From Brazil to Dubai via the Premier League: Jo seeks stability with Al Shabab

Jo, among a slew of high-profile Brazilian arrivals to the UAE this summer, is seeking silverware and a way 'to get back into the national team' as Al Shabab continue in the Arabian Gulf Cup on Friday.

DUBAI // Caio Junior, the Al Shabab coach, is excited about the Brazilian stars who moved to the Arabian Gulf League this summer and he believes they will play a big part in deciding the final destination of the trophies this season.

Three Brazil internationals – Shabab’s Jo, who was a member of the home team at the 2014 World Cup, Thiago Neves of Al Jazira and Al Nasr’s Nilmar – are among the new arrivals from Caio Junior’s homeland this summer.

Other Brazilians to the league include Al Ain’s Fellipe Bastos, a former Brazil youth international, and Al Ahli’s Rodrigo Lima, who arrives after winning two consecutive Portuguese league titles with Benfica. Lima also won the Golden Boot in Portugal and has hit the ground running here, scoring four goals in three matches for his new club.

Sharjah’s Maicosuel also boasts an impressive CV, having won the Copa do Brasil and Recopa Sudamericana last season with Atletico Mineiro. And, of course, there is Everton Ribeiro at Ahli, a member of the Brazilian squad at this summer’s Copa America in Chile.

“I believe this season for us Brazilians will be very nice,” said Caio Junior, whotakes Shabab to Al Ain on Friday night for their second match of the Arabian Gulf Cup.

“Some very good Brazilian players have come to the league this summer: Lima at Al Ahli, Nilmar at Nasr, Jo here, Thiago Neves at Jazira, Maicosuel in Sharjah and Bastos at Al Ain. Then Everton Ribeiro came here in January.

“So we have six or seven new players and they are all very good players, very nice players.”

A few other notable stars also moved to the UAE this summer, including former Arsenal man Denilson, who captained runners-up Brazil at the 2005 Fifa Under 17 World Cup, and Jorge Valdivia, who played a big part in Chile’s Copa America triumph on home soil in July.

The presence of such high-quality players in the AGL has raised Jo’s hopes of forcing his way back into the Brazil national team.

“I am working hard and trying to score because I want to get back into the national team and I believe it is possible to do that playing here in this league,” he said.

“More and more people are getting to know about the league here and that is why we have players like Jorge Valdivia coming here. So the world is watching this league and if I have a good season, anything is possible.”

Jo, a winner of the bronze medal at the 2008 Olympic Games, made his last appearance for Brazil in the third-place play-off defeat to the Netherlands at last year’s World Cup. He has struggled for goals recently though, and went more than a year without scoring before ending his drought this May by netting the winner for Atletico Mineiro in the Campeonato Mineiro final against Caldense.

The 28-year-old former Manchester City striker has not taken that long to find the net for Shabab, however, scoring the opening goal in the 3-2 Arabian Gulf Cup win over Dibba last week, and he is now hoping to help his team get at least a point from Friday’s match against Al Ain.

“The team is missing a few key players but we have some good young players here,” Jo said. “Maybe it is a difficult game but we need to go there looking for three points. That’s very important for us.

“When I decided to come here it was a new challenge for me and I believe I can win titles with Shabab. I am working very hard, the team is working very hard and we believe in each other.

“I am feeling good because I have spent a month in Dubai. It is very hot, of course, but now I am getting used to it, adapting to the conditions here with every game and every training session.”

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