Richarlison’s two goals on his World Cup debut made him an even bigger star in Brazil, with the local media having several stories about him.
A good one is today featured by ESPN Brasil, who managed to interview João Pedro Sousa, Marco Silva’s assistant at Watford.
The coach, who’s now in charge of Portuguese side Famalicão, recalled Richarlison’s arrival at the Hornets.
“We were still in pre-season when we saw the first images of him. As soon as we saw it, we quickly accelerated the process so that we could sign him,” João Pedro Sousa told ESPN Brasil.
“Richarlison likes to joke. When he comes to the game, he’s very serious. But, everything else is a joke. I don’t know a person who doesn’t like him. A curious situation. When he arrived in England, he didn’t speak a word of English and couldn’t communicate.
“But, in the first few days, we found Richarlison, don’t ask me how, communicating with an English player for hours. He didn’t know any English and the English player didn’t know a word of Portuguese, but they laughed for hours. It was amazing how he managed that.
“As with Watford or Everton, I cannot understand how he communicated, especially with the referees. Sometimes Marco Silva and I would turn to each other and ask: ‘What is he saying to the referee? In what language?’. We all like him. He imitated Neymar, he’s an unconditional fan of his. Sometimes he played goalkeeper. I miss him a lot.”
It was in the summer of 2017 that Watford only spent €12.4m to sign Richarlison from Fluminense. In his time at Vicarage Road, the Brazilian had five goals and five assists in 41 appearances.
Those stats may not sound impressive, but were enough for Marco Silva to convince Everton’s board to sign him from the Hornets for €39.2m. There, Richarlison stayed for four years, and had 53 goals and 13 assists in 152 appearances.
Having clearly reached his peak, the striker ended up signed by Tottenham Hotspur in a €58m deal this summer, just months before he leads Brazil with the No.9 shirt at the World Cup.
