As he helps his coach and teammates set up small plastic cones in the sand, Sergio Leandro de Oliveira Jr. doesn’t say a word. The 19-year-old from Rio de Janeiro tends to keep to himself, and when he does speak, it is softly. He looks down at his hands often when asked about his status as a rising soccer star and, when he does glance up from time to time, he averts his eyes again quickly.
With everything in place, he and the other players on the junior Botafogo team break off into pairs and start running drills. It’s 86 degrees on Copacabana beach and the afternoon sun is cruel by the time they start their scrimmage. It’s easy to see why people say his game is smooth, or liso in Portuguese, as he makes his way through his teammates, his bare feet carrying the ball straight passed the goalkeeper’s reach.
The first gift Sergio ever received was a soccer ball when he was six months old, because, as he says, “it’s every boy’s first gift in Brazil.” While his two older brothers—one a half-brother from his father’s previous relationship and the other not biological, but raised by his family—chose not to pursue the sport as a career, Sergio knew it was his path.
After spending his childhood playing in the streets and on the beaches of Rio, Sergio joined his first league team, Tigres do Brasil, when he was 11. His skills on the field as a midfielder were quickly noticed and by the age of 15 he had been recruited to play on a junior team in the state of Ceará, some 1500 miles from home. His parents stayed behind with his younger brother, Gabriel, so they could continue to work, and rented a house in the northeastern state where Sergio lived alone. He soon came back to Rio because his parents were concerned about their young son living so far away and without his family’s support.
But Sergio didn’t stay still for long. Soon after, he was recruited to play on Santos Laguna, a professional team in Liga MX, Mexico’s top-level soccer league system. An overzealous manager ended up driving a wedge between Sergio and his team due to contractual demands and, just one month later, he was on his way back toBrazil.
While his dream is to be a part of the Botafogo professional team, Sergio says he’s happy to play for anyone who will have him. “I just want to play soccer,” he says as he stoops down to pick up the sand-covered cones when practice is over.
His current team is a stepping-stone for when he rejoins the São Cristóvão juniors, which will hopefully propel him forward and land him a new contract with the professionals.
“He has a huge career ahead of him,” says Rodrigo Santos, Sergio’s coach and technical trainer with the Botafogo juniors.
His teammates all give reassuring nods at the statement, but Sergio only offers up a shy smile. He’s humble off the field, but you’d never know it when he has a ball at his feet.
