Andreas Pereira grew up in Belgium and was always coveted to defend the National Team of his birth country. Born to Brazilian parents, he chose the harder path. He wanted to wear the mythical Yellow Jersey. In 2018, Andreas realized his dream when he was called up by Tite to face El Salvador, breaking a taboo of almost 76 years. The last athlete of the Seleção born abroad to wear the Brazil jersey was the Argentine Adolpho Milman in 1942.
With the arrival of Dorival Júnior, Andreas returned to the Seleção. He participated in the friendly matches in Europe in March and was called up to dispute the Copa América. During this period, he has already written his name in the centenary history of the Yellow Jersey. On June 12, the Fulham midfielder was the author of the equalizing goal against the United States, in Orlando. With this goal, Andreas is the first foreigner to score for the Seleção. In the celebration, the player revealed all his love. The first gesture was to kiss the CBF symbol.
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“I’ve always been Brazilian, my heart is Brazilian, my biggest dream was to play for the Brazilian national team. I’m living this dream today, I’m very happy to be here and represent not only my family, but all of Brazil,” said Andreas Pereira.
This Friday (28), the Seleção will face Paraguay, in Las Vegas, in the second round of the Copa América. The game will be broadcast on several Grupo Globo platforms starting at 10 PM (Brasilia time). The midfielder is available to Dorival Júnior. On Monday (24), Brazil drew 0-0 with Costa Rica in their debut in the competition.
In the interview with CBF TV, he explains the option to defend Brazil. In his youth, Andreas played for the youth national teams of Belgium. He played in 27 games and scored 13 goals in the under-15 and under-17 categories.
“I was born in Belgium to Brazilian parents, a lot of people think my mother is Belgian, but my parents are Brazilian, the whole family is Brazilian. I was born there because my father played soccer in Belgium. So I grew up there, but always with a very strong connection to Brazil, with my family. Every year I traveled with my mother on vacation to Brazil to visit the family,” said the player, who has family in Londrina, Paraná.
“I’ve always had this very strong connection to Brazil and I’ve always felt like a foreigner outside of Brazil. Even in Belgium, I was always treated as a foreigner. So, for sure, when this opportunity to defend Brazil came up, it was my greatest dream to be here, I’m living the dream,” added the player, who played for Flamengo in 2011 and 2012, when he was coached by Dorival Júnior.
