Paulo Victor Gomes, now the assistant manager of Wednesday’s opponent Club America, organized a Brazil Under-15 team in Paraguay to challenge the South American U15 Championship.

Two young men named Andrey Santos and Angelo Gabriel belonged to Brazilian ranks. By defeating Argentina, the current champions and fierce opponents, in the final, they would enable the most well-known football nation in the world to recover the Under-15 championship.

A lifetime bond was developed, and career entwining started. Angelo of those early days adds, “We were always together, chatting and then we went back to our clubs, we kept tabs on each other.”

Four years forward, Andrey and Angelo are seated side by side once more for this interview. Though one a long way from Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, where they cut their footballing teeth, they currently represent the same club team.

Andrey agreed his deal from Vasco da Gama in January 2023, therefore he came first to Chelsea.

Then I became rather delighted to see Angelo arriving as well. Since we were 15 years old, we have played together; we have a close relationship and hence I was delighted to be able to spend time playing with him here at Chelsea. That’s great that it happened.Angelo is carrying on the narrative.

After a few games at Santos, I got aware Chelsea was interested and then Andrey and I chatted about the club, what it was like, the structure and I was happy and loved the sound of it, he adds.

“So I took the offer since it’s a large club, one of your dreams, a club in the top league worldwide, a club with great past.”

Then naturally, of course, Thiago is here; we want to be like him.

To us and our nation, he is a hero. He functions as a reference point. Being able to play with him and learn from him also fulfilled a desire. Despite the past and glory of the club, we are glad to be here at this one that has given us all the tools required to pursue our passion—which is football.

For as long as they can remember, all the way back to when they were just three or four years old, they have both been football players. Their natural aptitude soon attracted Vasco and Santos’s attention.

Both players excelled at their boyhood clubs at a shockingly young age before coming to Chelsea. For Andrey, that meant being closely involved in Vasco’s return to top flight of Brazilian football.

It’s great that I could debut at 17 and score quite a few goals—which is crucial—so young. I’m not mistaking; in that campaign, I scored eight goals. The most crucial goal for us was helping Vasco da Gama make a comeback in Brazilian football, hence I’m quite delighted to have set a record for the club during that competition.With his debut against Fluminense in the Maracana, aged barely 15 years and 308 days, Angelo became the youngest participant in the history of the Brazil national championship.

For me, this was a really important and unique day. He smiles.

Since it happened quite early for me and I managed to pass Pele in that regard, honestly I didn’t expect it. Not even in my most fanciful imaginations would I have imagined might happen.

“But as I always say, we have to be ready for everything; anything that is thrown in front of us and that’s what we train for, monumental days like these. I shall always keep dear this as I am so delighted for it.Last season, Angelo and Andrey were reunited at Strasbourg; both had good loans and are hoping to emulate the many great Brazilian Blues before them.

“We are happy, enjoy our time here, we want to grow daily, and we are motivated since our dream is to be here at Chelsea,” says Angelo.

Andrey, his blues sibling, nods in accord. Given five years of intimate friendship, Angelo and Andrey Santos are definitely on the same page.