Anderlecht are training in the Austrian Neustift. Reynaldo Dos Santos Silva is also present. The 19-year-old Brazilian was a regular member of the U21 team last season and, during the preparatory practice games this season, he showed his class with the A-team. Time to meet the young Brazilian midfielder.

Reynaldo arrived in Belgium a year and a half ago - in January 2008. Meanwhile, he has become a regular member of the U21 team and has officially become part of RSCA’s A-team. "Everything is going well, I feel fine. Adjusting to living in Belgium also went well, but I am still not a fan of the cold", he smiled. "I am very happy about the rest. I have not had the chance to sightsee, apart from Brussels, I have only see the cities in which we played our away matches." He also had to adapt as far as training is concerned. "In Brazil, teams train on large spaces with many long passes, whereas, here, it is the other way around: we train on small spaces. At first, it was hard to adapt to these circumstances, but I have no problems with it anymore."

The midfielder did have to leave his entire family behind in Brazil. "I have been living separated from my family for the past six years", he said. "I have two sisters and one brother back in Brazil. It is not easy to be so far away from them, but, fortunately, my girlfriend is with me here in Belgium."

Reynaldo had other options aside from Anderlecht, but, in the end, the Brazilian chose the club from the capital. "I enquired after the club, its functioning and structure,… After having found out all that, I decided to go to Anderlecht and try to conquer my place."

And he can play several positions. "I can be a left-winger, a right-winger or an offensive midfielder", he said. "I prefer to be an offensive midfielder, like on Tuesday during the practice game against Zenit Saint Petersburg." A practice match during which Reynaldo showed some nice things. "My strong points are my speed, my technique and methods of restarting play, like free kicks. I still have to work on finishing and the physical aspect."

When we ask him who his role model is, he does not have to think about it. "Ronaldo, he is my idol", said the Brazilian. "Especially his view of the game and his capacity to recover."

And what about the offensive midfielder’s ambitions this season? "I hope to really become part of the group, gain a lot of confidence and, of course, play a couple of matches. I will work hard during the next few months to achieve that", he said.