The forgotten Brazilian trying to shine (video)
Last night saw Brazil once again show what they can do as they pushed aside Mexico with some ease in their second game of the Confederations cup. One player that many may have been surprised to see on the score sheet again though is former Everton and Manchester City man Jo.
Jo only found out he would be playing in the tournament on the 7th June after he was announced as a replacement for Leandro Damiao due to injury. This tournament is the first time since 2008 that Jo has been part of the Brazil team, the lack of preparation as part of the squad hasn’t stopped him from impressing though as he has now got two goals in two games putting him alongside Neymar in Brazil’s scoring charts.
Jo is a player that has been around for a while although he is only 26 he has played for seven different teams he first caught the eye of football fans whilst playing for CSKA Moscow. His time with the Russian club led to Manchester City to pay around £19 million for the striker however his time with the club was a disaster only scoring one goal in the 21 appearances he made.
He was sent out on loan to Everton and then Galatasaray where he failed to live up to expectations once again. Enough was enough for Manchester City who decided to let him go back to his native Brazil.
His disappointing spell at Manchester City and out on loan at various clubs saw him fall way down the pecking order for the national team, but since his return to Brazil he started to gain some attention again which led to him being chosen to replace Leandro Damiao.
He is certainly proving in this tournament though that he has something to offer, he is not as much of a creative talent as some of the players around him but he has something that is very valuable to Brazil and that is instinctive finishing. Whilst the magic happens all around him at the feet of players like Neymar, Paulinho and Oscar amongst others, Jo seems to be able to get into the right space to be able to find the net which he has been able to do well in this tournament.
He is definitely a player to look out for to pop up with some more goals in this tournament.
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