He arrived in Portugal at the age of 17 and is now 40. Pepe renewed his contract with Porto for another year this Sunday.
This morning, in an interview with TSFCoach Nelo Vingada recalled the moment when, as Marítimo coach, he advised president Carlos Pereira to hire a boy who played for Corinthians Alagoano.
“At the request of the president” of the Brazilian club, Nelo Vingada and Carlos Pereira witnessed the training of “a very young player”, at just 17 years old.
“We went to observe Pepe and, obviously, at the end of the training match, my technical opinion was that it was worth bringing Pepe in because it would surely be an economic investment, which it was not, but it probably had a level of security. and a potential that, if it developed in a normal way, he would surely have a return, in the event that I was watching, sporty, “says the coach.
After training and playing in the youth teams and after demonstrating his quality, Pepe is called by Nelo Vingada to the Marítimo first team and his debut is curious.
“He made his debut at that time, in a game against Porto, curiously, playing defensive midfielder, a little above Deco and, in fact, he had a remarkable game. We beat Porto [treinado por] Mourinho 2-1 and had a remarkable game playing, ultimately, in a position that was not his original one, but which indicated that he actually had enormous potential, because he was very fast, very aggressive, very determined”, describes Vingada.
The coach also assures that Pepe evolved with his own work and professionalism, but points out that he also “had the happiness” of having the Dutch player Mitchell van der Gaag by his side, a “leader” that Vingada defends as “one of the benchmarks [de Pepe] at the beginning of his career.”
The Porto central defender and captain thanked the dragons for their confidence in a new contract renewal. A long career, also explained by the professionalism that he showed from the beginning, recalls Nelo Vingada.
Certain that at the time it was impossible to predict what Pepe’s future would be, Nelo Vingada stresses, however, that he immediately realized that he was “faced with two things: a highly capable professional, with notable virtues, much to learn and evolve, which is normal for a player of 17, 18, 19 and then 20, but, above all, a fantastic professional, always willing to learn, to work and a very good human being”.
Considered today a born leader, both in Porto and in the national team, Nelo Vingada was interviewed this Monday by TSFremember that Pepe’s leadership came later.
“Pepe was a bit of an introvert, which was normal. He was a child who had come from Maceió, so a completely different world, it was the first time he had traveled to Europe and he did not show those levels. [de liderança]because it was normal and because he was young and he wasn’t captain right away”, he explains.
A regular starter for Conceição’s team, with 28 games played this season, the Portuguese-Brazilian player continues to have, in the coach’s opinion, a body that allows him to “maintain his characteristics practically unchanged”. Vingada emphasizes, however, “that this is due, above all, to his DNA, but also to the professional, personal and family life that he leads, without a doubt.”
“In this last game in Paços de Ferreira there was a play that therefore shows the speed that Pepe still has, which he recovered, in 30 metres, one or two meters after an error by Marcano”, he recalls.
Source: TSF
