"Success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice, and most of all, love of what you are doing or learning to do."
That famous quote from Brazilian football icon Pele epitomises his compatriot’s Newcastle United story so far. Arriving as a £40million record signing in 2019, Joelinton was given the unforgiving task of filling the goalscoring void left by Salomon Rondon and Ayoze Perez.
Asking a young player to lead the line - an unfamiliar position - while adapting to a new country and league, placed a burden on the prospect. The number nine shirt weighed heavily on Joelinton's shoulders, causing his confidence - and form - to plummet.
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Two years of failure saw the Brazilian labelled a laughing stock and his days on Tyneside looked numbered. This time 12 months ago, finding a Toon fan who rated Joelinton seemed an impossible task.
However, a stunning transformation under Eddie Howe has earned the 26-year-old cult hero status at St James’ Park. Now a bulldozing, box-to-box, midfielder enforcer, Joelinton endeared himself to the Toon Army in 2021-22 to help stave off the threat of relegation.
His efforts saw him christened as the Magpies’ player of the season in May - an unimaginable feat a few months previously. Like Lazarus and Christ, Joelinton’s Newcastle career had also risen from the dead.
Football is akin to religion in Brazil; it is most young childs’ dream to replicate Pele, Garrincha, Zico, Ronaldinho or Ronaldo and don the famous yellow shirt with blue shorts.
For Joelinton, his aspirations are no different.
“Getting in the Brazil team is an ambition,” he said last month. “It’s a dream. I hope I can do it. My game is getting better and if I keep doing that, I hope it can be a reality.”
As it stands, the Toon talisman has only represented his country - four times - at under-17 level. Against West Ham United this weekend, the fans’ favourite has the perfect opportunity to audition for the international stage.
Best friends Bruno Guimaraes and Lucas Paqueta, two Brazil regulars, could go head-to-head at the London Stadium on Sunday. The national team manager, Tite, will no doubt be attracted to the prospect of two of his players competing against each other in the Premier League.
Should Joelinton dazzle in a similar fashion to what Newcastle fans have become accustomed to, he could emerge as the latest South American star from the talent pool. With all eyes on Guimaraes and Paqueta - the man who was perennially linked with Newcastle in the summer - Joelinton has the chance to steal the show.
Doing so would stand him in good stead to fulfil his international dream. The hard work, perseverance, and sacrifice Pele spoke about have typified the Magpies warrior over the last year. Replicating that for another 90 minutes could be the final hurdle for Joelinton to achieve a lifelong dream.
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