First Acre in Copas, Weverton overcame nostalgia and escape from concentration to make history

Coach Illimani Suares remembers well when he received an unexpected call from goalkeeper Weverton in mid-February 2005.

“Professor, I ran away from concentration. I’m close to a subway station”, said the current Palmeiras goalkeeper to the then Juventus-AC coach on the phone.

Illimani was returning from a walk in a mall in São Paulo when he ran to meet the pupil, who had passed tests at Corinthians a few days earlier. He accompanied him during the period in the capital.

“During the week, the accommodation was full, but on the weekend, the boys would go to their relatives or friends’ houses. He was almost alone there, sad, so he decided to jump over the wall and run away. When I found him, he was crying and saying that I wanted to go back to Rio Branco. I explained that many would like to be in his place, so as not to throw away the opportunity”, he tells Folha.

The solution found by the coach to convince him to stay was to call the goalkeeper’s grandfather, Olavo.

“He respected his grandfather a lot. I remember he said to me: ‘Professor, slap this boy and take him back, please'”. Weverton then agreed to return.

The decision to overcome the longing for Acre and to remain in the capital of São Paulo changed the goalkeeper’s destiny in football.

Today consolidated in Palmeiras, with a gold medal in the Olympics on his back, the athlete became the first representative of the state to compete in a World Cup when he was announced as one of the 26 chosen by Tite on the last day 7.

Weverton worked with Illimani from the age of 12 to 17 at Juventus-AC. The coach saw him for the first time playing for the Recriança school and was impressed.

“I asked Mimi, one of the biggest fans of our football in Acre, if he would mind if I took him. I could see that it was very different”, he says.

The relationship with the pupil was like going back in time for the coach. In the 1970s, Illimani had tried to be a professional goalkeeper for Nacional-AM. He says he still received an invitation from Náutico some time later, but chose to continue studying law.

“Weverton asked me very curious things, despite being very young. He once called me to say: ‘professor, what do I need to be a professional outside Acre?’ I replied that it took dedication, focus and a little luck. And thank God he had all three,” he explains.

The big turning point came when Juventus-AC came to Araraquara (355 km from São Paulo) for the 2005 Copa São Paulo.

Until days before, Illimani still had doubts about the lineup of the 17-year-old prodigy or Marcos, holder of the category and with a Cup in his luggage.

He opted for Weverton, who came out of his debut against Corinthians as a hero despite the 1-0 defeat, with a goal conceded in the final minutes of the match.

“We knew he was different, but it was a surprise when Illimani selected him. Marcos already had a cup and there was no indication in training that he would play”, says former midfielder Cristian Souza, teammate in that team and personal friend of the goalkeeper. .

“I talked to our physical trainer, Jorair. He was the only one who knew. He asked me if I was crazy, but I felt I had to do it”, remembers Illimani.

A series of spectacular saves made the directors of the São Paulo club look for him in the dressing rooms at Fonte Luminosa. He was invited to 15 days of auditions and then ended up signing a contract.

Despite never having played professionally in the now rival – he ended up on loan until the end of the contract –, his permanence was like a career milestone before taking off during his time at Athletico-PR.

But the homesickness for more than once almost left the player along the way.

During a bus stop for the Copinha dispute, on the border with Minas Gerais, Weverton was left hanging on the phone with his mother, Josefa, and ended up being forgotten by the delegation. The restaurant called the road police, who stopped the bus more than 30 kilometers later. They needed to go back.

“And when we got to the room it was the same thing. I joked with him that long distances were free. We went down to dinner, played some pool, while he spent over two hours talking on the phone with his family. The next day, we all need to ‘crowd up’ to pay for the damage”, says Cristian.

With each title and decision celebration, the scene of the player involved with the Acre flag on his back became common. On it is the proud record: “Weverton, 100% Acre.”

Ties with former teammates, Illimani and friends are maintained to this day in WhatsApp groups and in frequent visits to the state capital, watered by traditional end-of-year football. The goalkeeper plays on the line – and scores.

Most of the Juventus-AC generation did not move forward, but they felt represented by seeing the player called up for his world cup. “He accomplished everyone, he moved too much. It’s as if he were any of us”, says Cristian.

In the group that will go to the world, most were born in São Paulo – 12 of the 26. Rio de Janeiro is the second, with five representatives, while Rio Grande do Sul has three athletes.

At 34, if he reaches the sixth, Weverton will also raise Palmeiras to the mark of the only Brazilian team to have a representative in all the titles in the country. And the flag of Acre, without a doubt, will be with him again on the lawn.