Back in the last summer window, Sport Witness travelled to the city of Osasco, in Brazil, to get to know the roots of Manchester City goalkeeper Ederson.
We spoke to his former coaches Gilberto Lopes and Osias Matos, who discovered his talent in the neighbourhood club and then took him to São Paulo Futebol Clube.
Several outlets have done the same story since then, but few managed to find an angle from his time at São Paulo, something that A Bola does very well on Monday.
The Portuguese newspaper managed to speak to Juninho, the goalkeeper who played with Ederson at São Paulo, and was the main reason why the Manchester City star had to move to Portugal in search of new chances.
“He was very good, talented, left-footed, good with his feet, but could only play, right,” Juninho told A Bola.
“So he got tired and left for Portugal, I think he suffered a bit in his evolution for being skinny, so thin, his nickname was… fat.”
But the real twsit in the story is that Juninho could never succeed as a goalkeeper. After leaving São Paulo, he kept changing clubs who didn’t pay him right. That’s when he chose to get a new job, as a car mechanic.
“I almost fell into depression and I preferred to come and work for my cousin Renato’s repair shop here in Taquaritinga.
“I take care of the hydraulic part, the gearbox, everything connected to the steering wheel.”
He now works as a mechanic during day and plays for local club Monte Altense at night.
“But my dream is to reach a first division of the State championship, the Serie A of the Brazilian league, or who knows, playing abroad.”
