Skills from Brazil Read online

The boys knew their time was nearly up.

  “Keep practising A Mágica!” said Rafael, putting his arm around Jamie after they had done a big high five. “I can’t wait to tell Mestre you actually did it!”

  “I will!” replied Jamie. “And if you see Arnaldo, say hi to him and tell him I’m going to be a professional one day, just like him. I believe it now … so much.”

  “Me too, Jamie,” said Rafael. “And don’t worry – I’ll be following your career every step of the way.”

  Both Bernard and Rafael gave Jamie a final wave. Then they slowly turned to walk through the departure gate.

  Jamie waved back. He body was filled with a feeling of complete warmth. He imagined Rafael going back to Brazil, speaking without a stutter and starting to build a new future with his dad. Jamie was so proud to have played his part.

  But just as he considered that thought, another question jumped rapidly into Jamie’s mind: in all the time that he had spent with Rafael, who, really, had been helping who?

  “Rafael!” Jamie shouted, just before they disappeared.

  Rafael turned around.

  “Obrigado,” said Jamie, holding up Rafael’s notepad. He now carried it with him everywhere, just as Rafael had done when he’d first joined the school.

  Rafael’s big, warm Brazilian smile shone back at him.

  “Play on, Foguinho,” said Rafael. His voice rang out clear and true. “Play on…”

  Postscript

  Twenty-five years later

  A press conference is being held at Hawkstone United’s stadium.

  A smartly dressed man walks through the door and into the room. It is full of photographers and journalists all there to hear what he has to say.

  The man sits down at the table and clears his throat. He knows what he is going to say. He prepared these words all of last night. He has been preparing for this moment his entire life.

  He pulls the microphone towards him and begins to speak.

  “I want to say what an honour it is to be managing in the Premier League and, in particular, here at Hawkstone United,” he explains.

  His voice is cool, crisp, clear and confident.

  “This, for me, is a dream come true.”

  A sea of hands rise into the air. All the journalists want to ask him a question. The man points to a reporter in the third row.

  “You’ve already won trophies in Brazil, Portugal and Spain, and we’re delighted to have you in the Premier League now,” the journalist says. “But you are the most wanted young manager in the world … you could have picked any club you liked. So why, of all the clubs in the world, have you picked Hawkstone United?”

  The man smiles. A big Brazilian smile.

  “Because for me, this club … this place … feels like home,” says Rafael da Cruz. “In many ways, my football journey started here when I was a kid. And you are right, I did have many offers from many other clubs, but when I discussed it with my wife Rosária, and I told her how Hawkstone was the club in my heart, we decided I had to take this offer. In the end, it was the only decision we could make.”

  A door opens at the back of the room, and for a second, all of the photographers and cameras turn to face the phenomenal footballer who has just walked in. But Jamie Johnson is not there to steal the attention; he just wants to watch and listen like everyone else.

  “And of course, there is one other very special reason that I had to take this job,” Rafael da Cruz says, acknowledging the new arrival. “As a coach, you simply don’t turn down the opportunity to work with a player like Jamie Johnson.”

  Rafael smiles and nods towards the back of the room. Jamie Johnson, captain of Hawkstone United, is smiling too. He gives his old friend and new manager a big thumbs up. Time has passed but their connection is still there. It will always be there.

  “Since we were kids, I have followed Jamie’s career every step of the way,” says Rafael. “How he has never given up … how he has fought back from his horrendous injuries to become the greatest player in this club’s history.

  “And now, together – with him as my captain – we are about to write a new chapter in Hawkstone’s history … and I hope it will be the most exciting chapter of all.

  “Jamie Johnson is the man to lead and inspire my new team because he plays the game exactly how I believe it should be played: with skill, with freedom, with passion and with, if I may say, that little touch of magic…”

  Top 10 Questions with Dan Freedman

  1.If I have only read Skills From Brazil, which Jamie Johnson books should I read next?

  Well, you’ve got the whole of the Jamie Johnson series to go then! Start with The Kick Off. But remember, it’s just the beginning...

  2.Do you get much fan mail from your readers?

  Yes, what with Facebook, Twitter, my website, emails and letters, there are lots of ways for Jamie Johnson fans to get in touch with me and I always make sure I respond. Being an author, you tend to spend a fair bit of time writing on your own, so hearing from people who have read the books is always a brilliant moment. It makes all the hard work worth it!

  3.What was it like writing about Jamie before he was famous?

  It was great. At one stage, even the best footballers in the world – people like Messi and Ronaldo – were just football-mad schoolkids! So we can all empathize with Jamie’s dream of making it to the top. Going back and writing a prequel was fun for me as an author too because I already know what happens to Jamie next...

  4.Did you do any research about Brazil before you started writing?

  I read lots of books about Brazil, its culture and its football history. It’s such a fascinating country and its football history is so rich that it was a treasure trove of information and superb stories. I’m the same as Jamie: slightly obsessed with Brazilian football. It would make me really proud if some Brazilian kids read this book and liked it.

  5.So is A Mágica a real skill and is it allowed in a game?

  Yes and yes! I always try to include a special skill in the JJ books and I wanted this one to be particularly unique, as Jamie learns it in Brazil – the home of samba skills! So when I found this skill on the internet, I knew it was the one. It’s mostly called the Seal Dribble because it involves the player balancing the ball on their head like a seal. Check it out on the internet – it’s superb!

  6.What’s the best goal you’ve ever seen?

  Marco van Basten bicycle kick for Ajax v Den Bosch in 1986. Check it out.

  7.What’s your favourite thing about writing about Jamie Johnson and who is he based on?

  I get to sit and daydream about football! That’s my job! I also find Jamie very intriguing as a character. I always say that, with Jamie, you’re never quite sure what he’s going to do. Is he going to turn around, produce a sensational bit of skill and belt one in from 35 yards? Or is he going to lose his temper, do something he regrets and get himself sent off? Characters like that keep you guessing, which is great for the readers and the author.

  Jamie is partly based on me (we have a fair bit in common) and partly based on the great players I have been lucky enough to meet. People like Ronaldo, Messi, Rooney... I have taken a little bit from each of these players, added them to my own character and experiences ... and the result is Jamie Johnson. He is the kind of player I would love to see play live.

  8.Which part of Skills From Brazil did you most enjoy writing?

  I loved the story as a whole. The more I thought about it, the more it just seemed to sit right. I felt like my job was to tell it in the best way possible. I loved Jamie’s Brazilian nickname, Foguinho – Little Fire. This was suggested to me by a Brazilian friend of mine who I worked with at the Fustal World Cup ... coming from a Brazilian football expert, I knew I had to use it! I also loved writing about the friendship between Jamie and Rafael, which grew dur
ing the story ... and how it helped give Rafael the confidence to speak freely. Even though I wrote the story and knew what was going to happen, I still felt moved at the end.

  9.If you had to pick any footballer to have a kick around with, who would it be?

  Good question. I’ve got massive respect for Steven Gerrard. He offered me his support before The Kick Off came out, when I was a completely unknown author, and I’ll never forget that. Thierry Henry is a man full of charisma and intelligence. David Beckham and Gary Lineker are both legends as people, never mind what they have achieved in the game. Messi and Ronaldo are both taking football to a new level... But perhaps, at the moment, I would like to have a kick around with Gareth Bale. He’s a left winger – like Jamie – and there are lots of similarities between their stories too, so I have a whole load of questions I need to ask him!

  10.What the best game you’ve ever seen live?

  I was lucky enough to watch the World Cup Quarter Final: Brazil v England in Japan in 2002 and then fly home on the plane to London with the England players afterwards. I’ll never forget it...

  Acknowledgements

  Thanks to:

  Mum, Ivan, Dad and Linda for all your support.

  Major for your fantastic ideas.

  Arnaldo Hase, Stuart Mawhinney, Chris Gerstle, Pedro Badur, Paulo Sivieri, Rowena Simmons, Ena McNamara, Hayley Katz and Martin Hitchcock for your expert advice.

  Zoe King and Neil Blair for joining Jamie’s team.

  David Baldwin for your illustration and for teaching me how to play football! George Roberts for your tactical insights. So glad you are both part of this.

  Natasha Pluckrose, Sim Parrott, Jim Dees, Jim Sells, Phillip Glyn, Jonathan Kaye, Scott Grant, Kieran Nokes, Claire Lewis, Oli Karger, Viv and Irvin for all your help.

  Hazel Ruscoe – this story is inspired by ideas we had together.

  Sam and Joe Talbot for making Jamie’s story real.

  Ms Havers – it was so much fun discussing this with you.

  Lola Cashman for keeping me going all those years ago when I wanted to give up.

  The brilliant Samantha Selby Smith, Jessica White, Jason Cox and the first-class team at Scholastic for everything you have done for me and Jamie Johnson.

  Scholastic Children’s Books

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  First published in the UK by Scholastic Ltd, 2014

  This electronic edition published by Scholastic Ltd, 2014

  Text copyright © Dan Freedman, 2014

  The right of Dan Freedmanto be identified as the authorof this work has been asserted by him.

  eISBN 978 1407 14790 1

  A CIP catalogue record for this work is available from the British Library.

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  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, incidents and dialogues are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

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