Everton duo called up by England; Richarlison in Copa America squad

I'm not liking the fact our players are still playing in the summer.

Pickford has hopefully learn't alot this year. He has made some career ending mistakes, but had survived.

Spare a thought for Robinson, a really good goalkeeper, who fluffed a save, he wasn't so lucky.

Good luck to him and Pickford though, because just because I can be critical, it would be foolish not to want them both to do well.

Over the next few years I hope they do improve but more than anything they both need to stop the stupid mistakes and learn when not to rush into challenges when clearly 2nd best.

Both seem good lads and have had decent seasons overall. So if nothing else it's more practice and a different manager's take on what's expected etc.

On the tournament itself it's a bit like the league Cup. Nice to win but honestly not to bothered.

A definite improvement over meaningless friendlies. I think it better helps get into the winning mentality.

I'd have liked to have seen DCL given a call up too, just to give him a taste.

What I most like about it is...it's humility.

It appears a very simple house and he is casually dressed, barefoot, sat on the floor surrounded by kids and adults, many sporting Everton shirts.

That suggests a well-grounded boy, still very close to his roots.

Heart-warming.

Just turned 22. No jet set, just home with the family.

The big concern I always have with Latin American players playing abroad is how they deal with 'saudades'. Literally, from Portuguese, it means 'home sickness', but culturally it has a much, much deeper emotion than simply 'missing home'.

From the footage I see here in Brazil on Brazilians in the PL, you often see young players in particular - like Richarlison and Gabriel Jesus - at home in England with a senior family member always with them, like the mother, as family is very, VERY strong in Brazil.

In Liverpool, I think it definitely helps Richarlison there is a strong Brazilian connection (players at both clubs) as well as a strong Portuguese presence within the club. He always refers to Silva as his 'father', for example, and I'm sure he is very sincere in the respect he demonstrates towards his manager.

In Wales the word is 'hiraeth' that too has a far deeper emotion. It is more of a longing, a yearning, nostalgia, grief even. 'Hiraeth Mawr, hiraeth creulon' Deep cruel emotion!

Does the word hiraeth have any association with 'health' by chance? Because saudades has it's root from 'saude' - 'health' - as related to the body, and can also be used as 'cheers!' when supping ale with mates.

The 'nostalgic' definition of 'saudades' in Portuguese originates from their greatest poet, Luís de Camões, who wrote an epic poem called Os Lusíadas, mostly concerned with the seafaring expeditions of Vasco da Gama and the 'nostalgia' his crew felt being so far from their motherland.

There is a strong Celtic culture in Portugal also. I wonder if there is any historical or linguistic link between Portugal and Wales, or whether Wales has its own literary epic from which 'hiraeth' is drawn from?

I wonder if Peter Jones (now there's a Welsh name for you!) who has contributed some cracking forensic linguistic pieces to TW on various words associated with the club has any insight he could offer on this..?

Link

It's in Portuguese of course, but you get an even deeper impression of Richarlison's love for his family and how emotional it is for him to get the call up.

The little old lady at the start, in the garden, is his GREAT-grandmother. The lady in the kitchen who prepares a fried egg sandwich for him is his grandmother, then the small spectacled gent is his grandfather, who steered his grandson away from bad company (that would have ended with him in prison) and encouraged him to concentrate on his football.

His nervousness ahead of the announcement is clear. The pride in the entire family, particularly his mother and father, is self-evident.

The loud fireworks you hear going off outside is typical of how Brazilians celebrate any event, but particular when your team scores or wins.

I really love this piece.

Below the video of Richarlison and co's reaction, the above statement sits below it. Dear me! Good stuff Sport Bible.

http://www.sportbible.com/football/news-Richarlisons-incredible-reaction-to-being-called-up-to-brazils-copa-20190517

Only saw that little clip, but I love the little street-kid, two to his right, who keeps looking towards Richarlson, but he looks even more nervous than him, possibly thinking “you're not getting in here mate!”

I hope Richarlson has a great tournament, and I was wondering if you are going to any of the games Jay W?

The original link was directly from Globo's website.

Try this link on YouTube. Should work.

Link

When his great-grandmother appears again at the end, sat on a sofa with Richarlison, he promises to dedicate his first goal, should he score in the tournament, to her.

Seeing him getting so much affection from so many little kids shows there is a LOT of love being shared, both ways.

And a PS...in reference to using VPNs to, for example, view blocked content like UK terrestrial TV Channels, I've tried a few and the one I currently use is THE very best - UK Ex-pat VPN. See link below:

Link

I must say it is EXPLICITLY to access the UK domestic TV channels and ALL their content - BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and 5. It's no good, say, if you were a Yank trying to access US territory-specific sites from, say, Brazil.

The problem I've found with VPN's with global coverage and servers in many different countries is, yes, they may work for a while, but then the likes of BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and 5, identify the rogue servers and encrypt their content so you cannot continue to use the VPN to see UK content from outside the UK.

UK Expat VPN doesn't have that issue and my access to UK domestic channels has never been smoother. For just £48 a YEAR, it's a steal of a deal.

Good possible advertising revenue for TW, Eds..?

It,s just that, I can understand the TV Channel doing a film of Richie at home etc, but he 'just happened to do it when coincidentally, the announcement came on the telly.

Now for sure some of it was contrived for the camera, and for sure it the whole shoot was organized in advance. That in itself was interesting to me as Richarlison was the ONLY player in the named squad Globo did this with. And they went out of their way to do so. This is a very small town in the interior of one of Brazil's smaller states, far from the likes of Rio or Sao Paulo.

He really is highly thought of in Brazil since he got into the squad (by accident, remember...he was a late call up after the original pick called off injured). This wee video will further cement his standing with Brazilians who take to and identify strongly with a 'good luck' story such as Richarlison's, as they can imagine themselves or their child in his place. This is a boy from an extremely poor rural family who at 14-15 travelled alone to one of Brazil's mega cities - Belo Horizonte - for a trial, with just the money of the one-way fare in his pocket. What might have happened to him if he wasn't taken on is anybody's guess.

Dave - yer gettin' yer avians mixed up! He's not doing the 'Funky Chicken' ala 'The Goodies!' His is the PIGEON dance!

To be fair to the lad, this is a contrived part of the film, when the interviewer asks him to do it in the living room full of family and friends when everyone joins in, and then he does it in the yard when his great grandmother asks him what it's all about. She thinks it's 'bonito' - beautiful. Richarlison is a bit sheepish I think (as opposed to 'pigeonish!') when he does this.

And it is clearly now part of the family lexicon as, when she embraces him towards the end, his mother describes him as 'nosso filho pombo' - 'our pigeon son!'

Plenty of Everton visual references throughout too, which I particularly enjoyed.

Was it Ken Livingstone, as Mayor of London, who got rid of the pigeons in Trafalgar Square describing them as nothing more than 'flying rats'..?

On second thoughts, as I see a vulture pecking at the rubbish outside waiting collection, I'd perhaps rather NOT know!