Léo Pereira finds comfort with Lions.
In a San Jose hotel room, a group of Orlando City players gathered around an iPad to play a game: Parchis, the Spanish adaptation of the Indian cross and circle board game Parchisi.
Video of the players — Léo Pereira, Kaká, Antonio Nocerino and
Victor “PC” Giro — was posted to social media. They laughed and joked as they watched whoever lost pay for the poor performance by singing in front of everyone.
Three of the four are Brazilian and able to communicate in their native language, Portuguese, and that connection helped Pereira, the newest member of the Lions, get acclimated to his new team.
“I got here and they were the first people I got to know,” said Pereira, 21. “They’re the ones I’m more connected to and we talk the most, Portuguese speakers.”
Pereira is now getting more comfortable on the field as well. That San Jose game last Wednesday, a 1-1 draw, marked his first Major League Soccer start. He impressed Lions coach Jason Kreis enough in that game to start again on Sunday against New York City FC. That performance didn’t go as well and the team walked away with a 3-0 loss.
Kreis said he didn’t think Pereira made any major errors, but he was one of the players out there and needs to deal with the negativity that comes along with defeat.
“He was well positioned, he was strong on the ball, he was strong in his challenges,” Kreis said of the NYCFC match. “He showed in the San Jose game he’s a very, very capable player for us and really has been a nice addition. Before that game, I was really unsure of what he could contribute, but I became quite convinced in that game.”
Pereira was born in Curitiba, the capital city of Brazilian state Paraná. His life there was simple, he said. He lived near family and grew up playing for his hometown club, Atlético Paranaense, rising through its youth system before making his professional debut in Série A, the country’s top-flight professional league, in 2014. And, of course, he idolized Kaká.
He was loaned to Orlando City B in March and in just a month was loaned up to Orlando City. That short time with OCB also helped his transition to MLS, he said, getting him acquainted with the coaches and the style of play in the United States. Pereira said centerbacks play with more intensity and physical contact in the U.S. compared to Brazil.
“[Playing with OCB] helped me to take small steps and not huge ones at the beginning,” Pereira said. “I definitely came here to Orlando already thinking about the first team, so when I got called up I was very, very happy and I want to keep this going.”
The same way fellow Portuguese speakers have helped Pereira, he has helped them. PC also speaks little English, so when he made his debut at left back in San Jose, playing beside Pereira helped.
“I felt very confident playing next to Leo,” PC said. “He helped me a lot because of the language barrier. It felt good.”
PC showed their close relationship when asked to describe Pereira. He looked over at his teammate, laughed and said jokingly through a translator: “Oh, very annoying. I can’t handle him anymore. He’s too much. I have to take care of him, wake him up in the hotel room. He’s like a small son for me.”
Pereira just laughed at the description. He has a great sense of humor, according to teammate Rafael Ramos, who is from Portugal and naturally fits in with the Brazilians speaking his native language.
“Even though he doesn't speak English, he gets along with everyone well,” Ramos said. “We always get together when we can. The language helps us a lot.”
Kreis said he doesn’t think speaking the same language has brought that group of players closer than any other teammates, but he does notice occasional moments when they huddle together.
“It’s odd because I wouldn’t say they’re together all the time,” Kreis said. “But, there’s been occasion or two where you’ll see them around the same table speaking Portuguese and so we try to poke fun at them for that.”