Exclusive: Boy Wonder. Next Pele?

Endrick Felipe is a nice kid, a good son, and an extraordinary striker. Many believe he is football's next big thing, a worthy successor to the legendary Pelé. THE WEEK chases the boy and his story

- Milan Sime Martinic/São Paulo & Brasilia

Trotting up the stairs, and out of the tunnel into São Paulo’s Allianz Parque, the interplay of light and shadow looks like the collective movement of 43,000 fans. As one exits the hollow in the earth and comes to eye level with the turf, three shades of green rise toward the piece of sky above; it is Palmeiras green, and 16-year-old Endrick Felipe Moreira de Sousa is wearing it.

He is carrying three generations of his own history, and the aspirations of millions of fans who want him to score beautiful goals they can savour in the Parque and then in the comfort of their drawing room. To be standing where he stands today is every footballer’s fantasy. He has entered a world we can see, but cannot enter.

It took talent, courage, focus, family, skill, will, grit, art, and hours of training to reach where he has. Also, the “blessings of God”, which Endrick acknowledges in almost every post of his on Instagram. On September 18, ahead of his Palmeiras senior team debut, he posted pictures of him in the team jacket and the jersey. He wrote: “God just keeps blessing me. Another dream come true! God is unexplainable!”

Coach Abel Ferreira did not give Endrick, who was wearing # 16 instead of his customary # 9, play time, but it is only a matter of time before he yields to the temptation.

In this moment he is everyone’s hero. Among the anticipation and the excitement, as the cheers of the fans hit the players in the face before the whistle blows, hangs one question: Is he ready for battle of the big boys?

Many believe he is. “He scored five goals in six games, and friends were raving about this big talent coming through,” Palmeiras fan Gustave Morrison from New Zealand recalled how he was introduced to an exceptional talent.