He has been a Benfica fan since he was little and, when he was training with the Reds, he dreamed of wearing the first team shirt with the Estádio da Luz full. João Pereira‘s wish would eventually come true, but it was not Benfica that brought him the greatest happiness in his career. “I fulfilled a childhood dream. Because you start to feed that dream when you see the players on television: ‘Hey, I wish!’. I caught balls many times. Many times. In the 13 years I was at Benfica, so far in five, six years I was caught ball. I always wanted to be a ball catcher to be close to my idols, to be able to spend time with them even if it was just a little bit. And suddenly I’m in Benfica’s first team. I know there are a lot of people who think I played little but if they confirm I played a lot of games”, already shared the one who is already taken for granted as Frederico Varandas’ chosen candidate to succeed Rúben Amorim, who is on his way to Manchester United, after the English agreed to pay the clause of 10 million euros.
Despite his passion for Benfica, he ended up learning to love his rivals when he transferred to Sporting, in what would become the happiest years of his career. “EI will say that I cried many times when Benfica lost to Sporting and I was made fun of by my classmates at school. I played for Benfica for 13 years and it would be hypocritical to say that I was with Sporting since I was little, because I’m not. I learned to like Sporting”he says, adding that he was treated better at the Lions, who are now extending the red carpet to the main team, after having stood out coaching the club’s B team.
The story of João Pereira! The former star that Varandas wants in charge of Sporting
Throughout his career as a player, João Pereira, currently 40 years old, would end up crossing paths with many faces from the world of football and, interestingly, Rúben Amorim is one of those he has known since he was very young. As boys, they played many games together and the future Manchester coach has already joked that his colleague has what he defines as a kind of dual personality.
“João Pereira off the field is a peace of mind, on the field he’s disgusting. I’ve known João Pereira since I was a kid. I used to get angry with João Pereira on the field because we almost got into a fight. He leaves the field and If necessary, he waits for you in the tunnel and says: ‘Hey bro, how are you?’ It seems like he has a double personality”has already stated Rúben Amorim.
…
João Pereira and Rúben Amorim have known each other since they were children
And, in fact, the explosions on João Pereira’s lawn are known and when he loses his temper, he takes everything forward. In 2021, the defender was unhappy about being sent off against Tondela and did not silence his anger, cursing the assistant referee and the fourth referee. “Go f…, go f…!”, he said loudly, ending up suspended and fined for insulting him.
THE UNCONDITIONAL SUPPORT OF NATACHA, THE WOMAN OF HIS LIFE
In his personal life, there are no more girlfriends of João Pereira than Natacha Esmail. The two had already been dating for around six years when they decided to exchange rings and did so in two different ceremonies, full of luxury: one Hindu, due to the bride’s origin, and the other typically Portuguese.
The two marriages of João Pereira, who tied the knot according to Hindu and then Catholic traditions
On social media, these and other happy moments have been shared since then, such as the birth of their two sons: Gabriel and Daniel, even though not everything has always been a bed of roses. One of the most complicated moments experienced by the couple happened shortly after the birth of their second baby, who had to be hospitalized just ten days after birth, due to a respiratory infection.
“I spent the last eight days in the hospital with my baby admitted. A horror film that no mother should ever go through. Nobody imagines postpartum like this. Nobody thinks that 10 days after giving birth and leaving the maternity ward with a healthy baby, they will return to the hospital with a baby suffering from a respiratory infection. I lived through terrible episodes, which I want to erase from my memory forever”started by writing.
“At the end of everything I take away is immense gratitude. For a national health system that works with incredible, helpful, responsible professionals, full of work but always with a smile on their face and a helping hand to reassure us. For a tireless family who didn’t let me eat a single hospital meal (among a thousand other things) and for the incredible Father I chose for my children, our Gabriel’s routine wouldn’t be affected, so he wouldn’t notice too much what was happening and could continue being the one. happy baby that he always was”, he shared in 2021, showing how proud he was of his family.
João Pereira also reciprocates the treats and admits that his wife was the one who didn’t let him fall in three delicate moments of his career: when leaving Valencia, Hanonver and, finally, at Trabzonspor, in Turkey, when he felt that the rug was being pulled from him. “Dand from one moment to the next, I was banned from training with my teammates, from attending the club and from saying goodbye to my teammates, and without being given any reason for doing so. I found myself in a termination situation, at age 36, and not knowing what the future was. My wife took those difficult phases and was there for me”admitted in conversation with the website ‘Zero Zero’.
Despite the support, not all decisions were so applauded by Natacha, who had already made a kind of agreement with João Pereira: when his career as a player ended, they would start to enjoy family life, settle down without carrying the house on their shoulders. and also give the two children more routines. But that didn’t happen and when Sporting invited him to coach the B team, the former player’s partner got angry.
“I was upset. João always said that when he finished his career he wanted to be a coach, but I always asked: when are we going to settle down, have babies, always stay in the same country…”, she says, adding that, later, she would end up giving reason to her husband. “Then I realized that he had a lot of potential as a coach and that it would be a waste if he didn’t go. Then, it was the opposite, I started giving him leadership books, encouraging him to take English courses”Natacha already shared, in a version corroborated by João Pereira.
“It took me a lot of trouble. She said: ‘So what about my life, aren’t we going to stop? What about the kids’ school, are we always going from one place to another? Then things went by, and I told her that I couldn’t live without that…”
Today, Natacha is his number 1 supporter and promises to be by his side, heart and soul, if the new challenge to command the lions is confirmed.
