The boys from Brazil

Two Brazilian sporting icons.

One moved to America and became the first Brazilian to play in Major League Baseball, reach the World Series and make it to the MLB All-Star game.

The other started his football career at Sao Paulo, moved to France, won the lot with PSG, earned 34 caps for Brazil (so far) and has just become only the fourth Brazilian to win the Premier League’s Player of the Month.

Lucas Moura and Yan Gomes grew up in Sao Paulo and followed their sporting dream across the globe – and as fate would have it, met on a July morning in Minneapolis this summer.

Of course, sporting fate brought them together.

Lucas was preparing for the final ICC game of our US tour against AC Milan at the impressive US Bank Stadium, home of Minnesota Vikings. It just so happened that Yan’s 162-match regular season brought the Cleveland Indians into the same city at the same time for a match-up against Minnesota Twins.

Miles from home, the pair were equally inspired by each other’s sporting achievements…

Growing up...

Yan: “I lived in a little city just outside of Sao Paulo called Mogi. It’s known best for Neymar, who is from there. I grew up a Santos fan. I know Lucas played for Sao Paulo! Santos has a great history with all the legendary players who played there (like Pele). I grew up playing soccer like most kids in Brazil and was introduced to baseball very randomly. I’ve been in love with the sport since. Anyway, I’m quite a big guy, I couldn’t play soccer, I’d need to run around too much.”

Lucas: “I grew up in Sao Paulo. I have great memories of playing football on the street. I enjoyed it the maximum I could. There are problems in Brazil but Sao Paulo is a place I keep in my heart. I grew up with a brother and sister. My family has always been with me, my strength. My dream was to be a professional footballer and because of that and my family, I didn’t go down a different path.”

Following your sporting dream - away from Brazil...

Yan: “I moved with my family. I was younger and we had a goal. We knew what we were going to do. We moved to better our lives but the one thing that never left us was our Brazilian heritage and we bring that wherever we go. It’s tough to leave family.”

Lucas: “It was difficult to leave my country. I miss my family, my friends but my dream was always to play for a big club in Europe, in a bigger championship. If you want something in life you have to work hard, you have to do something like this. Life is like this. Life in Brazil is difficult with a lot of problems but with sport, we can change things and give something back. For me, it’s like a dream. I’m so happy to play for Tottenham and to make my family proud.”

Lucas on Yan...

“Soccer in Brazil is a way of life. Everyone wants to play soccer and it’s great to see a guy who grew up in Brazil doing so well in another major sport. It’s good for our country and I’m happy to know Yan. It’s a great achievement. It’s not normal in Brazil because this sport is not famous in Brazil. For us, it’s a proud moment and I’m happy for him.”

Yan on Lucas...

“Growing up in Brazil with so much soccer going on, guys like Lucas are our idols, guys we look up to, especially when they make it to the national team. I know a lot of people in Brazil look up to Lucas and appreciate how successful he has been. I got to play in baseball’s WBC (World Cup) and to see how passionate everyone is about us...times that by 100 and you can imagine how much they look up to guys like Lucas. It’s not just the national team but players who have moved to Europe and are playing for great clubs like Tottenham, it’s amazing, awesome to see how that passion for sport in Brazil goes worldwide.”

Vamos @LucasMoura7 @SpursOfficial ! Golaço!!

— Yan Gomes (@Yan_AGomes) August 18, 2018