Joao Virginia of Everton (Photo by Eddie Keogh/Getty Images)
All things considered, a footballing career is a pretty sweet gig. You spend your entire week practicing the game you grew up adoring, before playing in front of a group of passionate supporters. Private jets whisk you away to faraway lands, fans shower you with love and affection (and occasionally, abuse), whilst agents inundate you with lucrative contracts, cushy sponsorship deals, and eye-watering bonuses. Hundreds of millions of people spend their lives pursuing this dream, but only a select few can attain it.
Out of all the different footballing careers, perhaps the least attractive one is that of the backup goalkeeper. A backup striker might get the chance to come on and provide an extra spark in attack as the team is chasing a goal. A backup midfielder might enter in the final minutes to help shore up the center of the pitch, a backup fullback might be introduced to help neutralize a tricky winger in 1v1 situations, whilst a backup center back might be brought on to minimize the opposition’s attacking threat. But as for a backup goalkeeper? He must wait until an injury, suspension, expulsion, or a couple of howlers from the #1 in order to get his chance to play in goal.
It’s a tricky predicament, and one that João Virgínia is trying to extricate himself from.
Making the Move from Portugal to England
Born in Faro, Portugal, Virgínia initially began as an outfield player before deciding to switch to goalkeeper due to his tall stature. After impressing with local side Ferreiras, Portuguese giants Benfica brought him to their world-renowned academy in 2011. At just 11 years old, Virgínia was going to be living away from his parents and pursuing his footballing dreams in Lisbon.
“It was a period of adaptation, but it made me the person I am today, and I don't regret it one bit,” stated Virgínia in an exclusive RG interview. “You have to grow up quicker when you are in that kind of situation, you have to learn a lot about the world sooner than normal people. Benfica was such a great academy and such a great environment; they’re always producing big stars like Bernardo Silva and Renato Sanches, and being at that level is what makes you improve. Being with the best players in the country at such a young age is a privilege.”
After turning 16, Virgínia made the move to English side Arsenal, rejecting interest from Manchester United in the process. Despite coping with various obstacles from the language barrier to the cold weather, he quickly made an impression in between the sticks for the Gunners, plying his trade in the Professional U18 Development League and Premier League 2 and bumping shoulders with future Arsenal stars like Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith Rowe. Virgínia was even able to train with the first team under the watchful eye of Arsenal’s greatest-ever manager (Arsène Wenger), practice alongside various top-class goalkeepers like Wojciech Szczęsny and Emiliano Martínez, and pick the brains of his boyhood idol Petr Čech. And yet, just three years after trading Lisbon for London, Virgínia decided to head north and join fellow Premier League side Everton in August 2018.
Testing his Skills On Loan
Having failed to make his professional debut in 2018/19, Virgínia decided to drop down to the English second division and join Reading. He started the first Championship match of the season, a 3-1 defeat to Sheffield Wednesday, and the second match, a 2-1 defeat to Hull City, before being dropped from the side. Little did he know it, but that would be his final first-team appearance for 13 months; Virgínia was recalled from his loan in January 2020 and was forced to bide his time until finally debuting for the Toffees on September 16, 2020, in a 3-0 win against lower-league Salford City in the EFL Cup.
Desperate for regular minutes, Virgínia returned to Lisbon and joined Benfica’s crosstown rivals Sporting CP. Whilst he failed to upstage Antonio Adán for the starting role, he did gain valuable experience under Rúben Amorim and made eight appearances – one of which came in the Champions League. Another loan would follow in 2022/23, this time in the Netherlands, with Virgínia making the move to Cambuur. It was here in Leeuwarden where he finally acquired a taste of consistent senior minutes and emerged as a vital cog between the sticks, being named into the Eredivisie Team of the Month for November 2022 and making the second-most saves per game (4.5) in the entire league. It seemed like the puzzle pieces were finally fitting together for the Portuguese shot-stopper – instead, everything that could have gone wrong for him did go wrong.
Virgínia returned from the World Cup break hopeful of convincing new manager Sjors Ultee of his merits. Unfortunately for him, he would succumb to a 3-0 defeat to Volendam in his return before being sent off in the final minutes of a cup defeat to amateur side De Treffers (his red was later rescinded), before being dropped after a 3-0 defeat to Sparta Rotterdam. Having played every single minute of Cambuur’s first 17 league fixtures, Virgínia failed to play a single minute of their following 17 league matches, with the more experienced Robbin Ruiter being preferred in goal.
“Overall, it was positive to go there,” stated Virgínia.
“I really enjoyed playing every week, that’s something I want to do again as soon as possible. It was a different football there – they think more about attacking and are sometimes not as concerned about defending. They only want goalkeepers that can play out from the back, that’s their main priority. It’s a different way of seeing football – in England, the #1 priority is saving the goal, and in the Netherlands, they have a different priority. I don’t think it is the right one, but I definitely learned a lot from it.”
Challenging for the Starting Spot at Everton
Since returning to Everton in 2023, Virgínia has mustered just five appearances – all in the cup – with England’s #1 Jordan Pickford solidifying a chokehold on the starting spot and proving why he is one of the finest goalkeepers in the division.
“It's not easy. Every footballer wants to play regularly and be in front of the crowd. Every weekend, they're out there with the team, helping out the best way they can, but I feel like I can stay focused. I’ve been working on a lot in training and helping my team, I feel like I’m part of the team in every way I can, I want to help Pickford be at his best, and I want to remain ready because the opportunity can come at any moment. If you’re not working for it, you might not be ready when it suddenly arrives.”
“Obviously, I feel very good in the group, being one of the longest-serving players at Everton. What I learned is that consistency and being the best professional you can be bring rewards, and that's why I've been there for such a long time,” Virginia added. “When I play, I play well, and I think that's why Everton wants me to stay and keep helping my teammates. That’s what I’ve learned from my time at Everton: consistency, showing up every day to work, being a good teammate.”
Virgínia made 29 appearances for Portugal’s youth teams from the U16 to the U21 level, starting the 2018 U-19 Euros Final and guiding them to victory against Italy, before playing all three matches in the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup. However, he hasn’t yet made the step up to Portugal’s senior team. In contrast to his former teammate Diogo Costa (one month João’s senior), who has cemented his spot as Portugal’s starting goalkeeper and made 194 appearances for Porto, Virgínia has played just eight times for Everton.
In order to stay motivated amidst an impossible situation, Virgínia has incorporated yoga into his training regimen.
“Goalkeepers need to be focused the entire game, and personally, I think I deal with that fine. I work on concentration outside of football and do yoga and meditation and mental visualization. I've been doing yoga for the past 6 years, and it has helped me both physically and mentally,” explained Virginia. “Physically, because you're stretching and doing all sorts of positions with your body, which makes you stronger and more flexible, but the concentration part is what interests me. Most people who are involved in football look at yoga as just being for girls, but there’s a lot to it…it’s so calming and refreshing for the mind. Mental health is a big thing, and especially if you’re a goalkeeper, you need to be in your zone, and yoga definitely helps.”
Approaching a Crossroads in his Career
Despite his lack of minutes, Virgínia is relishing his time at Everton, who will move on from their 133-year-old stadium, Goodison Park, this summer. Whether he’s going out to play padel with his wife Ines, or conversing with Everton fans on the street, he has been able to find a new home in Merseyside. However, after seven years in Liverpool, Virgínia could very well find himself set for a new adventure this summer. His contract expires on June 30, and whilst Everton can unilaterally trigger a one-year extension, they have not done so just yet.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen,” admitted Virgínia.
“I love Everton, I love everything about it, and feel very comfortable here. Everton has the option to renew, it’s in their hands, and I’m waiting for them to do it. Obviously, I want to play and that weighs a lot, so I don’t know what's going to happen in the summer until that contract is renewed. That’s the situation I'm in at the moment. It’s hard to say because I really love being here and having to wait for them to make a decision is really hard.”
At 25 years of age, João Virgínia has been able to learn from brilliant managers like Rúben Amorim, Carlo Ancelotti, David Moyes, and Sean Dyche, he’s studied several experienced goalkeepers, and he’s cut his teeth in England, Portugal, and the Netherlands. And yet, apart from a few months in the autumn of 2022, he hasn’t managed to lock down a starting spot in goal. And as long as Pickford continues his stellar form, it seems that his situation will not change at Everton.
João’s father runs the Quinta do Barranco Longo, the Algarve’s first and only winery to be certified in sustainability. Similar to a refreshing vinho, goalkeepers take longer to ferment than outfield players, and as such, they typically reach their peak at an older age. They need to have the opportunity to be put in the line of fire, to learn from their mistakes, to perfect their timing and reactions, and to build the mental fortitude required from such a challenging position. It’s why, despite only managing 37 senior appearances at the age of 25, Virgínia is more than capable of aging like fine wine and excelling in goal at the top level of European football.
“Normally, goalkeepers reach their apex a bit later than outfield players, and I obviously feel that I need to either leave or play more often at Everton,” said Virginia. “I know that's the only way I can reach my best level. I don’t know when my peak will come, if it’s around the corner or in a few years’ time, but I feel like I’ve been improving every year and that I’m a better goalkeeper every time I go out there. Every chance I have to show myself, I’ve been confident, I feel like I’ve been playing well, so let’s see.”
Zach Lowy is a freelance football journalist who has written for leading outlets like FotMob, BetUS, Apuestas Deportivas, and who has appeared as a radio and television guest for BBC, SiriusXMFC, and various other platforms. After pursuing a global sports journalism degree at George Washington University, Zach has been able to tap into his multilingual background and interview major footballing figures in Spanish and Portuguese as well as operate the weekly podcast 'Zach Lowy's European Football Show' on BET Central.
