Joelinton: "Football is passion"

Joelinton, with all the games you're currently playing, do you ever take a moment to think back to how it all started?

''Images from my childhood often come back to me. I think of how I used to live in Brazil, how I used to play football and dream of making it as a professional. Now that I've made that dream a reality here in Europe after giving so much, after making so many sacrifices, of course it sometimes makes me take a moment to pause and think back to where I was five years ago, where I was ten years ago. Then I return to the present and tell myself that I have to enjoy every day, play well, give my all out there on the pitch. I'm living my dream.''

Do you remember the day before you left Brazil to come to Hoffenheim?

''I'm not the kind of guy to start crying or get too emotional at moments like that. Mainly because I knew that if I did so, it would really upset my mother and make things even more difficult for her. I was definitely nervous, but I knew that going to Germany was an amazing opportunity for me. I was so excited and full of anticipation to see what the future held. I was ready to take that next step.''

What was life like back in Brazil?

''Alianca is half an hour away from Recife. I lived there with my parents until I was 14 years old, then I moved to the Sport Recife academy. Alianca is a small town, about the same size as Sinsheim. Roughly 30,000 people live there. Everybody knows each other and it isn't as dangerous as a big metropolis like Recife for example. My entire family lives there and I'm always so happy to go back. There used to be so much going on back in the day, I have so many memories...''

"Football is passion, it is fun for everyone"

… memories of the football pitch for example?

(laughs) ''Yeah, I used to play there every afternoon with my friends. It's where I scored my first goals, where I learned to love the game. It was the most important place in my journey. A pitch like that is unimaginable compared to what you get here in Germany. There were always cows grazing on the sidelines. They would get angry when we played there, but it didn't bother us, it's not like we had a choice. We only ever had nets in the goals when we played against teams from other towns. Apart from that, we just played amongst ourselves. Sometimes we wore shoes, sometimes we didn't. That's just how it is in Brazil, you play wherever you can: in the street, the courtyard, or even in a field. It's all about the joy of the game. It doesn't matter whether you're playing on sand or concrete. Football is passion, it is fun for everyone.''

Instead of pitches with cows on the sidelines, you now play in the grand arenas of Europe. You're living the dream of a lot of Brazilian youngsters. How were you able to make this dream a reality?

''I always believed in myself and more than anything else I worked extremely hard to get where I am today. Thank God I made it. It's not easy when you come from a small town. Every time a chance came my way, I did all I could to make the most of it and continue along my path: first of all in the academy at Recife and then here in Europe. I was well aware that every kid in Brazil wants to become a professional footballer. It's an absolutely massive country that loves football, so there are so many talented youngsters. The odds of making it are about a thousand to one, and now here I am. From the very start, I was always willing to make sacrifices. Football isn't easy: you have to train a lot, remain focused, not get distracted by parties and beach life. A lot of people aren't able to do that. Maybe I already had a bit of German discipline in me back then.'' (laughs)

"I love my homeland"

Life in Brazil isn't always easy. Recife is one of the most dangerous cities in the world. Did anything bad ever happen to you?

''No, I don't feel any kind of fear there. But sure, life there is different to how it is here. In Recife there's a motorway leading from the city centre to the stadium which passes by two favelas. You would often have cars stopped on the road, people being mugged, people being kidnapped. That even used to happen after our games. Plus there are a lot of sharks off the coast, which means you can't go swimming – there have been several deadly incidents. Saying that, I've never had any problems. I love my homeland.''

The Kraichgau is beautiful, but it's not exactly the South America of Europe. How did you feel after your move?

''Although I came in the Summer and the weather was good, it was hard for me at the start. On the one hand the language was a big problem, while on the other hand you had the food: there were always so many vegetables, which I really wasn't used to as in Brazil it's mainly meat and rice. The football was also really different. The games are a lot faster here, there are less breaks in play. In Brazil, everyone likes to get on the ball, the whole team will leisurely shift it from one side of the park to the other. Here the ball's always going up and down the length of the pitch really quickly. That was an adjustment I had to make. Things were made even more difficult for me as I wasn't getting any game time. Then things picked up a bit and I was starting to merit a few more appearances. But those were tough times back then for TSG. That's all in the past now.''

Have the constant comparisons with Robert Firmino since you arrived here ever got on your nerves?

''It doesn't bother me. I always make it clear that the two of us really aren't that comparable. I'm Joe, he's Firmino. We're both from Brazil and we've both played here. Apart from that, we're completely different types of player. I'm a classic centre forward, a good old fashioned number nine. Firmino's more of a number ten, someone who plays in the hole. I actually met him here in Hoffenheim, though he'd already moved to Liverpool at that point. He had come back to visit and watch a match and we caught each others eyes in the stands.''

"You have to be strong if you want to play in Germany"

Back when you first arrived in Germany, you were a different type of player, you maybe didn't look so broad in the shoulders...

(laughs) ''I was really young and still pretty skinny, now I'm a lot stronger and more robust. You need a good physique for the style of play here, so it was really important that I worked out a lot. You have to be strong if you want to play in Germany.''

After spending a year at TSG, you were sent out on loan for two years at Rapid Vienna. Did your time in Austria help you progress?

''It was such an important time for me. Even back in the first season I played all the time. It really did me good to be be out there regularly playing football and winning the trust of the coach in a different country. In the first six months, I spent a lot of time training with a personal coach, both on the footballing as well as the physical side of things. You always have to have your mind and body prepared for the match to avoid injuries and to remain in good shape. Plus I also managed to make real improvements with my German.''

It's really impressive how good your German is. How were you able to learn so quickly?

''It's an unbelievably difficult language. I dedicated a lot of time to learning, partly because I was the only Brazilian at Rapid, so I really had to learn German if I wanted to make myself understood. German was the only language that was spoken there, both in and outside the dressing room. I used to go to a language course three times a week.''

Was the change in accent difficult for you when you came back to Germany?

(laughs) ''I understand the Austrian accent better than the German one, I'm always saying: ''I bin a Wiener'' (I am Viennese). Austria gave me so much, it's a brilliant country and Vienna is a wonderful city. My time there was so important. But it's also really nice here in Sinsheim. My parents are here, my girlfriend, my son. It doesn't take me long to get to training from my apartment. Obviously there isn't as much going on here as there is in Vienna, but that just means you're even more focused on training and matches. That's the most important thing for my career.''

"I can play for the national team"

Are you happy so far?

''One hundred percent. I'm playing in one of the best leagues in Europe, I get to play in the Champions League, I can test myself against the very best players in the world. You come across a lot of Brasilian internationals, plus a lot of young Brasilians use it as a platform to make the step up to the national team. I know that if I play well here then I can represent my country too. That's the next major goal I'm aiming for: to play for my country and become a big star.''

You've already represented Brazil at U17 level. Do you think this experience will help you reach your next objective?

''That was unbelievable. People live and breath for football and the national team, that's why I have no greater desire than to be called up one day. It's something that motivates me every day: I have to prove myself in the Bundesliga and in the Champions League. TSG are giving me the opportunity to do so. Everything's going perfectly for me at the moment. I'm getting more and more interest from the media back home. I'm receiving interview requests from Brazil. People are starting to become aware of me, they're noticing that I'm playing Champions League football here with Hoffenheim.''

The past few years have shown that a lot of Hoffenheim players are able to make the step up to international level. Are people in Brazil aware of the progress TSG have made?

''Of course they are, the Bundesliga is shown on T.V. back in Brazil. Several Brazilians have played for Hoffenheim in the past, Roberto Firmino really helped raise the club's profile and now I'm here too. Participation in the Champions League also means that the club is even more visible than it was before. There's a real demand for Hoffenheim jerseys amongst my friends and family.'' (laughs)

You've been really successful in achieving your career goals. What are you hoping to do once you've hung up your boots?

''I definitely want to go back home and live somewhere near Recife. I'd like to draw the curtain on my career by playing for my home town club once more, then after that I'd just spend time with my family and friends. As well as everything's going for me here, once I'm done playing football I'd love to live life in the sun and on the beach.''