Nice to hear from him. still can feel some of the snideness of Edwards coming through, though.
How does it feel to be a £40 million club-record signing, a striker handed Newcastle United’s most iconic shirt number, who scores just two league goals and struggles so badly in your first season that nobody can understand why you were signed?
How do you cope with hearing thousands of groans when you miss yet another chance? How do you handle the risk of ridicule that comes every time you post on social media, and how do you deal with being described as one of the Premier League’s worst ever signings?
Joelinton knows, which makes it all the more impressive that he is willing to speak publicly about it.
Throughout all his personal ordeal, Joelinton has never given up; never shirked or hidden. He has not complained once about the criticism or spiteful abuse he has received. He has suffered and endured but has “never regretted signing for Newcastle”.
“This feels like a new start,” Joelinton tells The Telegraph, his muscular frame filling the screen as we talk, through an interpreter, on Zoom. “I sort of want to forget about last season, it wasn’t the best. But I am happy, on and off the pitch. I am feeling confident, too. I’ve been playing well. I have scored some goals [against Morecambe] and I have helped the team get some wins. I want to keep growing, developing and learning. If I am here with confidence, it will help the team be successful. The whole team helped me get through the tough times. It wasn’t just my team-mates, it was the coaching staff, the whole club really. They were always alongside me, they believed in me, and they provided me with the support I needed not to buckle, the support to keep going.
“My family are always alongside me. Difficulties arise in football – not just in football, but in life and in work. I never gave up. I continued to believe in myself, I continued to work. I have confidence in my potential because I would not have come here if I did not show my true ability previously.”
Joelinton in action with Manchester City's Bernardo Silva and Raheem Sterling
Joelinton takes on Manchester City in the Champions League in 2018 during his breakthrough season with Hoffenheim CREDIT: REUTERS/Darren Staples
The striker who cannot score goals is like the dancer who forgets a routine on stage, the rugby player who keeps dropping the ball, the person who forgets to bring their wallet on a night out. They are singled out, blamed and ostracised.
Some of the abuse directed at Joelinton has, even by modern standards, been particularly vicious. Yet he smiles when it is brought up. Incredibly, there is no bitterness or resentment, only empathy and understanding. “Football is passion and love and when you are dealing with these feelings it is difficult for people to hold on to their emotions,” he says. “I understand them a little in terms of their criticism, but as well as critics, I have received a lot of support and help.
“I am the first person to be very critical of myself, I demand a lot from myself and I could feel the same frustration as the fans.
“They way they express it, that is part of being a fan, good and bad. There is a lot of passion here [in Newcastle], but there is also love.
“I prefer to take the positives, of course, but it all helps me. I received a lot of lovely messages from fans too. I save those. My motivation hasn’t changed. Outside, around the city, I’ve always had very good interactions with the fans. They have always been very supportive. There has not been a single ugly episode or angry interaction. That shows what the fans of Newcastle are like.
“I get my resilience from my family, the way my parents raised me, brought me up and educated me. They taught me to never give up. It has taken a lot of hard work to get where I am, I have had to overcome a lot of difficulties to be here now.
“I know where I have come from. If there are problems and challenges, I will get over them. I have been like this since I was a child. It’s just the type of person I am.”
Joelinton was 23 when he arrived from German club Hoffenheim to fill Newcastle’s famous No 9 shirt, worn by Jackie Milburn, Malcolm Macdonald, Andy Cole, Les Ferdinand and Alan Shearer, among others. He should not have been given it because he is not a natural No 9, certainly not in an English sense. The Brazilian is more of a wide forward who has played most of his football behind the main striker. Manager Steve Bruce spotted that straight away, but with no other strikers fit enough to start – Andy Carroll and Dwight Gayle rarely were last term – he had to persevere.
Joelinton
Joelinton scores against Tottenham in August 2019 CREDIT: Action Images via Reuters/John Sibley
Bruce is extremely protective of Joelinton and if you spend any time in the player’s company, you see why. He is a warm, generous, determined and intelligent young man.
“We have a great relationship,” says Joelinton when the manager’s name is mentioned. “Steve is a great guy and a great coach. He was a player previously, so he understands what we are all going through. He has always trusted me and he always defended me from the criticism. He is a great person.”
As to, it seems, is he. Joelinton became a father for the second time earlier this month, his daughter Julia, a Geordie born in the city’s RVI Hospital, while his three-year-old son, Neto, is his biggest fan and source of inspiration. “Only people who have become a father can explain it,” he says when asked what fatherhood had done for him. “It is so emotional, such happiness. It is different to anything else. I am ever so happy that I have two marvellous children in good health.
“It’s having someone who depends on you, who needs you to work, someone who needs you to provide for all your needs, who needs your love, who needs everything. Being a father really motivates me. My son loves football, he’s so happy when I score a goal. It motivates me more than anything, to get the win and take it back to him at home.”
Joelinton also initially struggled at Hoffenheim, sent out on loan to Rapid Vienna before helping the unfashionable Bundesliga side qualify for the Champions League. He came through a bad patch before and is convinced he will do so again.
“I left Brazil when I was very young and moved to a completely different country and culture,” he says. “It was a different playing style, different off the pitch and on it. I was on my own, I did not know how to speak German, and so I think that experience made me stronger.
“You overcome those difficulties. It was definitely a good experience. I learnt a lot. There were really hard moments, but I came through them. That has helped me at Newcastle.”
There are encouraging signs. Joelinton has played well in the past two Premier League games, against Tottenham and Burnley, and looks far more comfortable in his surroundings. “The last few games, I have been playing in a different position, a position I played many times for Hoffenheim,” he says. “It felt good, having two attacking players around me, I hope that continues. I hope I score a lot more goals.
“Callum Wilson coming in [from Bournemouth] is very welcome. He can play as the front striker and I like to drop into space behind. I want to score more goals, but I am looking forward to good, positive things ahead. I think it is bringing out the best in me.”
You would have to have a heart of stone as a Newcastle fan if you do not want things to work out for him.
'Green Giant' prominently displayed. Clearly a reference to Saudi Arabia. The fridge is an Electrolux 'PREMIER'. Green Giant. The Saudi's are coming!