Chelsea winger Willian has reflected on the opening chapter of his career with São Paulo club Corinthians. The player soon left for Shakhtar Donetsk in Ukraine.
“When I joined Corinthians I was only nine years old. I used to play for a small football school and one day we went to play a friendly game against a young Corinthians side.
“We lost the game but I played well and afterwards somebody from Corinthians asked if I was there on my own,” he told the Chelsea website.
“I told them my dad was waiting outside and they said they wanted to speak to him, because they wanted me to go there for a week, for a trial.
“They talked to my dad, told him the date they wanted me to go, I did the trial and I passed. So that’s how I began to play for Corinthians.”
Willian grew up supporting the club and had some Timão and Seleção idols to inspire him along the way.
“I had a lot of idols growing up. Marcelinho Carioca was a very famous player at the time. He played for Corinthians. He’s an idol of the Corinthians fans and he played in a similar position to me.
“Ronaldo was phenomenal. I also looked up to Romario and Ronaldinho. For me, Ronaldinho was the number one. They were the guys I admired but I could mention a lot more names because in Brazil at that time there were a lot of good players.”
