Six months ago, Bruno Guimaraes arrived on Tyneside with zero English in his vocabulary. Joining a relegation fight, for big bucks, in a foreign country, where you cannot speak the language is a serious test of character. Arguably his best performance to date came in the 2-1 victory against Leicester City on Easter Sunday. After falling a goal behind, Guimaraes bagged a brace – which included a 94th-minute winner – to give the Geordies a Bank Holiday weekend to remember. Now, the Brazil international has paid tribute to teammate and compatriot Joelinton for helping him settle into life in the North East. Guimaraes admitted the Geordie accent has also been a challenge since arriving in January.
Bruno Guimares said: “I’m better than before – I’m improving! In this season, I’m trying to speak more with my teammates. I’m afraid of the correction or if I make a mistake, but I try with them. I think I’m improving. Joelinton is helping me a lot. My teacher, too. I am doing a class almost every day. I’m improving but the problem is the language is so difficult. English is different to Portuguese. But I think I can get it. I have a book, a Brazilian English book, so I understand a lot of things and it helps me a lot, it helps me. The accent – that is more difficult! I’m improving with the boys and I can understand almost everything. This book is slowly helping me a lot. But it is only another step. My goal is to be fluent in the language.”
The 24-year-old acknowledged how he is already finding it easier to understand Howe’s instructions. The prospect of the Guimaraes being fluent in English should translate to even silkier performances on the pitch. When asked whether his improved English has helped on the training ground,
Bruno Guimares said: “Yes, it has, exactly. When they are speaking, they try to speak slowly and this helps me a lot. When I arrived here, Glenn (Patterson, player liaison officer) sent me a paper with words about football for me to try at home. This helped me, and it is fine now. I speak perfect French now, I speak a little Spanish, a little English now, and Portuguese. It’s nice. I always wanted to learn English because it’s so important – but it’s difficult. Step by step, I will get it.”
