Right now Alisson stands at 6’3″, truth is, he may not be the tallest goalkeeper around but if it wasn’t for a sudden growth spurt when he was a kid, it’s doubtful anyone would’ve given him a chance.
In fact, the most expensive goalkeeper in history said was forced to play in goal as a kid because he was the smallest one and the bigger boys wanted to play outfield.
In a piece on The Players’ Tribune, he wrote: “The real reason I began in goal was my brother.
“I was playing with his friends, and they were all older and bigger than me.
“So when it came to picking teams … well, of course, the short kid had to go in goal. It wasn’t even up for discussion, you know?”
He earned rave reviews between the sticks but there was still one major problem.. he was still too short.
He said: “I had started playing for the youth team at Internacional, in Porto Alegre.
“It’s one of the big clubs in Brazil, so I was clearly doing something right.
“But I did have one problem. I was still a shorty.
“You see, physically, I matured late, so all the goalkeepers at my age were taller and stronger than me.
“We had this maturation test that graded players from one to five. And when my teammates had reached stage five — I was still at stage two.
“And that’s no good for a goalkeeper, right? You gotta be tall, you gotta jump high, you gotta cover the goal.”
Alisson was in the reserves and thought his days were numbered when Internacional brought in another goalkeeper from Palmeiras.
“He was bigger and stronger than me, too. I just thought, ‘Great, now I’m third choice. How the hell am I ever gonna play for Brazil like this?’
“I had serious doubts. Then came the Nike Cup — this huge competition for 14 and 15-year-olds.
He continued: “I think God was watching over me, because they decided to wait one more year, to see if I’d begin to mature.
