Igor Thiago: from Brentford injury hell to Brazil World Cup hopeful

That is perhaps why, at the start of this season, when Thiago had only one Premier League goal to his name — a penalty in the opening-day defeat by Nottingham Forest — Andrews, now the club’s head coach, so accurately predicted what the future held for the 24-year-old.

“I’ve no doubt he will be a fan favourite,” Andrews declared in August. With 16 league goals this season, second only to Erling Haaland, that now appears to be quite the understatement.

Thiago found himself as Brentford’s only striker at the start of this campaign due to the unexpected exit of Yoane Wissa to Newcastle for £55million. Having also lost Bryan Mbeumo, after his £65million move to Manchester United, the club were tasked with filling the 40-goal void left by last season’s top scorers.

Thiago is a tenacious, ambitious character. Knowing this, Andrews made sure to stop him putting pressure on himself to perform. At times this season, he and his coaching team have had to drag Thiago off the training pitch to protect him.

Brentford also monitor his game time closely. It was not until this month that he started two games in less than a week. The strategy was followed strictly, with Thiago being left on the bench for a midweek league fixture against Arsenal in December, and he has played only 30 minutes in cup competitions so far, meaning he missed out on the Carabao Cup quarter-final away to Manchester City.

Apart from his goals and his improving build-up play, it is Thiago’s personality that Andrews praises most, calling him an “infectious character” and explaining how his “selfless nature” has helped the team. That is what has made him so loved by his colleagues. In one instance in a training match, Thiago was looking for a through ball from one of the midfielders. When it was overhit, he made sure to go and thank the player for his intent, instead of kicking up a fuss.

Much of that personality comes from his strong Christian faith, which he credits for getting him through his first year in England. Being sidelined allowed him to settle in a new country without the spotlight being shone on his performances. He now lives a quiet life in west London with his wife and two children, and often has a large family cohort from Brazil visiting the Gtech Community Stadium for home games. His English is good enough to communicate with his team-mates but he is not entirely comfortable with interviews, bringing another player along if he finds himself in front of the television cameras after a match.

The upturn in his performance level since the start of this season has been remarkable. During pre-season, in friendlies against Queens Park Rangers and Borussia Mönchengladbach, he was rusty. For a player of his stature, his hold-up play left a lot to be desired, often looking clumsy. He also gave away fouls in the first few league matches.

That could not be further from the performances he is putting in now. In his past two games he has netted five times, including a hat-trick against Everton, made all the more memorable by his unusual celebration, hugging the Everton striker — and fellow Portuguese speaker — Beto when VAR confirmed his third goal. His second goal against Sunderland, a flicked header at the back post, meant he surpassed the record for most goals in a Premier League season by a Brazilian with 17 games remaining.

Signs of improvement emerge every week. Brentford have scored the most goals from counterattacks in the top flight this season; four of those were scored by Thiago, which is testament to the on-pitch relationship he has developed with the team’s best passers, such as Vitaly Janelt and Jordan Henderson.

His first goal against Sunderland was a textbook example. The moment he saw Janelt win the ball in the centre of the pitch, he started his run, before latching on to a perfectly weighted pass to round the goalkeeper and finish coolly with composure that was less evident earlier in the season.

Thiago is yet to be capped by Brazil but has certainly caught the attention of their head coach, Carlo Ancelotti. A member of the coaching team has visited Thiago at Brentford’s training ground in Osterley and he was named in the “long list” squad for their last fixtures in November.

His inclusion in their World Cup squad would mark a shift for his national team, who had been focused on skilful wingers before Ancelotti’s arrival. Brazil have failed to discover and develop a player of Thiago’s profile in recent years, and it shows. In 2022 Pedro, of Flamengo, was the only traditional No9 taken to Qatar as part of the squad. Four years on, little has changed; Vinícius Jr and Matheus Cunha started up front during the most recent international break, even though neither plays there at club level.

As a youngster at Cruzeiro, where he turned professional aged 19, Thiago was regarded as a gifted player but not a skilful one. He was grateful to be playing football at that level, though. After his father died when Thiago was 13, he worked to support his mother alongside playing football. He laboured on his uncle’s construction site and carried groceries from the supermarket in a wheelbarrow for local residents. It was a struggle to keep it up while training, but his mother would not let him give up on pursuing a career in football.

Cruzeiro cashed in on him in 2022, when he was 20, for just over £1million, which triggered a whirlwind four years in Europe. First he thrived at Ludogorets, quickly graduating from their B team to score 15 times in his only full season in Bulgaria, before Club Bruges signed him for £9.5million. His stay in Belgium was a short one and, in only 12 months, Bruges made a £20.5million profit on the striker from his sale to Brentford.

Thiago’s hard work will have truly paid off if he gets the nod from Brazil before June, although he will still have to prove himself to his compatriots. The Brazilian media can be prejudiced against players that are not at the world’s biggest clubs — João Pedro received such treatment when he was at Brighton & Hove Albion.

But Thiago’s numbers are impossible to ignore, which is why many in Brazil are excited by the prospect of a breakthrough Brentford star leading the line in yellow and green.

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