Everton and technical partner hummel are proud to collaborate to present My Everton, a weekly series of first-hand accounts describing the most-treasured memories of fans, players, and staff both past and present.
Got an entry? We'd love to hear it - and there are exclusive prizes for the best fan submissions, including VIP tickets to First Team matches, invitations to watch training at Finch Farm, signed merchandise and discount on hummel.net. Submit via email to digital.content@evertonfc.com.
Football was my first love. I grew up in a family full of football fanatics. Perhaps you would expect that - being from Brazil.
But I’m not from one of the big cities, nor am I near a beach. I live in Votuporanga, a small place in the countryside of the state of São Paulo.
Growing up, playing Championship Manager and Football Manager was the one thing that I would do every day.
On one of those days, in 2005, I needed a new left-back for my team and after hours of looking for one I couldn’t look past Leighton Baines, who played for Wigan Athletic at the time.
Virtual Baines was insanely good. It made me curious about the real player, so I started watching Wigan matches just to see him play.
I instantly fell in love with his quality.
In 2007, he signed for Everton and that was when I started to watch the Blues - and here is where my real story begins.
I was immediately hooked on the Club, everything seemed right for me - the history, the players, the attitude, the amazing supporters, the work in the community… I loved everything about it.
I have been a proud Evertonian ever since. I can’t thank Leighton Baines - my favourite player of all-time - enough for that.
I watch every single match, mostly at home by myself, and always wearing the pink away shirt from the 2010/11 season.
This pink shirt has a lot of meaning for me. It was the first Everton kit I was able to buy. Everton shirts were not available to purchase here in Brazil back then, so I had to save a lot of money and buy one from the Everton website and have it shipped.
I still have the photo of the day that shirt arrived and it immediately brings back that moment of excitement when I saw it in the flesh for the first time.
When I saw that kit online, I just knew I had to buy it.
Being a huge sports fan as a child, I received comments about me being a ‘tomboy’, or that I should find some other interest because what would a woman know about sport. So I loved the idea of combining my identity together in this very bright, beautiful pink shirt to show that I am proud to be a football fan and proud to be an Evertonian.
I connect with a lot of Evertonians on the internet, especially on Twitter. The online community is so vast and full of fans from all over Brazil and the world.
Finding more Everton fans in Brazil changed everything, honestly.
I used to follow loads of social media accounts of supporters from other countries, but it didn't feel the same.
Then, suddenly, I found all these people that were talking about the same things as me - and that was so exciting.
I was missing that Brazilian flavour that we have when speaking about football. It was just so beautiful to see everybody waking up early in the morning to comment on the matches on Twitter, talking about the news, the transfers.
My attachment to Everton grew even stronger, even when I thought it couldn’t.
It’s amazing for myself and so many others to see that Everton now has an official Twitter account in Portuguese. I think we all feel validated after all these years looking for other fans! The community is growing stronger.
I have always loved football. My parents and brother live and breathe football, so it was only natural for me to spend my afternoons watching any match that was on TV.
To this day we discuss everything, including Everton games. I don't think my parents would define themselves as Evertonians, but they do watch all the matches that are on TV, especially because of Richarlison!
I think that the main reason Brazilians love football is that it is universal. It’s everyone’s game.
To play you just need anything that slides on the floor and a pair of flip flops as the goal - and that is exactly what we do in Brazil. You do not need many people and it does not matter who is playing, everybody can join.
We all grow up learning about the sport and playing on the streets or in clubs. It doesn't matter if you are rich or poor, you will have some access to football.
I think Everton's nickname ‘The People's Club’ really resonates with Brazilians.
Two of the most popular clubs here in Brazil, Corinthians and Flamengo, are known for following a similar line and it is something that the majority of us are looking for.
Not only that, but Everton has been signing Brazilians for quite some time, and we are always curious to see our fellow countrymen like Jô, Richarlison, and Allan succeed outside of Brazil.
Unfortunately, I have not been to Liverpool yet. I had everything planned to go in 2020 and even bought plane tickets to Barcelona to visit my brother and then I would go to Liverpool to finally watch a game. But the COVID pandemic hit and I had to delay everything.
For now, I’ll keep watching from afar and I’ll never miss a game. It doesn’t matter where I am, I pull my phone out and put the match on. My friends hate me for that, honestly!
Hopefully one day soon I’ll fulfil the dream.
By Aliny Calejon, Evertonian and member of Everton FC Brasil Supporters’ Club
