Lining up at Qatar 2022 would involve another long journey in Weverton’s career and this time the destination is totally different and involves a very unique culture, but he is in a different place now and feels ready to embrace the challenge.
"I’m going to tell you a story that not many people have heard and one that my agent may not even be aware of. Before playing in La Copinha (the most prestigious youth competition in Brazil), I had a trial lined up at Sao Paulo,” Weverton, the Palmeiras and Brazil goalkeeper, tells FIFA+. "I wasn’t brave enough to tell my mum about it.”
This episode took place halfway through 2005, when the shot-stopper was coming up through the youth ranks at Atletico Clube Juventus in his native Acre, a region completely submerged in the Amazon rainforest and the least densely populated area in Brazil. To a fresh-faced Weverton, leaving his hometown of Rio Branco to try his luck in bustling Sao Paulo, which has a population of over 12 million, was enough to strike "fear” into him.
Instead of telling his mum, Josefa, directly about the opportunity, Weverton sought out his auntie to act as a go-between. The conversation between the sisters did not go all that well: "My mum got angry and said: ‘Come off it, what are you trying to do, kill him [laughter]?’ That conversation didn’t go very well and I’m actually glad it didn’t, because I wasn’t keen on going for the trial.”
This tale tells us a lot about the rather unique career path of a player who only established himself as a goalkeeper at 15 and now harbours hopes of gracing his first FIFA World Cup at the ripe old age of 34. In an era when bright young things are unearthed at an increasingly earlier age, Weverton has no qualms in admitting that his on-field talents only emerged a decade after he let that opportunity slip through his hands. The talented keeper is now a Palmeiras legend, a two-time Copa Libertadores winner and an Olympic Gold medallist. "Everything came together at the right time,” he says. "Looking back on things, I perhaps wasn’t mature enough back then to be where I am today. I may have ended up losing my way and wouldn’t have been capable of controlling everything that could have come my way.”
Megacity adventures
In terms of controlling his destiny, although Weverton passed up the chance to go for a trial at Sao Paulo, his potential earned him a second opportunity in the country’s most populous city.
The boy from Acre accepted the chance to line up for Juventus in the Copinha and bravely set out on a 3,500km bus journey that would last two days and three nights. Although his team finished bottom of their group, he shone so brightly in the game against the group winners, Corinthians – eternal enemies of both Sao Paulo and Palmeiras –that they moved quickly to secure his services days later.
Life at Corinthians proved to be far from easy, at least during his early days. "I escaped from the training centre and asked to go home because I missed my family,” recalls Weverton, who speaks of a close relationship with his mother, who passed away in 2020, and other family members. However, when the going got tough, he received the support he needed to pursue his dream. "I got used to things over time. I met people who have played a really important part in my life and they helped me out and took me home with them at weekends.”
Weverton goes on to reveal that his family acted as a source of motivation to keep him going during those darker days. "I was raised by my granddad. I never had a dad and only met him when I was older. My mum always had to go out and get a job. I had to go to training on my own on a little bike,” he recalls. "When you’ve had that sort of upbringing, you have one wish in life and that’s to be able to give your mum a house and get her out of that situation.”
The promising goalkeeper put in the hard yards to make up for his technical deficiencies and was drafted into the Corinthians first team in 2008. However, he soon realised that he had a long way to go before being ready to turn out for one of the country’s heavyweights. As fourth-choice goalkeeper he realised that he had no chance of seeing any first-team action anytime soon and so sought pastures new and took what proved to be an inspired decision.
He spent time at four clubs before eventually returning to Sao Paulo in 2010 to sign forPortuguesa. His rise continued, with the team securing Brazil’s Serie B title the following year, before making the move to fellow second-tier side Athletico Paranaense. During the course of 2013, he established himself as a top-flight goalkeeper and in 2016, his name regularly cropped up in conversations surrounding the national-team squad and he was a last-minute inclusion to the Olympic team that did battle for glory on home soil. "That was a turning point,” he notes.
Fame at last
One of the over-23 berths at the Men’s Olympic Football Tournament Rio 2016 was occupied by Palmeiras No1 Fernando Prass, only for an elbow injury to rule him out on the eve of the competition.
"I’ve got some really fun memories from the atmosphere in and around the camp at the Olympics. When we got out of the hotel, it was madness with Neymar and the rest of them. But when I came out, the fans were whispering between themselves and asking each other who I was. That same scene was repeated every single day.”
Things would be very different three weeks later after Weverton starred for the team that captured the one medal that had proved elusive in A Seleção’s impressive trophy haul. In the penalty shoot-out in the showpiece against Germany, he saved Nils Petersen’s spot-kick before wheeling away in celebration after Neymar converted his effort.
"When we returned home as champions, I think I was one of the last players to get off the bus. I could hear people cheering and I thought it must have been because Neymar was behind me, but I looked over my shoulder and could see that I was all alone. People now actually knew who I was.”
Sought-after silverware secured
Weverton’s performances and calm approach in a situation of immense pressure impressed Tite and earned the goalie a call-up to the senior national side. His consistent displays also attracted the attention of Palmeiras, who signed him in late 2017. It was only following this move that his performances were, at long last, rewarded with trophies.
At the first seven clubs he represented during his career, Weverton collected three pieces of silverware, one of which was a top-flight trophy. During his four-year stint with the Periquito Verde, he has added a further seven trophies to that haul, including the 2018 top-flight crown and the last two editions of the Copa Libertadores.
"You could say that I had one life up until I was 30 and another after that. In fact, things started to fall into place when I joined Palmeiras at that age and I started to win a lot of trophies,” he says.
Upon reflection, Weverton understands that his road to success, despite being long and winding, was the only route possible. "It all happened at the right time, it really did. I’m married and have three children and live a settled life. My career has played a massive part in that.”
Set for take-off
Palmeiras continued to rack up the trophies and club football was Weverton’s main focus. However, his career path would soon involve the prospect of gracing the FIFA World Cup, a development that becomes all the more extraordinary when we consider that he is the only domestically-based player in many of Tite’s squads.
Not only is Weverton intruding on this biggest of stages, he is also waging an intriguing battle with Liverpool and Manchester City goalkeepers Alisson and Ederson. He got the nod four times during qualifying in a rotation system masterminded by Tite and his goalkeeping coach, Claudio Taffarel. Meanwhile, he took his place between the sticks for June’s friendly meeting with Korea Republic in Seoul.
"Being involved at the World Cup would be so satisfying. It’s something I’ve always dreamt of because I’ve been part of the national team’s journey. Being the only one [who plays domestically] is difficult for me to think about. It’s perfectly normal that there are an increasing number of European-based players in the squad because our top stars emigrate at a young age. But if I had to bet on it, I’d say that there’ll be more players in the squad who are based in Brazil and I’d be delighted to be one of them.”
Lining up at Qatar 2022 would involve another long journey in Weverton’s career.
"It’d be the crowning moment in my journey,” he says.
"As you progress in your career, the expectation levels rise, but that’s something that you’ve always got to have in your life because it drives you on to achieve your dreams. That’s exactly what I’m doing: I dream about it and am going to give my all every day, both in training and games, to make sure it comes true.”