Richarlison: "Wearing the No.10 shirt of Pele, Neymar, Ronaldinho... I felt like a king"
The Brazil superstar is part of the 'World at their Feet' original series on Olympics.com, he talks playing with Neymar, his Olympic gold "dream come true," the World Cup, and playing at Paris 2024 with Dani Alves again in this exclusive interview.
Football
Dream debuts don't get much dreamier than scoring a hat-trick in the first half-an-hour of your Olympic football debut: Just ask Brazil and Tottenham Hotspur star-striker Richarlison.
"It was incredible, I was wearing the No.10 shirt and in the tunnel before the game Dani Alves came and said to me: 'ah so you're wearing the number 10 eh? I want to see some goals from you!'
"So when I scored three in the first 30 minutes I felt pretty relieved!"
"It was my first hat-trick as a professional and really important to score those three goals to help me deal with the weight of wearing the number 10."
And it got even better.
The forward launched Brazil's World Cup campaign at Qatar 2022 soring both goals in their 2-0 opening win over Serbia. His second goal, a beautiful scissor kick, is already being called one of the great goals in World Cup history.
Richarlison was speaking to Olympics.com as part of a new Olympic Channel Original Series called 'World At Their Feet' which takes you into the lives of 11 football players from Germany, Poland, Japan, Iran, Brazil and beyond, many of whom are playing at the Qatar 2022 FIFA Men's World Cup.
In this exclusive interview, the Brazilian talks about playing with "prankster" Neymar, what he's like in training, if the Canarinho are favourites to win the World Cup, playing at Paris 2024, and his greatest of all time.
The series also hears from the friends, family, and coaches of the 11 players. Richarlison tells us how he moved from playing for América Mineiro and Fluminense in his native Brazil, to England in a career which has seen him play at Watford, Everton, and now Tottenham Hotspur in the English Premier League.
Neymar, Richarlison, and Dani Alves included in Brazil's final FIFA World Cup squad for Qatar 2022
Richarlison: Olympic gold medallist to World Cup winner?
Richarlison's Tokyo 2020 Olympics in 2021 couldn't have been scripted better:
He scored five goals in six games, finished as top scorer of the entire competition, took home a gold medal, and played a massive part in successfully defending the title Neymar helped Brazil win at Rio 2016.
"I was really happy, I discovered in the final that I was top scorer, my first time as top scorer," continues Richarlison.
"And like I said, the number 10 shirt of Pele, Neymar, Ronaldinho, I felt like a king because they gave me the number 10 and I finished up as top scorer, just as people expect to seeing from the Brazil No.10.
"I arrived (In Tokyo) feeling light and loose and played my best football... It was a dream come true."
Will Brazil win the FIFA World Cup 2022?
So will Brazil win the World Cup in Qatar?
"I don't like to use those words," Richarlison says.
"I prefer do the work, work quietly and keep our heads down, working hard day by day with the team, and of course our coach Tite is preparing us day in day out so we can show up and play a great World Cup.
"I've learned to show respect and not to talk about being champion before it happens, I prefer to do the talking on the pitch during the World Cup and people can see for themselves."
He knows it won't be easy.
"Winning a World Cup is tough, there are a lot of good teams like the current champions France, Belgium also has a good team, Argentina are a good team too, they won the Copa America, there are a lot of strong teams.
"But of course Brazil with its history, people always expect big things and whoever wears the Brazilian shirt will try and achieve those things for the people."
Achieving those things will depend on the performance of one of the biggest football megastars on the planet - Richarlison's teammate Neymar.
"Neymar is a prankster" - Richarlison
Richarlison's face lights up with a smile when Olympics.com asks what kind of person Neymar is.
"Neymar is a lot of fun, a prankster, always laughing and joking, he's my idol, someone I admire a lot and on the pitch he's a marvel, a player who always get us in front of goal."
So what is Neymar like in training?
"During training we usually have a lot of fun, and we work hard so things go well during the matches, we know Neymar is a superstar everybody respects him so we do what we can so he feels good in training too."
The 25-year-old Tottenham player also confirms that Neymar excels on the biggest stage, becoming inspired to perform the dizzying dribbles and mesmerising magic for the spotlight.
"Neymar is more about the match, in training it's a little lighter. He saves his best game for the opponent."
But when you ask him who the best player in the world is at the moment he doesn't choose his fellow countryman:
"At the moment? [Karim] Benzema," says Richarlison.
And the best player of all time?
He thinks on it before saying "Messi? Or maybe Pele... Pele, O Rei, Pele's the king."
Richarlison and Dani Alves back at the Paris 2024 Olympics?
Richarlison reveals that Dani Alves wants to defend their Olympic gold medal at Paris 2024, and has already asked Richarlison to go with him.
"Now we have the next Olympics in France and Dani Alves asked if I'd like to go again and I said 'if they call me for the Selecao I'm always up for it,' it's important to be there for your country the Brazilian shirt."
Look out for this exclusive interview in the 'World at their Feet' Original Series on Olympics.com, the episode featuring Richarlison is set to be released on 14/15 November.
All Olympics.com Original Series and sports documentary feature films are available free-to-air and you can stream them directly on the site right here, no subscription required.
And remember, Richarlison is just one of 11 episodes in the series.
World at their Feet
Meet some of the top Olympic footballers to watch out for at FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. They recount their journey to becoming professional players as they are about to embark on a major international event.
'World at their Feet' original series
Richarlison is joined by Spanish goalkeeper Unai Simon, Senegal star Cheikhou Kouyate, and Kaoru Mitoma from Japan, among many others in the Olympic Channel series
11 players on an upward trajectory in their careers have taken part in this series which will feature exclusive interviews, behind-the-scenes footage, and plenty of footballing action.
Many are due to start for their national teams at the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, the biggest football tournament there is.
Here's a full list of the players involved in the Olympic Channel 'World At Their Feet' documentary series:
- Richarlison de Andrade (Brazil) – Tottenham
- Matthias Ginter (Germany) – Freiburg
- Alexis McAllister (Argentina) – Brighton
- Kaoru Mitoma (Japan): Brighton
- Sadar Azmoun (Iran): Bayer Leverkusen
- Jan Bednarek (Poland): Aston Villa
- Chris Wood (New-Zealand) : Newcastle Utd
- Cheikhou Kouyate (Senegal) – Nottingham Forest
- David Raum (Germany) – RB Leipzig
- Imran Louza (Morocco) - Watford
- Unai Simon (Spain) - Athletic Bilbao
Keep an eye on our social media @Olympics channels for trailers and additional content before and during the World Cup.