Imagine you are a veteran goalkeeper, a second-choice goalie in a second division team, with zero experience in a first-tier club.
One day, your agent calls you. He’s saying you’ve received an offer from a first division team. A club with a major history, which is at the moment is struggling at the bottom of the table, fighting against relegation. Moreover, it‘s the team you’ve been supporting all your life, since childhood.
But you know it is a different situation. First division football is far more stressful. The competition for game time is even bigger, and you are not that young anymore. Plus, your family is already settled in a certain routine, and this move can harm it. What would you do?
This is exactly the conflict Jailson, Palmeiras’ goalkeeper, had, before he accidentally became an integral part of the club’s 2016 Brasilerao title, It’s first in 22 years. This is a story of an unbelievable, magical and inspiring coincidence, but also a story about dreams.
A Son of a Varzea Player and a Corinthians Fan
Jailson Marcelino dos Santos was born in São José dos Campos, Brazil, in 1981. He grew up humbly at his grandmother’s, Dona Nacife, house, along all of his family. His father, Gérson, was a varzea football player, a none professional football scenario, usually played on open fields caused by fleds.
Jailson is a modest and positive man. He likes to fish and watch the water goes by sea or the river. He's always smiling.
Football has always been his passion. Since he was a kid, he took a ball with him everywhere. He used to play a lot with his mother, Maria Antonia. His mother is a passionate Corinthians’ fan. She has a tattoo of a hawk, the symbol of the Corinthians most important firm. Unfortunately for her, her son did not follow her passion. Since he was a kid, he loved another club from São Paulo - Palmeiras. His dream, since childhood, was playing for the Verdão.
When turned professional, he made the first steps of his career in Campinense. It wasn’t a great success, and he began to travel between several clubs in Brazil until he landed in Guaratinguetá.
There, Jailson shined. He played more than 100 games and became a club idol. After the stint there, he wanted a new challenge and went to Oeste, and then Ceará. In Ceará, he played a few matches but it did not go so well. Jason founded himself on the bench, out of his coach’s plans. After finally playing regularly, it was hard to go down to the bench again. He was over 30 already, and his career did not take off.
But from this low point, a big shift has occurred. Out of nowhere, Palmeiras, the Sao Paulo giants, offered him a contract. His Palmeiras. The club he grew up to love.
An Offer from the Dreams
Jailson was in shock. How would a team that already had great goalkeepers like Marcos, Cattani, Velloso and now Fernando Prass, would want to hire an old substitute goalkeeper who had never played a single minute of first division football? The first thing he did was to call his grandmother, Dona Nacife.
“I have some good news grandma,” he said. –“Have you won the lottery?” - "No, it's a lot better than that. I’m going to sign with Palmeiras!”
And he did. On October 1, 2014, Jailson became a Palmeiras player officially. The team was bad and was a threat to relegation. But despite the enthusiasm, his chance didn’t come easily. He was the fourth goalie in hierarchy and saw Fernando Prass recovering from injury, helping the club to avoid relegation. Jailson had patience. After all, the fact that he was even training with Palmeiras, was already a huge achievement for him.
The season after, Palmeiras hired another goalkeeper - Aranha. He automatically became the second goalkeeper and Jailson the third. In this year, Jailson played only three games, two of them were friendlies.
In 2016, Aranha left. Jailson thought that his chance as the second goalie came, but no. This time, again, Palmeiras hired Vagner, from Avaí, to be the second choice on goal.
But Jailson, as mentioned, did not give up.
In his third season with the club, things developed differently. Palmeiras was eliminated from the Copa Libertadores and the Paulista, and have put everything they had on the Brasilerao. The team wanted to be the country's champion, a title that they haven’t won since 1994.
It started very well. The team was in the first place until the 15 round. Then, Fernando Prass joined the Brazilian national team for the Olympics. He was going to miss a few weeks, and Vagner replaced him in the first eleven.
During the Olympic tournament, Prass conceded a long term injury and was planned to come back only at the end of the year. Palmeiras left with two replacement goalkeepers for the rest of the season.
With Vagner on goal, Palmeiras lost two and drew one. Vagner was horrible in these games. The team needed confidence, and he simply couldn’t provide it. Palmeiras had only one last option in goal. It was time.
After two long years of bench-warming at best, it was Jailosn’s time to shine. Time to win. Time to create. His time.
Time to Shine
When he is 35 years old, Jailson debuted in the Brazilian first division in the storm. In a flawless performance, he helped Palmeiras winning 2:1 against Vitória-BA, gained his first victory in the Brasilerao and the team returned to the first place. The fans chant his name. Jailson smiled. His dream was fulfilled. From that point, everything was a bonus, and the legend began to be written.
After this match, he played eighteen games in the competition. Palmeiras lost only one in the second round, and it was the one Jailson didn’t play at, due to yellow cards. In the games he did, Palmeiras won fourteen and Drew five. All in all, he took an integral part of a magnificent campaign for the Alviverde. During this amazing run, one moment was extra special.
In the 37th round, against Chapecoense, Palmeiras led 1:0, when the manager Cuca made a substitution. Fernando Prass, Palmeiras’ idol, came to replace Jailson. It was a way to pay tribute to both. To a club idol who came back from injury, and to a new idol, who in his modestly way, became the symbol of the club’s magical season. It was a special moment indeed. At the end of that day, Palmeiras won the Championship title after 22 years, and Jailson was a hero.
Keep It Real
In 2017, Jailson will not play much. He knows that too. He knows that Fernando Prass will be in the starting lineup in most games.
Now, Imagine. Imagine you’re a 35-year-old goalkeeper, who starred for a champion team last season, but you know You will not be in the starting eleven, and won’t play the most important matches. What will you do? Will you retire?
No, of course not. Jailson is staying. He sees no problem with being the second choice in Palmeiras. The club knows that whenever they’ll need a goalkeeper, he will be there for them, with his positive attitude, his smile and his dreams.