Double 10
Diogo: I’ll be a Samba superstar like Pele if I can dump Scot Peter
DIOGO PORTELA reckons knocking Peter Wright out of the Worlds will make him a Brazilian god like Pele and Ronaldinho.
The Samba slinger faces the biggest game of his career tonight against Snakebite at the Alexandra Palace.
Portela will take Brazil’s famous colours on to the stage with the No.10 on his shirt although the 29-year-old from Rio isn’t exactly rated with his footballing idols back home.
But he does believe rattling the Snake can hoist his profile on the Copacabana.
He said: “I thought about it and wanted to imitate the football shirt as everyone recognises it. I chose No.10 because that is usually the best player in the team.
“Looking back you have Pele, Rivaldo, Ronaldinho. Apart from the fat Ronaldo or Romario, who were No.9, they were all the best. I want to be the best so I have it too.”
Portela’s appearance is another step in the incredible journey he has been on while chasing his dream.
Leaving his homeland to try to make a career in the game, he is now making progress on the circuit and lives in a London flat with his brothers Mario and Thiago, wife Ariana and sister-in-law Christiana.
But Portela also had Friends like Joey, Ross and Rachel to help find his feet.
He added: “There is a Brazilian restaurant near to us where we go. Apart from that, we have no contact with any others from our homeland and there is a reason for that.
“When I arrived here I didn’t speak English so I said to my wife if we didn’t mix with the locals, we would never learn the language. So I watched Friends. I started with subtitles on but now I’m learning.
“It wasn’t easy though. The English we learn in Brazil is more American. I started off in the pub leagues in London and with some of the drunk players I couldn’t make out a word. There were things I’d never heard of. It was crazy.”
Now Portela is set for a big pay day but it’s the prestige of dumping Scotland’s Wright which fires him.
He said: “When I saw the draw I thought: ‘Oh no!’ Then I realised I had nothing to lose. If I do well and lose, I show myself in a good light.
“If I do well, catch him on a bad day and win I’ll be No.2 in the World! I’ll be a god!”