Danny (@The_GFP) has blogged for the first time ever and when he talks, we listen. Give it a read and then go tell him you love him. OG
I have read quite a few articles over the last week about Arsenal’s latest Brazilian signing Gabriel Armando de Abreu, hold on I hear you say, his name is “Gabriel Paulista.” Well this is driving me nuts and it’s why I’ve decided to write my first ever blog.
Calling him “Paulista” is just wrong as Paulista is an area in São Paulo a state in Brazil where he comes from (like Islington is part of London). By this logic, Tony Adams would have been called “Tony Islington” but just calling Tony Adams “Islington” would be wrong – yes I know I’m probably being pedantic but it’s what I do best.
Remember Juninho, the twinkle-toed Middlesborough midfield genius? Well his name was often referred to as “Juninho Paulista” (his actual name is Osvaldo Giroldo Júnior) for the very same reason that our Gabriel is called Paulista. Again do you remember the Brazilian midfielder at Lyon called Juninho Pernambucano? Well Pernambucano was not his real surname or indeed his name (its Antônio Augusto Ribeiro Reis Júnior). He was born in the state of Recife in Brazil and the capital of that state is Pernambuco, so neither of these guys were actually called Juninho and their last names were where they were from (I know he was from Pernambuco but they called him Pernambucano).
Juninho Pernambucano (Antônio Augusto Ribeiro Reis Júnior) – Recife, Pernambuco, Brasil
Juninho Paulista (Osvaldo Giroldo Júnior) – São Paulo, Brazil
Gabriel Paulista (Gabriel Armando de Abreu) – São Paulo, Brazil
There are 27 states in Brazil. In England this is comparable to the 48 Counties, (Cambridgeshire, Oxfordshire, Greater London, Cornwall etc.); the USA has 50 States plus 1 Federal District, and Canada has 10 Provinces & 3 Territories. It seems though, that only Brazil use this system for nicknames – I’d be Danny Putney or Gimli would be Gimli Oxfordshire.
While I’m here, how about a quick list? I do love a list and here is my own list of every Brazilian footballer I could find that has been on the books for Arsenal (if I’ve missed any do let me know – I haven’t counted trials).
Israel (Israel Manoel da Silva Filho)
Bought From – São Paulo (Brazil) (1999)
Sold To – Flamengo (Brazil) – Free (July 2001)
Last Seen – Campinense Clube (Brazil)
Sylvinho (Sylvio Mendes Campos Júnior)
Bought From – Corinthians (Brazil) – £4,000,000 (June 1999)
Sold To – Celta Vigo (Spain) – £3,500,000 (August 2001)
Last Seen – Inter Milan (Italy) Assistant Manager
Edu (Eduardo César Daude Gaspar)
Bought From – Corinthians (Brazil) – £6,000,000 (January 2001)
Sold To – Valencia (Spain) – Free (May 2005)
Last Seen – Director of Football at Corinthians (Brazil)
(Juan) Juan Maldonado Jaimez Junior
Bought From – São Paulo (Brazil) – £300,000 (May 2001)
Sold To – Released by Arsenal in the summer of 2003 and signed for Fluminense in Brazil in early 2004
Last Seen – Esporte Clube Vitória (Brazil)
Paulo Nagamura (Paulo Roberto Corradi Nagamura)
Bought From – São Paulo (Brazil) – £450,000 (July 2001)
Sold To – LA Galaxy (USA) – Free (June 2004)
Last Seen – Sporting Kansas City (USA)
Gilberto (Gilberto Aparecido da Silva)
Bought From – Athletico Minero (Brazil) – £4,500,000 (August 2002)
Sold To – Panathinaikos (Greece) – £1,000,000 (July 2008)
Last Seen – Left Clube Atlético Mineiro (Brazil) in January 2014 but has not officially retired yet (Thanks Tim @Stillberto)
Julio Baptista (Júlio César Clemente Baptista)
Loaned from Real Madrid (Spain) (August 2006)
Last Seen – Cruzeiro (Brazil)
Denilson (Denílson Pereira Neves)
Bought From – São Paulo (Brazil) – £3,400,000 (August 2006)
Sold To – São Paulo (Brazil) – Free (July 2013)
Last Seen – São Paulo (Brazil)
Pedro Botelho (Pedro Roberto Silva Botelho)
Bought From – Figueirense (Brazil) – £1.0m (July 2007)
Sold To – Atlético Paranaense (Brazil) – Free (July 2012)
Last Seen – Atlético Paranaense (Brazil) but on loan to Atlético Mineiro (Brazil)
Eduardo (Eduardo Alves da Silva)
Bought From – Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia) – £7,500,000 (July 2007)
Sold To – Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukraine) – £6,000,000 (July 2010)
Last Seen – Flamengo (Brazil)
Wellington Silva (Wellington Alves da Silva)
Bought From – Fluminese (Brazil) – £3,500,000 (January 2010)
Last Seen – Still at Arsenal but on loan to Almería (Spain)
André Santos (André Clarindo dos Santos)
Bought From – Fenerbahce Istanbul (Turkey) – £6,200,000 (August 2011)
Sold To – Flamengo (Brazil) – Free (July 2013)
Last Seen – Figueirense (Brazil) after a short spell in India
Eduardo was born in Brazil before anyone thinks they are being clever.
I hope you enjoyed that; if you did then I have been Danny Putney. If you haven’t, I have been Gimli.
Nanoo Nanoo Cheeky Monkeys
Danny (@The_GFP)
Danny did this entire list from memory – isn’t that terrific? – OG