the Northern Premier League. It gave us the ability to bring in loan signings from top professional clubs and I am confident there will be more to follow.
“But this isn't a question of trying to 'buy' success, which is how a few jealous rivals see it – we can only bring in players of Marcelo's quality because we generate income from our tremendous support. Last season, Macclesfield averaged the seventh-highest average crowds in non-League football – and more than half a dozen EFL clubs.”
He continued: “Our head of recruitment, Jimmy Holmes, has his finger on the pulse of who's available for transfer or loan at all levels and he got in touch with Liverpool's loans manager David Woodfine to explore the possibility of Marcelo playing at our level.
“David knows we run Macclesfield along professional lines, training three mornings a week and with players expected to train as they play. He has seen the influence of our ex-professionals, like Neil Danns, and the prospect of playing in front of 4,000 fans every week at the Leasing.com stadium was perhaps our trump card.
“Performing in front of sizeable crowds is always a key stage of a young player's development, and we make no bones about it: We want to win our league again this season.
“I cannot thank Liverpool enough for trusting us to help in the development of a prize young asset, and hopefully it sets the ball rolling for other clubs to follow suit.”
It’s been a case of so far, so good for Macclesfield and for Savage’s promotion hopes. After 16 games, the Silkmen sit four points clear at the top of the table. Meanwhile, putting in a number of man of the match performances, Pitaluga has played an integral role in such form, keeping 11 clean sheets from 24 appearances in all competitions.
“He has been fantastic since he’s been with us,” Danns exclusively told the ECHO of his team-mate earlier in the season. “He is a great lad, is brilliant around the place and I think he has got a bright future.
“He is training with my son at the Academy, so that has been quite funny to speak with him about. Marcelo has kept a lot of clean sheets already this season and you can see the quality he brings. We are just fortunate to have such a keeper at our club.
“He can learn and gain experience at a young age of playing men’s football. Some people may look at the league and question it but, for a goalkeeper especially, this is where you can learn a lot: you’re getting clattered and there are big lads jumping into you every game.
“I think he will take a lot away from this experience and I know he is really enjoying it. Long may that continue.”
Danns’ verdict of what Pitaluga can take away from his time with Macclesfield was certainly proven right in his latest outing for the Silkmen, as they travelled to fourth-place Runcorn Linnets on Tuesday night.
Second-best for the majority of the first half, the £1m goalkeeper was repeatedly targeted by Runcorn forwards at set-pieces as they looked to unsettle the Brazilian. Yet that didn’t prevent him from making a number of good saves to keep the scores level.
The 19-year-old would get down low to tip a fierce Ryan Brooke shot across goal behind in the opening 10 minutes, and showed strong hands to parry a Jamie Rainford strike away after the forward cut inside on the half-hour mark. From the resulting corner, he'd stand tall to deny Eden Gumbs.
When Lewis Fensome headed Macclesfield ahead against the run of play soon after, it appeared Pitaluga’s heroics could play a vital part for the Silkmen once again. But then debutant Kane Drummond was dismissed for a wild challenge shortly after the break following the Brazilian’s punch away from a corner.
Brooke would equalise for Runcorn soon after the restart with a stunning free-kick the Liverpool loanee could do nothing about, before Pitaluga’s night came to a premature end. Clearing the ball upfield, he went down in agony unchallenged, prompting the physios to be called on and signalling the need for a substitution almost immediately.
While a stretcher would be brought on, the goalkeeper got back to his feet at least to walk off with the heaviest of limps, in clear pain, but he still had to be supported by a member of staff on either side. With no back-up shot-stopper on the bench, goalkeeper Fensome ended up donning the gloves, and while Macclesfield rallied well despite such setbacks, a Rainford penalty saw them suffer a 2-1 loss.
They remain top of the table regardless, though they have now played a game more than second-placed Leek Town. As a result, their four-point advantage could soon be reduced to just one, setting up a tight title-race.
Meanwhile, it remains to be seen what role Pitaluga can play in such efforts, with the goalkeeper set to undergo a scan on Wednesday after suffering suspected ankle ligament damage.
"Looks like his ankle ligaments,” Macclesfield manager David McNabb would confirm after the final whistle. “But a bit of a freak injury because the pitch is like a carpet and he's done it striking a ball with no one around him so I don't know how you do your ankle ligaments but we'll have to wait and see. I don't know [how long the layoff], I've not spoken to the physio or Marcelo."
Pitaluga, Macclesfield and Liverpool will now all have their fingers crossed for a best-case outcome, in hope that this untimely injury derails his promising campaign as little as possible. His loan has delivered exactly what all parties would have hoped for so far, and there will be a desire for that to continue when the goalkeeper is fit to return to action, whenever that might be.
The Brazilian has continued to train with the Reds in the week, and they can be expected to oversee his rehabilitation if a spell on the sidelines awaits. But Pitaluga will inevitably be itching to pull the gloves on once again, as soon as possible, and finish what he started with Macclesfield with promotion to the Northern Premier Division and the seventh tier of English football very much in the Silkmen’s sights.
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