Endrick introduced himself to the Brazilian team, just under a week ago, as one of the hottest names in the group called up by Fernando Diniz, but, at the beginning of this year, he could not imagine a scenario like this. Sold to Real Madrid in December 2022, the young striker, now 17 years old, started the 2023 season with his quality being put in check. He does not hide that, at that moment, the criticism hit him hard and influenced his behavior, shaped by the desire to silence his detractors, as he revealed in a press conference this Sunday, at Granja Comary.
“It was a very difficult start to the year. I was 16 years old, I was a boy who liked to see things, see people talking about me. I had very high expectations for being sold very young to Real Madrid. I liked watching and I only saw people criticizing me, talking bad about me. I wanted to hit, to have a good game to hit. After I turned 17, I believe I changed my mind and played to be happy, not play with hate in my heart. That was it. . I’m fine with everything, I don’t care about criticism anymore. If I criticize, I’ll be calm. What matters to me is my happiness and the happiness of my family”, he stated.
The process of changing his stance was long and had fundamental support from important people in the life of one of the greatest promises of Brazilian football in recent times. One of these is defender Murilo, from Palmeiras, by whom Endrick has been welcomed since he began to be used as a professional, with advice and an unshakable partnership. “I saw people talking and played, wanting to show that it wasn’t that way. That destroyed me a little. One person who helped me a lot was Murilo, throughout my career at Palmeiras.”
Although criticized by the Palmeiras fans for taking a long time to give more space to the Academy’s prodigy, coach Abel Ferreira was also mentioned by the boy as an important name on the path that led him to the Brazilian team. “Abel is a phenomenal person. On the field, he transforms into another person. When he calls you to talk, he is an exceptional guy. I owe a lot to him, a lot of this call-up is due to him.”
The group of excited people includes Douglas and Cíntia Ramos, the player’s parents. Douglas has already appeared a lot in the news, always emotional when talking about his son, which is why Endrick was very happy to answer a question about his mother during the press conference, and spared no words to express his gratitude.
“No one talks about my mother. As she says, I wasn’t born from an egg. She was always with me. When I went to Palmeiras, the first to leave everything was my mother. My father stayed in Brasília, not that he did anything wrong , he couldn’t give up work. But she gave me things to eat, I was hungry”, he said. “My mother was an essential part of my entire struggle. I owe everything to her, I hope she is happy with me”, he added.
The attacker also highlighted how much the discipline for which he began to be recognized is related to Cíntia’s teachings. “He picks on me a lot, talks about my friendships. I hardly have any friends, I hardly go out. I always stay at home because of my mother. Obviously I would like to go out, to have fun. My mother always puts me in my place and she turned me into a man of character. I’m going to do what I need to do at work. When I’m on vacation, I’m fine, I also have a life, I’m going to have fun, but when I’m at work, I’m 100% focused on it.”
On Tuesday, at 9:30 pm, Endrick can go to the field at Maracanã to face Argentina, in a classic valid for the World Cup qualifiers. The possibility of playing against Messi, who won the last World Cup and recently received his eighth Ballon d’Or, excites the teenager, but to a certain extent, as he is on the side of those who prefer Cristiano Ronaldo to the Argentine star. “About Messi, he’s a phenomenal guy as everyone knows. Best in the world again… being able to play against him, being able to look at him, I only saw it in video games”, he stated, before adding: “Messi is great, but I’m more of a fan by Cristiano Ronaldo”.
Despite being inspired by the Portuguese, an addict of protagonism, Endrick does not adopt exactly the same stance. The young striker is confident and has a leadership spirit, but he knows he still has a long way to go, he didn’t even expect to be called up for the main Brazilian team on this FIFA Date, but rather for the Olympic team, which is training at CT Joaquim Grava, from Corinthians , in São Paulo, in preparation for the Pre-Olympics, scheduled for January, in Venezuela.
“I was waiting for the Olympics, I wasn’t waiting for the (main) call-up. I was training, and people were calling me, my cell phone was ringing. When the training ended, I went to see my father and I knew he was already crying, my mother too. I had those butterflies in my stomach, then I thanked God for everything that has been happening in my life”, he stated.
Despite the pressure that many fans have put on him to see him as a starter for Brazil, Endrick also keeps his feet on the ground. “I’m very calm. Of course there’s no way around what they say is that the protagonist has to be me, but the protagonist has to be the team. There’s no point in me scoring a goal and conceding a thousand goals. We play as a team, no one is better than the other, I always make that clear. Working with wonderful people is a very good thing for me”, he said.
