Football
ESPN staff 6y

Richarlison: Marco Silva is 'going to be one of the world's top managers'

Richarlison has put his excellent early-season form down to the management of Marco Silva and backed his new manager to become one of the best in the world in years to come.

The 20-year-old has played a key role in Watford's surprise start to the Premier League since joining from Fluminese on a five-year deal.

He has scored three goals and set up another in his first eight Premier League appearances, and he hopes that form can go on to see him called up by Brazil and write history with Watford.

"Playing in the Premier League was my childhood dream, because it's the most watched football league in the world, and also the hardest," Richarlison told ESPN Brasil. "After Marco called me, I did some research on Watford and we reached an agreement in no time. The Premier League is just as I imagined: really hard and intense games. The stadiums and pitches are excellent, and the referees are much better than in Brazil.

"Marco Silva is a young coach and he loves talking to the players. He is always talking to me, telling me what I should do in the field, how I should position myself according to his tactics. He is always giving me useful advice. In some years, he's going to be one of the world's top managers, I have no doubt about that. Everybody here in our team trust a lot in his work. Apart from that, we can talk in Portuguese, and that makes everything easier for me, as I don't speak English yet.

"We want to finish the Premier League on the best position we can. We know that it will be really tough for us, because the league has a lot of big clubs that spent a lot in new players, but our goal is to finish on the top side of the table and maybe go to the Champions League or Europa League. Who knows?"

"My plan is to write history here at Watford. I want to score a lot of goals and be remembered by the crowd. Also, I expect to be called one day by the Brazilian national team, which is my No. 1 goal in my life. To be in a World Cup is my dream. I need to work hard and keep improving so that if one day a have this opportunity I'm ready to perform well."

Richarlison has not taken long to adjust to English football, but singles out John Stones as the toughest opponent he has come across so far.

He said: "When we lost 6-0 to Manchester City I faced the guy who made things most difficult for me in my nine games for Watford: John Stones. He is tall, strong and really good."

Richarlison has always been made to feel welcome by several other Brazilians also playing in the Premier League.

He said: "I always visit David Luiz, because he's a great guy and is always inviting me to his home. I also swapped shirts with Roberto Firmino and Gabriel Jesus, who were really kind to me when we faced each other.

"When I see the guys that I'm facing nowadays, sometimes I remember that a couple years ago I was just a boy playing on the streets of the city where I was born. Now, I'm playing against [Sergio] Aguero, [Kevin] De Bruyne, the world's best! That quite an honour for anyone.

"My life has changed a lot. In three years everything has changed. Nowadays, I can help my family, and I have to thank God for that. I need to be humble and never lose focus. I want to keep helping my family and everyone who needs my support."

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