Joao Pedro's early strike fuels hope he can end Chelsea's number nine curse
Joao Pedro scored after 31 seconds to help Chelsea to a 3-2 win over Fulham at Craven Cottage in Xabi Alonso's first game in charge on Monday. The goal came after he had been handed the club's number nine shirt and signed improved financial terms on a new contract running until 2034.
The 24-year-old missed out on a place in Brazil's World Cup squad in the summer but finished last season with 20 goals in all competitions, matching his shirt number and becoming the first Chelsea striker since Diego Costa to reach that mark nine years earlier. Chelsea paid Brighton £55m, plus up to £5m in add-ons, for Joao Pedro last summer and those close to him have welcomed the transfer and new deal.
There is a sizeable group of Chelsea supporters who believe in a so-called number nine curse, pointing to recent high-profile forwards who struggled while wearing the shirt. Romelu Lukaku, Alvaro Morata, Gonzalo Higuain, Radamel Falcao and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang are among those named in that context; the last player to wear the shirt before Joao Pedro was Liam Delap, who is currently in talks with Nottingham Forest about leaving Stamford Bridge after scoring only one Premier League goal last season. Non-strikers such as Steve Sidwell and Khalid Boulahrouz have also worn the number, while some fans consider Tammy Abraham performed well as the number nine before his move to Roma.
Asked about the curse after scoring at Fulham, while starring alongside both Cole Palmer and club-record £117m signing Morgan Rogers, Joao Pedro told the Mirror: "I don't believe in that. I don't think numbers can decide this pressure." He had scored eight goals in seven pre-season matches before finding the net 31 seconds into the new campaign at Craven Cottage.
Joao Pedro's family background and upbringing have been central to his rise, his mother Flavia Junqueira explaining: "If I gave him one thing, it is to fight for what you want all the time." Junqueira said: "Joao had a dream," and added, "I shared that dream with my son. The dream didn't have a price." The player grew up in Ribeirao Preto and was scouted by Fluminense as he developed from a defensive midfielder into a forward.
Long-time personal trainer Rodrigo Goncalves described Joao Pedro's early physical challenges and work ethic: "He was very skinny and there was a significant physical disparity between him and the other athletes in his age group," and "He never stopped training. Sometimes he went a bit reluctantly, pushed by his mother, but he went." Goncalves added that "Over the years, however, that changed. He began to mature and understand that training wasn't just something his mother required, but rather a tool to improve his performance, develop his body and build the physical balance needed for football." Joao Pedro was spotted by Watford's South America scout Rafa Monfort, aided by a phone call from now-Tottenham striker Richarlison, and an overhead kick against Cruzeiro in May 2019 helped secure his move after around eight months to meet Governing Body Endorsement criteria.
After joining Chelsea from Brighton, Joao Pedro left a training camp in Rio de Janeiro to join the squad in Miami and immediately took part in the Fifa Club World Cup, scoring twice in the semi-final against former club Fluminense and adding a goal in the 3-0 final win over Paris St-Germain. Chelsea subsequently finished 10th in the Premier League, ended the season without a trophy and failed to qualify for Europe, but Joao Pedro won Chelsea's player of the season award. He is among a group of senior players who signed new contracts, with Moises Caicedo and captain Reece James also extending their deals and Cole Palmer expressing his commitment to stay; those four are described in the club as key culture-setters.
Joao Pedro spent two weeks completely off after missing the Brazil squad and then trained in Rio with Goncalves, surrounded by friends and following familiar routines. Junqueira said of his temperament: "When Joao Pedro is angry, he doesn't shout, he goes quiet." Goncalves said the frontman remains the same person, but one intent on becoming a truly "elite". It now appears Joao Pedro may be the one capable of finally ending talk and concern of the club's number nine curse.
