Racism in Lithuania, Depression, recovery in the fourth division, Corinthians, Titus, proposal (refused) Inter Milan, Tottenham, World Cup in Brazil, China, Titus (again), return to Seleção, Messi invitation, Barcelona , premature twins, and (ufa) another World Cup (now in Russia). One could say that Paulinho's little more than 10 years of professional career was very intense, a real roller coaster, the midfielder reported in a text published Sunday in The Players Tribune.
– Messi came to me. We were playing a friendly match against Argentina in Australia. The referee had just fouled us, and I was standing on the ball with William and another player. I hit the ball, but I would not have missed it, "says Paulinho, revealing his first invitation to play in Barcelona, and he adds:"
"Suddenly, Messi comes to meet me, look straight into your eyes and say, "So … are we going to Barcelona or not?" Paulinho in "The Players Tribune" (Photo: Reproduction / "The Players Tribune") "title =" Paulinho in "The Players Tribune" (photo: reading / "The Tribune Players") "src =" data: image / jpeg; base64, / 9j / 4AAQSkZJRgABAQAAAQABAAD / 2wBDAAMCAgMCAgMDAwMEAwMEBQgFBQQEBQoHBwYIDAoMDAsKCwsNDhIQDQ4RDgsLEBYQERMUFRUVDA8XGBYUGBIUFRT / 2wBDAQMEBAUEBQkFBQkUDQsNFBQUFBQUFBQUFBQUFBQUFBQUFBQUFBQUFBQUFBQUFBQUFBQUFBQUFBQUFBQUFBQUFBT / wgARCAAOABkDASIAAhEBAxEB / 8QAFwAAAwEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABQcIBP / EABYBAQEBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIDBP / aAAwDAQACEAMQAAABD09NInO3fgktoTX / xAAcEAACAgIDAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAEBQAGAxQBAhL / 2gAIAQEAAQUCSoGmW0ZDxl4iJ / wa528UqdtErNev9j7OxV / guaIc / 8QAGREAAgMBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIBEiEx / 9oACAEDAQE / Adbo622D / 8QAGhEAAgIDAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAECEhEhMf / aAAgBAgEBPwFYhwtXTP / EACUQAAIBAwMCBwAAAAAAAAAAAAECAwAEEQUSMTNBEyEiQoGS0f / aAAgBAQAGPwKzvXi32i hpVlRwPIjsaElzMlvGoALSHAFai51GKWxbpAyDGQfb8VyKggeCWRzmRmTHc1bJEmyCPEpD8sTUMLAqPG3FhzjFdE + / dv2v / 8QAHhAAAgICAg MAAAAAAAAAAAAAAREhUQAxEGGBkbH / 2gAIAQEAAT8hbpxC2uVjGujmZaZwQSjCiEKSfHDat48E9hoDGM8SQEaofTgGFlh7C9cKf / / // aAAwDAQACAAMAAAAQ3Q xAAYEQADAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAREhYf / aAAgBAwEBPxB3x0pUUf / EABsRAAIBBQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABESExQWGx / 9oACAECAQE / EI9Wh5l36f / EAB0QAQEAAwACAwAAAAAAAAAAAAERACExEEFhgfH / 2gAIAQEAAT8QXTeGHldIikvLzBQ41gA4rdB1zYWAiA2jsM0VXXP0jOzPtQQAHQPrFlT900o0DR3vwYHyq1kIa6Xjft9 + AX // 2Q == "/> [19659004] in Paulinho ” The Players Tribune “(Photo: Lecture /” Les joueurs Tribune “)” title = “Paulinho dans” The Players Tribune “(Photo: Reproduction /” The Players Tribune “)” data-src = “https://s2.glbimg.com/J2F3vAlAiZ6iDdWnB09tU_DFhmY=/0x0:1632×928/984×0/smart / filters: strip_icc () / i.s3.glbimg.com/v1/AUTH_bc8228b6673f488aa253bbcb03c80ec5/internal_photos/bs/2018/h/O/nJAFQDQtOAf3hrAxwaVQ/paulinho.png “/>
Paulinho in" The Players Tribune "(Photo:" The Players Tribune "
Messi, incidentally, is quoted in another pbadage of the text, this time from an episode 10 years ago. At that time, Paulinho was returning from an experience where he was a victim of racism in Lithuania and, in the depression, he was thinking about leaving football.
– When I was 19, I completely abandoned football. During one month, I stayed at home with depression. That happened around the end of the year 2008. Messi was about to win the triple crown for Barcelona, and me on the couch, thinking about what he would do for the rest of his life. I had just arrived in Brazil, after playing in Lithuania and Poland, which was a traumatic experience.
In Lithuania, he played in Vilnius, according to Paulinho, an old medieval town of the type seen in the movies. Despite not speaking the local language and the differences with Brazil, the place itself was not a problem. Until the day when, walking in the city with his teammates, an ultras group went to meet them and …
"Well, I get angry always when I have to talk about that day but they started to imitate the monkeys and offend us … I mean, we did not bother anyone, we just went to the bakery. "
After the traumatic experience, he returned to Brazil to resume his career in Pão de Açúcar, the fourth division of São Paulo. It was only the beginning of the trajectory that would lead Paulinho to two World Cups as the Brazilian national team.
Discover below other excerpts from Paulinho's text or read here in full the text of the "Players Tribune" .
The Corinthians and the Relationship with Titus
It was a very delusional situation when my manager phoned me and told me that Inter needed to talk to me. a response in 15 minutes. It was just before the training started, so I ran to Tite's office and told him what was going on, and I said, "Professor, I do not know … It's Inter. It's one of the biggest clubs in the world. "
And Titus said," Look, that's your decision. " I'd like you to stay, but that's your life Go into the locker room and think about it and when you decide, go to the field, if you're going to stay, make that gesture (the sign of joinha); If you go out, do this other gesture (thumb down) Paulinho and Titus in Corinthians: a long-term relationship (Photo: Daniel Augusto Jr. / Agencia Corinthians) [titre] Paulinho and Titus in Corinthians: a long-term relationship (Photo: Daniel Augusto Jr. / Corinthian Agency) "src =" data: image / jpeg; base64, / 9j / 4AAQSkZJRgABAQAAAQABAAD / 2wBDAAMCAgMCAgMDAwMEAwMEBQgFBQQEBQoHBwYIDAoMDAsKCwsNDhIQDQ4RDgsLEBYQERMUFRUVDA8XGBYUGBIUFRT / 2wBDAQMEBAUEBQk FBQkUDQsNFBQUFBQUFBQUFBQUFBQUFBQUFBQUFBQUFBQUFBQUFBQUFBQUFBQUFBQUFBQUFBQUFBT / wgARCAARABkDASIAAhEBAxEB / 8QAGQAAAgMBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAcDBQYI / 8QAFgEBAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAgAB / 9oADAMBAAIQAxAAAAHCbOkZNq119pASlOgwVUqcNH // xAAdEAACAgIDAQAAAAAAAAAAAAADBAIFABUGFDQz / 9oACAEBAAEFAoUbIIm7RRK15BQ3jmGtzNNLDsdm2vFO63gMb8VP7uWfbP / EABoRAAEFAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABEBESQVH / 2gAIAQMBAT8BvGCHW EAB0RAAICAQUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABAxEhAhMyQXH // / // 2gAIAQIBAT8B2lh2SJ3gk5aPCTo 8QAKRAAAQMDAgMJAQAAAAAAAAAAAgABAwQREhMxITJzEBQjNEFxkqKxwf / aAAgBAQAGPwKn1Xl71LYxZi2TBUUzYxg4C + KhqtMZbtcDvfiy8t9U8lRIMfiAAOI8rZcFSPPHHosezFuXo6aXTxyjciCHl utpfg6frN QD3 + / ih6Z9n // EACIQAAIBAwMFAQAAAAAAAAAAAAERQQAhMRBhcVGBkaGx8P / aAAgBAQABPyHpF2gcnCgTDoi4WoExYlTQLDpUXdCdjW / 8qBtbVLAFbk1iPUjpBFiJXFIVUocAZXfXKH3P1X7W2n // 2gAMAwEAAgADAAAAEA / g / f / EABsRAQACAwEBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAEAESExcUFh / 9oACAEDAQE / EFrAw18w yrfYb7YbZ + // xAAgEQABAwIHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABABEhMVFBcaGxweHw / 9oACAECAQE / EHjBcPNZGHoQwXC3a0jZVZOSv // EAB4QAQEAAgICAwAA AAAAAAAAAAERACEQMVHwQXHB / 9oACAEBAAE / EKRhjTKiSLAKqgxreD3k2G9IPn4x4NDqWpKsUGD29b4kJ8AgQkVtCnTPqYV / tqW7hYR1HehMei9UAU3ulC9rnp / 2Q == // 5nsfPgT6nzw Paulinho and Titus in Corinthians: a long-term relationship (Photo: Daniel Augusto Jr / Agência Corinthians) [/ photo] Paulinho and Titus in Corinthians: long-term relationship (Photo : Daniel Augusto Jr / Agencia Corinthians) "data-src =" https://s2.glbimg.com/Gm_Uik5Q364c65LEkqZykstu-00=/0x0:2000×1333/984×0/smart/filters:strip_icc()/s.glbimg.com/en / ge / f / original / 2015 Paulinho and Titus in Corinthians: a long-standing relationship (Photo: Daniel Augusto Jr / Agencia Corinthians)
I called my manager and I told him my decision, and he said: "Are you sure?"
I said, "Certainly."
I entered the field and when Titus saw me, I waited for two seconds just to create a suspense, then I did the joinha that I would stay (in Corinthians).
In the next transfer window, Tottenham received an offer from Guangzhou Evergrande, I thought, "Why not?"
My friends thought, "Oh, God, I thought you were leaving." that I had gone crazy.
They even wrote me saying, "China? What are you going to do in China?"
I replied: "China, man! Let's see." [19659023IliveaccordingtowhatDaniAlvesoncesaidtomewhenIwasgoingthroughadifficultperiodofmylifeHesaid"We'rejustkidsplayingintherainmanifthat'swrongthenwhat?"Isittheendoftheworld?!Noman
Paulinho reports an experiment with Felipão in Guangzhou [1] [2] [3] Evergrande (Photo: Ospor ts)
I've been playing football all my life, all over the world, and one thing I've learned is that the most important thing is to enjoy your work.You have to go to go to bed and look at the wall thinking, "Hey, I can not wait for the sun to come up to feel the ball on my feet. "
You can only play the best football in these conditions. If you play in the best league in the world and you feel miserable, what are you doing there? People said that my career was over when I went to Guangzhou Evergrande, but … well, when I was driving the bus into the fourth division in Brazil, no one knew who I was. I was in the grave, dude. I was dead to the world.
So, was I going to play China with Luiz Felipe Scolari as a coach? Does it sound so bad? To tell you the truth, I was happy with my decision
Drama on arrival in Barcelona
But I would like to share here something that many people do not know. Many people come from outside and say, "Wow, you went from China to Barcelona. What an incredible story. What a miracle. "But in fact, when I signed with Barcelona, it was one of the most dramatic moments of my life.
At that time, my wife was pregnant with twins. It was theirs to be born in December, just before Christmas.One day only in October, my wife told me that she felt a lot of pain and that she needed me to Take her to the doctor right away She still refused to go to the hospital for anything, so I knew something was wrong
When we arrived At the hospital, they did exams and took her directly to the USI.Our twins wanted to be born, but only 28 weeks had pbaded. extremely dangerous.The doctors wanted her to wait another two weeks before giving birth so that babies' lungs could develop at that time.
Paulinho faced Olympiacos for the Champions League while living a drama family. Will they live? "
But my wife was a fighter.He held her for 7 days … 14 days … 20 days
For several nights, I slept in the lounge chair. But during the day, I had to keep playing football.On October 30, he played a match against Olympiacos in Greece, there was nothing I could do.
Tonight I received a phone call from my wife, saying that our daughter, Sophie, and that our son, Zé Pedro, were born.
She detained her for 21 days.J & # 39; I cried a lot, I would have liked to be there to see them come into the world, but they were there.It's what counts.
Both had to stay in an incubator at the time. Hospital for another two months They were not yet strong enough to go home At that time, football did not seem so important People were talking about how I had played well for Barcelo no, but in my heart it was a very difficult time for me. There were days when I got up to train and I kept thinking about my kids connected to tubes at the hospital.
I have to give credit to my wife. She was a hero. For my part, I only played football. She had to fight for the lives of our children. It's unimaginable the strength that a mother can find when her children are in danger.
:strip_icc()/i.s3.glbimg.com/v1/AUTH_bc8228b6673f488aa253bbcb03c80ec5/internal_photos/bs/2018/h/O/nJAFQDQtOAf3hrAxwaVQ/paulinho.png)
