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With less than a month to go before Carlo Ancelotti announces the Brazil squad for the World Cup, Endrick has been reborn in his nation’s canary yellow shirt. But the 19-year-old prodigy has struggled this season and had to overcome “a night of doubts” before Brazil faced Croatia in late March.
With opportunities limited at Real Madrid after the arrival of Xabi Alonso, Endrick was loaned to Lyon, where his comeback began. He has played 18 matches in France, scoring seven goals and providing seven assists. His form caught Ancelotti’s eye, but before that match in Orlando, the Brazil head coach said that Endrick was a player for the future, not for the present.
Those comments were seen in some quarters as signalling the end of the striker’s hopes of playing at this summer’s World Cup. “It was a night of doubts and a sense of urgency – I knew it could be my last chance,” says Endrick. “I prayed a lot. I knew that day could be a turning point for me. I played well, one of my best performances. I managed to shake off those negative thoughts, that sense of urgency, that pressure to play well, that it might be my last chance. That helped me take the weight off my shoulders because I knew I had to play well to make it to the World Cup. But I managed to shake off that thought, I didn’t let it affect me and played a great game.”
Endrick was on the pitch for just 15 minutes. Brazil were leading 1–0, but not playing well and conceded the equaliser as soon as he came on. But Endrick brought a new direction and earned a penalty, which Igor Thiago converted. He then provided an assist for Gabriel Martinelli to seal a 3–1 victory.
Endrick is part of a generation of Brazil players who must carry the weight of not winning a World Cup for 24 years.
Being a Brazil international comes with its own unique pressures but Endrick assures that this is a thing of the past. “I no longer pay attention to what others say. When you take all that out of your life, things get easier.
”When I stepped back, I focused only on playing football and doing my best for my team. Once you ignore what happens off the pitch, you start performing better on it. That’s the key for footballers. Work hard for the team and don’t worry about the criticism.
“When I started out, I handled social media and criticism very badly. I’d come off the pitch and would head straight to Twitter [now X], to social media, to see what people were saying about me. I wanted to have my ego inflated. But that’s not a good thing. Thank God that period is over. When the match is over, I stay calm and focus on my recovery. I don’t care about that criticism any more.”
Besides the World Cup, Endrick is also looking forward to becoming a father. His wife Gabriely is expecting their child for the end of the year. The couple doesn’t know the baby’s sex yet, but the player doesn’t want the son to follow in his footsteps in football “so he can have a peaceful life”.
“I hope he or she becomes a great person, a great human being. And that he sees me off the pitch as a normal person, not as Endrick the footballer. Football isn’t a nice place. It’s a very tough environment. I hope he or she becomes a lawyer, a doctor or anything else, and can be happy in his own world.”
Endrick has managed to mature amid so many changes in his life. Even the period without games at Real Madrid, when he played only three times in six months, he sees as important in this process as a thigh injury kept him off the field for a quarter of a year.
“I had a complicated injury and lost a lot of time. It kept me away from many matches, training and work. I couldn’t compete. When you get injured, you lose everything. You lose the chance to fight for a place. These are things beyond my control,” he says.
“I was really afraid. I cried several times. That’s something you do in private. I didn’t know how to deal with my injury, what to expect. You don’t know if you’ll have a relapse, if you’ll keep your strength, if you’ll come back weaker. That affects you a lot. You get scared of the future. But I knew I had to keep going. If I’d had another injury, I’d have gone through the whole process again. I knew that when I came back, I’d have to give it my best..”
Endrick has relied on the help from his Real teammates, especially Jude Bellingham, the England midfielder who has surprised him in his daily life in Madrid. “Bellingham was really important to me. He made me feel welcome at the club. I didn’t speak English very well, but he spoke to me, tried to speak a bit of Spanish, was by my side and gave me advice.
“His friendship was important to me in my beginning at Real Madrid. That really had an impact on me. I had a certain impression of him before I arrived, but he was completely different. He’s an incredible player and an incredible person too, especially when it comes to friendship. That’s what impressed me the most about him.”
Luka Modric, too, dazzled the young Brazilian when he arrived in the Spanish capital. Endrick says the Croatian “was the player who most impressed me at Real Madrid: 100%. He’s a guy who taught me a lot in my first year. Not just in training, but also in matches. It was a football masterclass. He was 40 years old and very strong. He trained every day. When he wasn’t playing, he’d go to the club and train, doing his own extra training. The way he plays is incredible. He always gave me tips, telling me what I should do on the pitch. That helped me a lot. He was one of the most incredible guys I’ve ever met in football.”
Brazil’s World Cup opening fixture is against Morocco on 13 June. Endrick’s place in Ancelotti’s squad is not secured yet and he has three more games for Lyon to keep his World Cup dream alive.
“My first desire is to play the World Cup. I need to be there. That’s my first thought. Before thinking about the title, I need to do my job well at Lyon. I’m focused here. I need to play well in these remaining games to secure my place. My dream is to play the World Cup and help my country. I’ll do my best to help Brazil.”
