Exported Brazilian Soccer Players Cross Paths Again In Reno
A strong friendship and joint history bonds the two, but as Reynolds Media Lab soccer correspondent Kiley Diesner reports, Luis Felipe is nowleaving Reno 1868 FC, while Victor Pelae has just signed to play for Reno, starting in the Spring of 2018.
On December 14, Reno 1868 FC announced that their former midfielder, Luis Felipe, along with two other players had signed with the San Jose Earthquakes.
Just nine days earlier, the team had announced that they had signed forward Victor Pelae to play for the Reno team for their 2018 season.
The two players, Luis Felipe and Pelae, have a long intertwined history.
Back and Forth Between the U.S. and Brazil
Luis Felipe was born in New York to Brazilian parents and the family moved to Belo Horizonte, Brazil when he was four. Pelae was born and raised in Brazil and grew up in Sao Paulo.
The two both began playing soccer at a young age and later came to the U.S. to pursue their professional soccer dreams. Luis Felipe was picked up by the Fort Lauderdale Strikers in 2016. After playing at three different colleges and professionally briefly in Seattle, Pelea was also picked up by the Florida team.
The two were teammates for a season, but halfway through the 2017 season Luis Felipe was signed by the 1868. Even though he only played for half of the season, Luis Felipe had 5 goals and 3 assists in the short period of time he played center midfield for the team.
Reunited but Then Parting Ways Again
With part of the season still left, Luis Felipe got a call from former teammate Victor Pelae that he too had been picked up by the 1868.
“He just called me and told me he was coming and I was surprised because I wasn’t expecting that call,” said Luis Felipe.
Though Pelae didn’t officially sign until early December, he moved to Reno towards the end of the 2017 season to begin training with the team.
So the two Brazilians were reunited once again and took advantage of their time living in the same city once again. The teammates competed in daily competitions with one another, including playing three games of FIFA a day while keeping a tally of who won.
“We play three games a day, I usually win two,” said Luis Felipe laughing.
A Friendship Through Soccer Journeys
Now that Luis Felipe has signed with the San Jose Earthquakes, he will begin training with them in late January. Victor will return to Reno in January for pre-season training with the 1868.
Soccer brought them together twice, and they both believe that it will somehow bring them together again. They keep in touch and plan to hang out for a few day in January when they are both back in Reno before officially going their separate ways again.
They both plan to make the travel squad for their new teams in the upcoming season.
