We may now have got used to watching the likes of Philippe Coutinho, David Luiz and Gabriel Jesus playing in England, but things haven’t always been like this.
Brazilians actually took a long time to start doing well in the Premier League, and that’s why the first one to be signed by an English club still takes some credit to this day.
Bought by Newcastle United back in 1987, Mirandinha had a solid career playing in Brazil, but is still much remembered for his time abroad.
The former Newcastle striker has been invited to ESPN Brasil show Bola da Vez, which will be aired on Tuesday night, but their website already has some of the brilliant quotes from the interview.
Mirandinha was first asked if there was any kind of prank when he arrived at Newcastle, and mentioned that classic story when he told the boss he was ‘f****** hungry’.
“I suffered. The first of them was Gazza, he played with me in the first game. In the first game against Norwich City. We went to play in Norwich and there it’s common before going to the game, to stop in a certain place and order fish and chips or chicken and chips for you to eat after the game. These days there’s a private plane, at the time it was a bus. Then the bus stops at the place, the staff goes down and picks up those boxes of chicken with potatoes, fish with potatoes and bread, and we would eat on the bus.
Asked when was the first time the Newcastle players took him to the pub, Mirandinha said: “He took me right after my presentation. It was not even in a pub. It was in a restaurant in Newcastle named Tuxedo Princess, which is on a boat that is anchored there on the Tyne River.
“And then he got there and they had to reserve room for us because he couldn’t walk on the street, and I was with him, it was worse. There on the first night there was already a confusion. The other day, a girl came and wanted to report that we had made out with them and everything, but it was all history. Nothing had happened. Then the club staff had to make a damn manoeuvre so it wouldn’t go to The Sun’.”
Mirandinha still had a lot more to talk about his friendship with Gazza.
“Paul had to be negotiated with Tottenham in 1988 because there were situations where he didn’t think of the consequences. He had a driver named Jimmy, who we called Fat Jimmy, because he was a huge fat man. He was a childhood friend of his.
“One day Jimmy was driving the convertible BMW down the road to take Paul to London to sign with Tottenham, and Gazza simply went to the backseat of the car. He dropped his shorts and went a long part of the way to London with the butt to the outside. He was like that, total madness.”
“We created a situation in which he and I would go into conflict to make stories, even to show up more. Every exclusive that you do in England, newspapers and magazines pay good money. Then, Gazza did everything to tidy up more money.
“I recently met Gazza and several of his teammates from the time and today Paul is a lot better, more restrained and treated, but he’d been really bad… Now he’s better.”
ESPN reporters still asked Mirandinha if leaving Newcastle was not his best choice and he confirmed it.
“Leaving Newcastle was the biggest regret of my career. I would still be there today for sure. When I left, a person who loved me and only went to the stadium when I played, took over, it was Sir John Hall, who bought 51%. He told me to go back to England, but I ended up saying no to stay at Palmeiras because there was the promise of playing the 1990 World Cup.
“It turned out that I did not go, even though I was very good in that period, they took Romario with a broken foot. I don’t have anger against Lazaroni, nor hard feelings, but I was sad because that’s what was missing in my career.”
