EDER TRASKINI
SÃO PAULO, SP (UOL/FOLHAPRESS)
Rodrigo Nestor Bertalia, or just Nestor. It was from the left foot of the midfielder raised in Cotia that the goal came that gave São Paulo the unprecedented Copa do Brasil title. The 23-year-old player hit a shot from the edge of the box after a rebound from a raised ball and tied the game at Morumbi, a sufficient result after the 1-0 victory at Maracanã.
FUTSAL AT MOOCA
Rodrigo Nestor took his first futsal kicks. He was ‘federated’ at the age of six by Olaria, from Cohab II de Itaquera. Years later he moved to Juventus da Mooca and won the Golden Tennis award in the under-11s.
Nestor stayed at Juventus until he was 12 years old and won a final against Corinthians, when he caught the club’s attention.
TRANSITION TO THE FIELD AND NOT CORINTHIANS
Nestor took a while to start playing on the field. He started at EC José Bonifácio, also from Cohab II de Itaquera. The midfielder is a São Paulo native who was born in one of the most Corinthian regions of the capital.
He tried out at Corinthians at the time and ended up rejected by the team. Soon after, he was called to a test at Tricolor and passed.
CHANGE AND TRAVEL
Because of his father’s job, Nestor moved to Itupeva, 70km from the capital. At that time, he was already playing for São Paulo, on the field, and continued at Juventus, in futsal.
Nestor made the trip to São Paulo almost every day to train or play. On Monday and Wednesday it was at Tricolor, on Tuesday and Thursday at Juventus. On the weekend he competed in the championships.
At almost 13 years old, the final test came in São Paulo and Nestor passed. The midfielder was invited to stay at the club and went on to study at Colégio Olímpico de Cotia, an education supported by São Paulo – which was demanding.
“If you were bad at the time, you wouldn’t train or you wouldn’t be able to live at the CFA in Cotia anymore, and you would have to get behind the wheel every day again”, recalls Nestor.
WET IN DAILY
The midfielder piled up achievements at São Paulo’s base. He was twice champion of São Paulo under-17, won the Brazilian Championship of Aspirants, the Copa do Brasil under-20 and the 2019 Copinha.
After the Copa São Paulo title, he was promoted to professional by Fernando Diniz. It was in the following season that he established himself in the top team. He was São Paulo champion with Hernán Crespo in 2021 assisting Luciano in the final. He had his contract renewed that year. In total, he played 55 games out of 69 total.
PROTAGONIST AND DECISIVE
This year, Nestor took on Tricolor’s number 11 shirt in a clear sign of the protagonism he would have. He had already led the squad in assists in the 2022 season, with 11 passes.
Assists in finals also grew. After the 2021 Paulistão, he also provided goals in the 2022 state final and this year’s Copa do Brasil.
The goal scored at Morumbi was the first in finals, but the fourth direct participation in goals in decisions.
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