JEDDAH, 9 June 2004 — Tcheco, the pride and joy of Al-Ittihad club, has come a long way from his hometown Curitiba in the Brazilian state of Paran. The 28-year-old football player is one of a handful of Brazilians living in Saudi Arabia, and has left his mark on the playing field and more importantly in the hearts of Saudi football fans.

The world-class footballer greeted us with a smile, wearing Bermuda shorts, a T-shirt and sandals.

Anderson Simas Luciano, nicknamed Tcheco, started playing arena football at the age of nine in Curitiba. By the age of 20 he was playing professional football in Brazil and was later invited to play for Yung Ying, a second division team in Ch’ung-ch’ing, China, where he stayed for ten months.

Having returned to Brazil from China, Tcheco began negotiations with some European teams but failed to sign a contract. He was than contacted by Al-Ittihad, much to his surprise. They informed him that they had been following his game for some time and liked what they saw.

“After Sept. 11, I heard a lot about Saudi Arabia, and bringing my family here was a big decision. My wife and I did some research to find out as much as possible about the Kingdom. What I learned was nothing like the Western media was telling us on the news. I came to Saudi Arabia before my wife and son.”

With a sense of adventure and curiosity, Tcheco with his wife and son Leonardo, made the decision to come to Saudi Arabia for a three-year stay.

“I knew that Saudi Arabia was going to be different than Brazil, of course, I was going from the rainforests of the ‘new world’ to the dunes of an ancient people, but the real difference was in the culture. Brazil is made up of people from all over the world so we have a mix of different cultures, but it’s completely different here.”

Having an adventurous spirit, Tcheco and his family are taking full advantage of living in the region. They recently visited Egypt and were awed by the spectacular monuments of an age long past. “I’ve always wanted to see the pyramids and now I have,” he said laughing, “but I came away from Egypt with more than I expected.”

While visiting Egypt, Tcheco came down with a severe case of food poisoning which caused his appendix to inflame and resulted in him losing five kilograms in less than two weeks. While recovering after surgery at a local Jeddah hospital, he was deeply touched by the warmth and compassion of the Saudi people. He was secretly kept in the pediatrics ward of the hospital where he was less likely to be recognized by the general public, so that he could get rest and make a speedy recovery. This scheme however, did little to stop the influx of visitors and well-wishers.

When asked what he thinks of his fans, Tcheco smiled and said: “The fans here are very organized; they have an Internet site and all. They are very warm and show a lot of support for me and the team.”

He then went on to tell us one of the experiences with some well-wishers.

“When I was in the hospital I had so many visitors, I really felt loved. One incident deeply moved me a lot. A Saudi lady brought her grandchildren to visit me, and she told me that I could not leave the Kingdom. When I asked her why, she said to me, ‘You are one of us now, you are a Saudi.’ That really meant something to me. My wife was naturally concerned for my well being; however the doctors and nurses always made sure she had all the information about me so she wouldn’t worry so much. She was extremely happy with how I was being taken care of.”

My wife and son have come to like living in Saudi Arabia. My wife loves the fact that our son can run and play freely outdoors, something that we would not be comfortable in Brazil.

Tcheco told Arab News that Brazilian supporters are much more demanding than their Saudi counterparts.

“Brazilian fans are very critical of how you perform. If you don’t play well, they make sure you know it. But here the fans are warm no matter how you play.” He continued, “It’s funny, wherever I go people come up to me and ask me for photos and autographs, and they never let me pay at restaurants. But the children are my favorite, they just grin and stare, too shy to do anything else. I have a soft spot for children, I guess.”

When asked if playing in the Saudi league was hindering his game, he said: “No, as a matter of fact, I have improved in many areas of my game.” He went on to explain. “In Brazil, the focus is on the attack, so this means that less attention is given to defense, whereas here the defenders are well trained and quite a challenge by comparison. This has forced me to perform better on the offensive.”

“When I play I like to communicate with my teammates, the only problem is that I don’t speak Arabic and my English isn’t that good. Our coach is Brazilian so at least I don’t have any problems understanding him.”

Being a star footballer, Tcheco has become a mentor for many young Saudis who aspire to be like him. So, Arab News asked him who his football hero was while growing up. “I was a big fan of Zico!” was his immediate response. He went on to tell us an important lesson he learned from his father, Zeze.

“Once, after watching me play in a game in Brazil where I scored a goal in front of a full stadium, my father told me that a player has the power to make people happy. God has given us this gift. In any game, I always try to give my best. I think of the families of the players, the fans, especially the children’s happiness. This is something I learned from my father and I’d like to pass on to other players. I will live with this precious lesson for the rest of my life.”