JOAO PEDRO has been as ice cool in front of goal for Chelsea as team-mate Cole Palmer.
But behind the £60million summer signing’s successful start to life at Stamford Bridge is a story of death, turmoil and struggle.
When Pedro was still an infant in the Brazilian city of Ribeirao Preto, his father, a Botafogo midfielder known as Chicao, was jailed for 18 years for being an accessory to murder.
That shocking turn of events left estranged wife Flavia to do her best to help their son fulfil his dream of following his dad into the game.
Eduardo Oliveira, Pedro’s Under-17 team coach at Fluminense and now a coach educator for the Brazilian FA, said: “People only see the top part of the iceberg above the water. No one knows what the iceberg endures below the water level.
“The same goes for Joao Pedro. No one knows how he has had to fight, sweat and cry to reach Chelsea and now the Brazil national team.
“It’s not easy to grow up without your father’s presence and help.
“I understand that sometimes his mother would not eat so she could give food to Joao Pedro.
“Nothing says more about the eternal love of a mother for her children.”
When Chicao was released in 2010 after serving eight years in prison, he tried to resume his career and appeared on TV with Pedro.
There was talk of him playing again for Botafogo, where his eight-year-old son was already making waves in the youth set-up.
But Chicao never found another professional club and Pedro got on with life as best he could.
Initially a combative midfielder like his dad, at ten he caught the eye of scouts from Fluminense at a youth tournament.
But accepting their offer meant moving hundreds of miles to Rio de Janeiro.
Flavia had a business degree and a flat to rent out but problems with finding tenants and a new job in a new town led to financial difficulties.
Fluminense stepped in to help and Pedro started to make a name for himself.
But after the age of 13, his star began to fade. A growth spurt left him tall and skinny, issues which had been of concern to his previous coaches at Botafogo.
Oliveira, who started working with the player when he was 16, said: “The turning point for Joao came when we decided to switch up his position.
“He initially played as a No 10 but once we saw his potential, we shifted him to a more attacking role because of his skills.
“What really stood out about Joao was his ability to soak up new tactical concepts and ideas instantly and he put it in practice in the training sessions and games.
“He was like a sponge absorbing water. He got everything at the first time of asking.
“He was incredibly focused and driven. He was fully engaged in every drill, video meeting and discussion in the dressing room.
“On top of all that, he was super competitive. He hated losing, even in rondos.”
When the centre-forward of Fluminense’s Under-17 side was promoted to the first team, opportunity knocked.
Oliveira said: “We were forced to give Joao a chance and he fortunately proved to be a natural goalscorer.
“It was an incredible thing. He was in the right place when the ball came his way and he knew exactly what to do with it to dribble past his marker and shoot for goal.”
Pedro was soon ready for the Fluminense first team, where he attracted the attention of Liverpool, Manchester City and other top teams.
But Watford were well connected with the Brazilian club after signing Richarlison.
Pedro in turn could see the pathway and arrived at Vicarage Road in January 2020.
He immediately showed the same professionalism and maturity that had so impressed Oliveira. With mum Flavia, stepdad Carlos Junior and other family and friends living with him in Hertfordshire, the teenager applied himself to learning the English game and language with equal commitment.
Although sometimes he was a bit too committed, as then Watford captain Troy Deeney recalled earlier this year in a SunSport column.
Deeney said: “He was too keen to prove he was a man, that he was ready for English football, that he wasn’t, in his own words, a ‘soft Brazilian’.
“So whenever he got kicked — in training as well as in matches — he started losing his head and picking fights.
“As his skipper and strike partner, I’d tell him, ‘I’ll do the ugly stuff, that’s my skill set. I’ll make sure nobody bullies you — you just play your football’.”
The Covid pandemic stopped everyone playing football and Watford were relegated when the season finally ended in July 2020.
But Pedro played his part in the Hornets’ immediate promotion.
He scored his first Prem goal in the 4-1 win over Manchester United in November 2021 and dedicated it to his late stepfather — another hurdle he had to overcome.
After a second relegation, the Brazilian was outstanding in the Championship in 2022/23 and Brighton spent a club-record initial fee of £30m to sign him.
Pedro scored an impressive 30 goals and provided ten assists in 70 games for the Seagulls.
He was regarded as a fine player and a good character although sometimes his petulance would rub team-mates and Brighton fans up the wrong way.
And as rumours about a possible exit grew at the end of last season, he was sent off for a reckless elbow in a defeat against Brentford and then left out of the final two games following a training-ground bust-up with Jan Paul van Hecke.
Despite all that, Brighton would happily have kept their star forward — but Chelsea’s bid of £60m was too good to turn down for a player who was keen to move.
Pedro went straight from the beach in his homeland to join the Blues at the Club World Cup.
There he scored both goals against his former club Fluminense in the semi-final and another in the final win over Paris Saint-Germain.
Pedro has been a big plus in Chelsea’s stuttering start to the season, claiming two goals and three assists in his first five Premier League games for the Blues.
Oliveira said: “Even when Joao left Fluminense, I told them that in five years he was going to take a bigger step in his career. I wasn’t wrong.
“Joao’s journey hasn’t been a walk in the park. That’s why I always highlight how eager he was to learn.
“He knew that football was his ticket to helping his mum and he was determined to do it sooner rather than later.
“His story has been one of pain, suffering and courage.”
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