“I TOLD MY TRAnSLATOR I’D LIKE TO
EAT BEAnS (FEIJÃO In PORTUGUESE)
AnD HE GOT ME A PHEASAnT (FAISÃO)”
OnthewaytoTeesside,westoppedin Londonwherethechairman’s
privateplanewasreadytotakemymum,dadandI toournewhome.
‘Arewegoingtoflyinthat?’askedmydad,who’sa littlefrightenedof
flying.Thankfully,it wasa verysafetrip!WhenwelandedatTeesside
AirportwesoonspottedsomeBrazilflags,andthentherewereabout
5,000fanswaitingformeatthestadium.Theyshowedmesomuch
affection,it wasratherbeautiful.
Lookingback,I stillaskmyparentstoday,‘Howdidyouletmedress
likethatformyunveiling?’OhmyGod.I lookatthephotos,andthat
giantsuitI boughtmyselfcouldeasilyfittwoJuninhosinit.I should
havebeena laughingstock!
AsI didn’tspeaka wordofEnglish,theclubprovidedaninterpreter
forme.MyfirstpressconferencewentreallysmoothlyandtheItalian
translatorcameacrosswell.However,tomysurprise,I waslatertold
thattheguydidn’ttranslatea singlewordofwhatI’dsaid.I became
goodfriendswitha BrazilianfamilywholivedinMiddlesbrough,and
theysaidhe’djustmadeeverythingup.
It wasn’ttheonlytimethatinterpreterputmeinanembarrassing
situation.BeforemydebutathometoLeedsin1995,hetranslated
everythingthatRobsonhadsaidforme,plussomeinstructionsthat
werewrittenona board– thetimewewereallduetomeetthenext
day,forexample.Hedidn’tsayanythingabouta dresscode,though.Matchday came, and Bryan couldn’t believe his eyes when we met
on the stairs leading up to the players’ lounge – I was wearing a denim
jacket and trousers while everyone else was in a suit and tie. As soon
as I entered the lounge and my team-mates saw me, everyone burst
out laughing – I didn’t have a f**king clue what was going on! It was
as embarrassing as it was hilarious. Another time, I told the translator
that I’d like to eat some beans – feijão in Portuguese – and he brought
me a pheasant, which is called faisão back home.
As you can tell, the language barrier was difficult at first, so I took
an intensive English course. On top of that, Jaime Moreno – a Bolivian
player who was already at the club when I arrived – helped me a lot,
and I learned Spanish and English. While I didn’t pick up the language
completely, I communicated with my team-mates through gestures
in the dressing room. Both sides tried to make ourselves understood,
and I got along with them after some persistence.
As everything was different to me and my family, we learned loads
of things each day, lived a new life and only saw the positives of what
was going on. We were quite happy with what we were experiencing,
so I didn’t care much about the bad weather. The cold could be a pain
sometimes, but we were totally fine with our surroundings. All around
town, people welcomed me with open arms and affection – wherever
I went, they treated me like a king. When I first arrived, my house was
just on a regular street, so people in the community would often come
and ask me for autographs. From time to time, kids turned up playing
football, so I’d join in and offer them tips.
I’ve always been a guy who prefers to stay at home, although I was
single back then and liked to go out after matches. I knew a few good
places, like Italian restaurants, and there was also a bowling alley in
town that turned into a casino later on – I went there to have a bit of
fun. I visited a few nearby towns such as Whitby, which is famous for
its fish and chips, but something I regret not dedicating myself to was
seeing historic places across the country. I’m quite interested in that
sort of thing now, but back in the day I was still very young and a little
bit ignorant! I found all that stuff pretty boring, but I honestly regret
not doing more of it.Left Helping Sao
Paulo upset Milan
Below Touching
down on Teesside;
before rocking up
at the Riverside in
his gigantic suit
FourFourTwo November 2020 87BETWEEn
THE LInES