Content warning: This article discusses suicide.
The most spectacular moment of Sebastian Coates' career arguably arrived in May 2011, when the tall centre-back suddenly decided he was going to play like Lionel Messi.
Playing for Nacional against Penarol in the Montevideo derby, Coates embarked on a mazy run up the wing, passing opponents as though they did not exist before providing a sublime assist to his best friend, Santiago 'Morro' Garcia, who duly netted the winner as Nacional leapfrogged their great rivals on the way to claiming the league title.
Immediately afterwards, Coates excelled at the 2011 Copa America, partnering Uruguay's veteran skipper Diego Lugano in defence.
Uruguay conceded just one goal in four matches with Coates on the pitch, including the majestic 3-0 thrashing of Paraguay in the final. The 20-year-old was duly crowned as the best young player of the tournament, with the sky seemingly the limit for the talented defender.
It would not be exaggeration to state that Coates was considered one of the most promising prospects in the world at the time. He was destined for superstardom, and Liverpool were delighted to sign him from Nacional for just £7 million ($11.4m).
In theory, the Reds had got themselves a bargain.
Sadly, reality proved to be different. Coates lacked consistency on the rare occasions he was named in the starting line up, and never really got a chance to prove himself under either Kenny Dalglish or Brendan Rodgers.
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He was eventually transfered to Sunderland, but failed to impress there either. By the time he left the Premier League for good on his way to Sporting C.P. in January 2016, Coates was just another overseas flop in the eyes of an English audience.
Fast-forward to the 2020-21 season, and the 30-year-old can finally be lauded as one of the most in-form centre-backs in the world.
He is at the very heart of the surge that is about to see Sporting crowned as champions of Portugal for the first time since 2002, with Ruben Amorim's side sensationally enjoying a nine-point advantage over second-placed Braga with 12 games left to play.
Sporting have won 18 of their 22 Liga NOS games thus far, with Coates the man Amorim's inexperienced side turn to when things get tough.
On Friday, he was on hand to score a dramatic winner deep in injury time to beat Santa Clara 2-1, while the Lions also have him to thank for the fact that they remain unbeaten.
In February, they were trailing 1-0 at Gil Vicente with seven minutes remaining on the clock, only for Coates to volley in the equaliser before completing a personal brace witn an injury-time header to win the game 2-1.
That was the first time Coates had scored twice in a league fixture since 2009, when he was still sharing the field with Garcia at Nacional, his great friend who tragically committed suicide in the days leading up to the the Gil Vicente fixture.
Coates had known Garcia since the age of 11, and naturally dedicated his goal's to Morro's memory following the forward's passing.
"I used to mark him during training sessions since we were kids, and we developed a very special relationship," Coates said of the striker, who spent the last four seasons at Godoy Cruz in Argentina and became the club's all-time top scorer in the first division.
"We were almost soulmates. None of us will ever be able to get over his death."
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With four goals this season, Coates has already equalled his personal best campaign in terms of output in the opposition penalty area, but his contribution to the cause is even more important at the other end.
Coates is the ultimate leader of a defence that has conceded just 11 goals in 22 games – and only three goals in 11 fixtures since the start of 2021. He is remarkably stable, and has barely put a foot wrong throughout the entire campaign.
Such growth would likely stun Liverpool and Sunderland supporters, and even the Sporting faithful have been pleasantly surprised with his development.
Coates has been a popular figure in Lisbon ever since joining the club, but he was still prone to the odd disastrous game, during which he would generally make unnecessary mistakes and score own goals.
As recently as August 2019, he amazingly committed three fouls that led to penalties in a 3-2 home defeat to Rio Ave – a run that eventually earned him a red card for the final indiscretion.
In short, Coates used to embody the fortunes of Sporting – the long-suffering club who were considered to be perennial losers in Portugal.
That fate has changed completely since Amorim was lured from Braga in March 2020, with the 36-year-old, former Benfica midfielder regarded as one of the very best young managers in the world.
His influence at Estadio Jose Alvalade was immediate, and with Amorim on the bench, Sporting have become an extremely solid unit of self-confident players, with Coates just one of the individuals to have improved beyond recognition.
The irony is that Sporting are about to win a long-awaited, historic title just 18 months after their brightest star, Bruno Fernandes, was sold to Manchester United. Coates replaced the Portugal playmaker as captain last January, and his leadership qualities are supreme.
"Sebastian has to mentor the young players now, and that made him more mature," Tribuna Expresso journalist Lidia Paralto Gomes tells Goal. "He is a very intelligent person, who gives good replies to very tricky questions, and doesn't give dull answers like most of the players.
"Such an attitude should have a strong effect in the dressing room too."
Amorim's tactical switch has also played an important role, with the young tactician having integrated a 3-4-2-1 system, which in turn allows Coates to play as an old-fashioned libero between two other central defenders.
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He was error-prone when Sporting used a 4-3-3 formation in previous seasons, due to him having less cover as he tried to build the game from defence himself. Now, he shares those responsibilies with others, and the plan suits him perfectly.
"The new tactics provide more stability, and Joao Paihinha is doing an amazing job as defensive midfielder. Coates is better protected, and covers other players well," Sport TV Portugal commentator Luis Catarino tells Goal.
"His partners at the back - Zouhair Feddal and Goncalo Inacio - are very good passers, and thus the Uruguayan doesn't have to make risky plays himself. All that enables him to play freely and gain a lot of confidence."
All this is helping Coates to finally fulfill his potential. He has won the Portuguese Cup already, and lifted the League Cup three times (the last one in January as captain after beating Porto in the final), but triumphing in the league would go down as his greatest club achievement to date.
Doing so would provided him with his first league title since 2011, when he was playing with the late Morro Garcia and running up the flank like Messi.
Tragedy casts its shadow, but Coates is now playing the best football of his career. How Liverpool could do with a centre-back of his ability now.
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