Lucas Escerado

Lucas Sterosa Escerado, born on the 7th of May 1993 in Palmero,Shmakalaka, is a football player who plays for the Portugese side SL Benfica and the Shmakalakan National Football Team. He was scouted as a central midfielder by the Liga Premiera side FC Palmeiras who are based in Palmero. He made his debut off the bench when he was 16 years old in the teams 2-1 away win against Lanziero FC and three weeks later he made his first start in the side 2-0 home win over Starzari FC where he got an assist.

# Early Life

Lucas Escerado was born in the very poor area of Palmero called Santos on the 7th of May 1994. Since his family couldn't afford to send them to school their mother Sonia Escerado home school him and his three sisters, Safria, Lucia and Olivia. Since his mother had to work like his father Stefan Escerado to sustain the family, Lucas had a lot of spare time. He became very close friends with Jorginho Saavadera and Quqe Egidi. He fell in love with rugby and cricket through playing it on the streets. But football became everything. At 13, Escerado got a job of cleaning the streets. With this money he joined a local junior football club, Amero FC. He was then noticed by scouts and asked to trial for the FC Palmeiras development team. Escerado was then signed by the development team on August 22nd 2008.

# FC Palmeiras

Lucas Escerado made his debut for the side after being a product of the FC Palmeiras development team. Escerado was called up after a string of midfield injuries during the 2010 season. He first came off the bench on the 12th of November 2010 in the sides 2-1 win against Lamenco CF in Miccoli. Three weeks later, Escerado was added to the starting lineup in the game against Starzari FC at Lemto Arena. Escerado said before the game **This is a dream come true. A few months ago I was sweeping the streets, and now I'm playing for the team I grew up supporting.** FC Palmieras ended up scoring two late goals to win 3-0 with Escerado getting an assist. After a solid performance on his first start and a string of injuries, Escerado started the sides 1-1 draw away against Southport FC in which he got an assist, the 1-0 away win against Sibras CF and the 3-2 home win against cross town rival FC Bahboa in which he scored his first goal. After that he was benched in the teams embarrassing 3-0 defeat to 18th placed Civelo FC. After that, Escerado was placed in the staring lineup weekly. Escerado was placed in the Liga Premeira's team of the season twice in 2011-12 and 2013-14 He was remembered by the FC Palmieras fans for his spirit and his ability to spot out a open player anywhere on the field. In his 137 caps he scored an impressive 39 goals and gifted 72 assists.

# SL Benfica

## 2014-15

On the 16th of June 2014, Escerado moved to Portugese side, SL Benfica for a fee of 6,500,000. Although there was interest from both New York City and Fiorentina, SL Benfica was the side who ended up with Escerado. Escerado quoted **"I will miss playing for FC Plameiras and enjoyed every second of my time here. But I am especially looking forward to my next chapter in life**  Escerado made his official debut in August 15th in the sides season opener against Portuguese side Setubal in the sides 2-0 win. Ecerado was put in the starting job 2 weeks later after a 2 month injury to Greek midfielder Samaris. Escerado scored 3 goals and 8 assist in the next 10 games and was placed onto the starting lineup for the majority of the season. Escerado played 37 matches in all competitions scoring 7 goals and 17 assist

## 2015-2016

The season opener kicked off on a high against Boavista in which he got 2 goals and an assist in the sides 4-1 win. Escerado continued his form scoring 2 goals in the next 5 games including a goal in the sides 1-1 draw with FC Porto and a goal in the Champions League in the sides 2-1 win against Chelsea FC. At the midway point, he has played in games and has been regarded as Benfica's most crucial playmakers controlling the midfield. In the season, Lucas Escerado made 32 starts in all competitions, scoring 9 goals and gaining 16 assists. Ranking him in the top assister in the Portuguese Primiera Liga.

# International Career

Escerado made his debut for the Shmakalakan National Football Team on the 26th of March 2013 aged 17 in a World cup qualifier in the 3-0 win against El Salvador in Palmero. He was then started for the next match in the 2-1 win in Port of Spain against Trinidad and Tobago. He scored in the historic 2-1 away win against the USA in Philadelphia in 2013, the first time they won in the United States officially in just over 12 years. Escerado since his debut has been a important member in the central midfield and has made a strong contribution to the side that was ranked 11th in the world at the start of 2016.The Shmakalaka manager Patricio compared Escerado to the Schmakalakan legend Valdenzo. As far he has made 25 caps scoring 4 goals and gifting 10 assists. The side is on the rise with the once young side getting experience after the solid 2014 FIFA World Cup display and a successful record in the past 4 years, meaning that Escerado will be one of the keys with his experience and success against worlds best teams and players in the Champions League.

## 2014 FIFA World Cup

Escerado started his career during round 3 in the CONCACAF part of the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers. The side finished 3rd in their group so therefore qualified alongside Mexico, USA and Costa Rica. Escerado played 7 out of the 10 games scoring 2 crucial goals and 3 assists. Shmakalaka finished 3rd in the CONCACAF division winning 4 games drawing 4 and losing just 2 matches. Shmakalaka were placed into pot 3 and were then placed into group E alongside Switzerland, Ecuador and France. Escerado started in the first match in the 3-1 loss to France in Porto Alegre in which he earnt high praise from football legend Gary Neville. He then started in the sides 2-2 draw against Ecuador in Curitiba in which he got an assist and the sides 1-0 loss against Switzerland in Manaus. The side was disappointed with their efforts but were happy enough to get a point. The manager Patricio said **"I know my side well enough to know that we'll be back and this time we won't be going home early**.

# Personal Life

Lucas Escerado was earning almost 600,000 Shmakalakan ... before tax when he left FC Palmieras compared to just over 300,000 when he started his career. He now makes roughly 1.34 million euros which is equivalent roughly 3,700,000 Shmakalakan .... Escerado was reluctant to move overseas because he loved living in Shmakalaka but he knew that if he wanted to become a great player, he'd have to move to Europe. He has now been heard saying how he enjoys living in Portugal, the move has worked as there is now other clubs interested such as Everton FC, Athletico Madrid and even PSG. Escerado is very fond of the environment. He has been responsible for raising almost 8 million US Dollars which has gone around the world which helps the fight against poaching and habitat loss. Escerado is said to have gotten very fond of many of the animals in Porto Azul Zoo. He visits every time he is in Porto Azul. The Koab called Kobe is his favorite animal. Escerado's partner called Jovita Vieres made the move to Lisbon with Escerado and they have been together since 2011 so for nearly 5 years