Ricardo Carvalho was a surprise signing by Chelsea in 2005, when he was just out of his teens. Having grown up in the beaches of Brazil, he was the unlikely target of Chelsea’s scouts. However, a few years later, he was a key player in their Champions League triumph, and was even the Premier League’s Player of the Season. Now, he is regarded as one of the best young midfielders in Europe and he is tipped to play a huge role for Chelsea’s future.
A soccer star from Brazil with a name like Jorginho is an unusual phenomenon, but it’s true. The 24-year-old midfielder is one of the most promising young stars in the game today – with a growing reputation for his maturity, technical ability and work rate.
Jorginho was born into the world of football, but his path to the top has been far from straightforward. Aged just 9, he was spotted by a scout from Vasco da Gama, and signed up by Brazilian club Flamengo. It would have been a dream move for any young player, but for a nation that had produced no fewer than seven Ballon d’Or candidates over the last decade, it was a dream move all the more so.. Read more about messi and let us know what you think.
In Belfast, Jorginho celebrates his European Super Cup victory.
Perhaps it was appropriate that Jorginho returned to Chelsea’s training facility with silver hair after a summer of silverware.
“Terrible,” said teammate Hakim Ziyech, but it underlined the midfielder’s near-invincible confidence after a golden era in which he was crowned king of Europe.
Last month, the Italy international became just the 11th player in history to win both the Champions League and the European Championship in the same season, capping off a spectacular odyssey that began on the beaches of Brazil and ended with a historic Wembley victory.
He has subsequently won the Super Cup against Villarreal in Belfast, completing a European hat-trick in the space of 74 days.
Winning has become “addictive,” according to the 29-year-old, who claims he is “hungry” for more prizes.
Jorginho, who went away from home as a youngster to pursue his profession and claims he was forced to survive on 20 euros a week as a young player in Italy, is now being touted to win the Ballon d’Or by former Napoli and Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri.
Kai Havertz, a Chelsea teammate, told Sport: “I believe there are other really excellent players beside him who might win it, but he certainly deserves it after winning the Champions League and Euros in the same year. It’s a lot of fun playing with him.”
Lampard was persuaded by a pre-season in Dublin.
When Jorginho and Sarri both went from Napoli to Chelsea on the same day three years ago, the midfielder costing £57 million, it looked like a great fresh beginning.
After he visited the Chelsea club store with his mother Maria Tereza Freitas, who trained him as a kid and then broke down in tears when she saw Jorginho’s name on a jersey, fans were enamored with him.
However, his Chelsea chapter quickly soured due to his connection with Maurizio Sarri. Known as ‘Sarri’s son,’ he was booed by supporters who were fed up with ‘Sarri-ball,’ a passing-heavy style that lacked penetration as the team struggled in the Premier League before finishing third.
Despite winning the Europa League, Sarri departed Chelsea after one season to join Juventus in his home Italy. Jorginho was retained, although he would have to persuade new manager Frank Lampard of his value.
Lampard, Chelsea’s all-time leading scorer, and his coaching staff have concerns about the Brazil-born midfielder.
Despite this, during a pre-season trip to Dublin in the summer of 2019, he passed the exam. Lampard was shocked to discover that Jorginho was a “driver” of the squad, according to club insiders, not just in terms of what he could accomplish on the field but also in terms of his friendship with teammates.
He was quick to comfort teammates who had a poor game, but he was also open about his desire for more. Lampard chose to build the squad around him after that trip, and Jorginho has only become stronger since Thomas Tuchel took over as manager halfway through the season.
How his mother persuaded him to stay in Italy and ‘hang tough’
Jorginho claimed he “never had any concerns” about himself and will try harder to persuade the skeptics when he was jeered at Chelsea.
It’s a strategy that’s worked for him since he was a child, when he was reared by his mother in the Brazilian state of Santa Catarina.
He went to a soccer school 200 kilometers away after showing potential as a 13-year-old, and then to Italy with Verona as a 15-year-old.
It was a dream move, but Jorginho said that living on 20 euros a week and just training and going to school made it “difficult.”
Then he met Rafael, a fellow Brazilian goalie, who indicated that his agency was not being completely honest with him. “He did some research and it came out that my agent had been receiving money and I had no idea,” Jorginho stated in 2019.
“I was ready to quit up at that moment. I called home in tears, telling my mother that I wanted to return home and that I no longer wanted to play football. ‘Don’t even think about it, you’re so close,’ she replied. ‘You have to hang in there and remain strong.’”
It was sound advice from a mother who was also a good player. He got his opportunity in Serie B thanks to a loan stint and injuries in the Verona squad, and he’s only gone higher since then.
Italy is preferred above Brazil.
Jorginho has said that he has no regrets regarding his decision to play for Italy rather than Brazil.
Jorginho, who is now married to The Voice’s Catherine Harding, might have had a different sports career path.
Before joining Chelsea in 2018, Manchester City were interested in signing him from Napoli, with Marina Granovskaia, the London club’s director, describing him as “one of Europe’s most sought midfielders.”
That was mainly due to his Serie A performances, which almost led Napoli to their first league championship in 25 years and forced him to choose between his native Brazil and his adoptive homeland of Italy.
Jorginho was initially called up by the Azzurri in 2016, after a season in which he helped Napoli finish second in Serie A with fellow Brazilian Allan, then finishing third, second, and second again in subsequent seasons.
In midfield, the two developed a connection and became friends, which came in handy when they were considering their international careers. Jorginho previously said that Brazil was only interested after Italy selected him in an international friendly and that he made a “tough” choice to stick with a country for which he qualified via his great-grandfather.
“Certainly, [I wish he had played for Brazil], and we discussed it,” Everton midfielder Allan told Sport. “There was even a possibility that he would take me to Italy to play alongside him, but I picked Brazil and he chose Italy.”
“These are extremely personal choices, and he understands what he went through in Italy and made the best option possible.” I’m ecstatic for him and his decision, and I’m even more ecstatic for all he’s accomplished this season; he truly deserves it.
“He’s always put in a lot of effort and sacrifice in training, so his success comes as no surprise.”
“He was one of my closest friends in Napoli and is one of my closest friends now. He’s a wonderful person, and I hope we’ll be friends for the rest of our lives.”
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