Heaven and Hell
Brazil is the most prolific country in the world of football, with 5 world cups in its cabinets. And, they’ve never stopped from having great players, before, now, and probably in the future, players that play for the best teams in the world. So, we can say that they’re used to this life of success, with both Football Club and National Team.
But, this is not the case for Richarlison, the player from Everton is immersed in a fight to avoid relegation. But, he is usually called up to play for his National Team and the coach Tite seems to trust him a lot, despite having competition in front. So, in the recent matches for the World Cup qualifiers, he got the call to play against Chile and Bolivia.
In the first match against a Chile, that were hoping to make the impossible (Brazil have NEVER lost a World Cup qualifier match in their country), Richarlison played 15 minutes and that was enough to make an impact on the game, playing on the wing, he scored the last goal after a great shot, to get an easy 4–0 win for Brazil in their last home match in the qualifiers.
Maybe his performance in these minutes earned him the opportunity to play against Bolivia in La Paz from the beginning. Whatever what’s the reason behind Tite’s decision, it doesn’t matter because it was the right one. Richarlison scored a brace in that game playing as number 9, showing that being a versatile player is always important for all the teams in high-level football. Brazil finished their road to Qatar with another win with 4 goals of difference, this time playing away. And, Richarlison was indeed one of the main figures in both matches.
Back to Reality
When coming back to his club, Everton, Richarlison sees another reality, the team from Liverpool is plunged into a difficult and stressful situation playing to avoid relegation, something that no one expected when the season started. But, if Richarlison has something special is his effort, he always delivers in that matter, and even if he would want the situation to be different, he’s the kind of player that every team needs to overcome this type of obstacle.
But, despite all the effort, results sometimes won’t come, especially in this team sport. This is what happened in their first match after the international break, Everton played against West Ham in London, and when they were just one goal away from getting a draw they lost Michael Keane after being sent off with 25’ left in the second half, this in a way or another, killed the game and made it really difficult for them to get a positive result.
But, after that difficult match against a top-four contender team, they had a chance to redeem facing Burnley, their rivals in the fight to avoid relegation. Knowing how important this match was, Richarlison delivered, this time scoring a brace from the penalty spot, this would put the Toffees 1–2 up at the break. But, after a horrible second half, Everton bottled the match and finished losing 3–2, despite the great performance by Richarlison who was the best player for his team that night.
Looking to get out of hell
A situation like this for a club like Everton is always difficult, the tension in the air and the nervousness with every match make it more like Hell. A place that Richarlison is looking to get out together with their teammates and Frank Lampard. And, after the loss in the derby of Merseyside against Liverpool, the panorama looks more complicated than ever. Burnley are in a good form since sacking Sean Dyche, and with the new manager, Michael Jackson they are 2 points above Everton. So, with 6 games to go, and a difficult calendar the Toffees need a miracle.
Richarlison and Everton will get out of Hell and go back to Heaven to play the next season in the Premier League and Richarlison for Brazil in the World Cup or they will be destined to burn in the Championship? We will see…
