Red-hot Jesus on never losing his Brazilian style | Feature | News

Since bursting through as a prodigious teenage talent with Palmeiras in his home city, Gabby has managed to combine that spirit of street football and natural Brazilian flair with a willingness to learn and adapt to the demands of his team. So does he rely more on his instincts during a match, or on putting into practice what he’s learned during his career?

“I think it’s a little bit of both,” he says. “Sometimes you don’t have to think – just do it. But other times you need to work out what you are going to do in a situation. It’s good to have that balance. It all depends on the situation – are you winning or losing, are you in the final third, are you looking for control or whatever.”

To find out how his playing style has been shaped, we need to go back to his very early days in the sport, when he joined Palmeiras from his small local team Anhanguera.

“I arrived at Palmeiras in 2012 when I was 15,” Gabby explains, “but I didn’t play a lot because it was the end of the year, so I really started in 2013 in their academy. That was the first time I was getting coached at a big club. Before that it was a village club, playing with the older guys in amateur football.

“But at that time, it was more focused on building the player, rather than the tactics side. I’m not sure what it is like now, because I’m not in an academy, but I know back then, we were taught to express yourself and take the ball. That helped me a lot, I enjoyed it a lot, and that’s why I’m here.”

Making that step up to professional football, Gabby says, is when he first had to expand his game to maximise his ability. It was when he showed his potential as a versatile forward, and led to him making his debut for the Brazil national team when he was just 19. He scored twice on his debut, and was Brazil’s top scorer in their World Cup qualifying programme for the 2018 finals, netting seven times in 10 games.

He reflects: “When I came to Palmeiras is when I first saw things I had never seen before – what it meant to be at a big club, fighting for your position, playing more tactical and things like that. At first you just want to play, but soon you realise how much it helps you. At that time, when I was 16, I wasn’t a No9, I played as the second striker. I would go on the left, on the right or run with the striker. Not like a normal No10 either.

"But that time in the academy was very good for me, and when I was 17 I got to the first team and started playing on the left wing. They put me there, and it was good for me. I had never been a No9 – I was used to being more free. But as soon as I went to the national team and played No9 things went very well for me. I got the confidence and played there more. You can see today I can play in two or three different positions, because of those days.”