Richarlison, Brazil’s goal scorer against Serbia, once had a gun pointed at his head by a drug trafficker, sold ice creams to help mom put food on table

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Richarlison, the tall and well-built Brazilian striker and the toast of the World Cup after scoring two goals in Brazil’s 2-0 win over Serbia has feet which can create magic and a heart which is in the right place.

Richarlison scored two second half goals, one a spectacular and acrobatic bicycle kick to get Brazil’s campaign off to a flying start. The 25-year old has scored nine goals in seven games for Brazil this season to emerge as a star in a team which has nine forwards, including Neymar.

After the game Richarlison came up with a charming quote. “As our professor Tite (coach) says, ‘you are smelling goals’, and that is what is happening.” He broke the jinx of the No.9 jersey. Gabriel Jesus had worn it four years ago but didn’t find the back of the net.

The striker who has also been compared to Cristiano Ronaldo for his speed and physical prowess has come up hard way.

He was not born with a silver spoon in his mouth. His father was a mason and his mother sold ice candy. The Nova Venecia area where he grew up wasn’t the safest of places with drugs and dirty money being the norm. Richarlison was the eldest of five children so there were days when some of them went to bed on an empty stomach.

Brazil’s Richarlison scores his second goal during the World Cup group G soccer match between Brazil and Serbia, at the Lusail Stadium in Lusail, Qatar, Thursday, Nov. 24, 2022. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)

Richarlison did his bit to put food on the table.

“A majority of my friends went to sell drugs on the street. Because they saw easy money, a lot of money.But I knew it was wrong, so I sold chocolate, ice cream and washed cars because I knew that was the right thing and I could help my mother,” Richarlson told The Times.

Though he stayed away from trouble because of the good advice from coaches and his mother, Richarlison has had close shaves. He recalled that he was playing in a street and a drug trafficker thought he was one of the children who had stolen from him. He could have lost his life that day. “At that moment I was very afraid. Because if they pulled the trigger then it was over. He told us if he found us again he would shoot us without any problem. Me and my friends…” Richarlison was just 14 years old.

A gift that saved him, apart from his soon to be discovered football talent, was the footballs his father gifted him.

“When I was seven my dad bought ten balls for me, not because he could afford to do it but because he wanted me to be a good footballer. Most of the time my friends and I played on the street, making goals with our scandals. It was like a favela, a poor area,” Richarlson told The Sun in an interview.

The footballing Gods were kind to him though and he got his first break when a local business man, impressed by his skills, not only got him a new pair of boots but also took him to America Mineiro, a second division club, for the scouts to take a look at him. A year later not only was he playing for Mineiro but he got a call from Fluminense. His career has soared as he moved to Watford then to Everton before Tottenham shelled out 60 million pounds for him this year. He was Everton’s most expensive signing.

Brazil’s Richarlison celebrates after he scored the first goal during the World Cup group G soccer match between Brazil and Serbia, at the Lusail Stadium in Lusail, Qatar, Thursday, Nov. 24, 2022. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)

But things weren’t always as smooth for Richarlson. He recalls how he struggled to get a break as clubs had rejected him time and again.

“I haven’t got enough fingers to count the number of clubs who have rejected me. I was ready to give up football but I lifted my head and I went to Belo Horizonte with just the money for an onward ticket for the last trial I had. If I didn’t make it, I had no money to get home.”

Off the field Richarlison too has made news by speaking up on issues – from racism, to fires in Pantanal, to police killings and even lack of electricity.

After he scored a goal in Brazil’s 2-0 win over Uruguay in late 2020, Richarlison raised the issue of lack of proper electricity supply in a region.

“Sadly the people of Amapa will not be able to see my goal today because they have not had electricity for two weeks,” Richarlison said. “They are going through difficult times and I hope they get a solution. I wanted to dedicate the goal and the victory today to all the Amapaenses.”

Richarlson has used his public image as a rising star to highlight police excesses too.

Botched up police raids which allegedly killed Joao Pedro, a 14 year-old, and another tragic incident when security guards beat to death Joao Alberto Silveira outside a supermarket

He was also outspoken when there was racism directed at the team during a friendly against Tunisia in October.

A banana was thrown in his direction, among other things as he celebrated the team’s second goal in the 5-1 win.

“The punishment needs to be more severe. When that person threw the banana there, I ended up leaving it to the side and celebrating the goal with my teammates. I left it there and kept my focus on the pitch. But as I said, this type of thing needs to be punished so that other people don’t do the same,” Richarlson said after the game.

People close to him say Richarlison has become more vocal after becoming a regular with Brazil and the confidence he has gained has also made him more sure of the stands he wants to take.