Gleison Bremer, Juventus defender and now officially vice-captain of the Bianconeri, opened up in a candid and wide-ranging interview on the club’s official YouTube channel. The Brazilian centre-back spoke about his personal journey, his upbringing, life in Italy, and what it means to represent Juventus.
“I am vice-captain, the coach said it. I am proud, but it changes little for me: we must fight every match to win because we are Juventus,” Bremer began, immediately underlining his responsibility and ambition.
Early Life and Family Roots
Bremer reflected on his modest beginnings and the influence of his family:
“I was born in a town of 8,000 inhabitants. My dad had a farm. I was born there and I really liked it. Today I still have a farm there that my dad manages for me.”
His father, he revealed, tried to follow his football dream but could not make it at the professional level.
“My father was born in a small town too. His family was well-off and he played football at an amateur level. Then his parents separated and things became more difficult. He didn’t make enough money, so he had to stop. My mum was a teacher. My dad started working in the city during the week and then went back to the farm on his day off. We helped him when we were home from school, I have three siblings. On the pitch he was a midfielder or defender, but he never played at a high level. At that time in my city there was a Santos player who helped me a lot. He told me, many people have talent, but you also need to be professional. I grew up with that mentality.”
Bremer added: “My father pushed me to play football, but he always reminded me to study and not leave everything behind for football.”
He also shared details on his siblings’ careers: “My brother works in a steel industry in São Paulo and my sister is a psychologist.”
From Brazil to Italy
Discussing cultural adjustments, Bremer recalled:
“I go back there once a year. Sometimes I bring my father here but he doesn’t like it, he says it’s cold. He’s used to walking around in shorts and flip-flops in Brazil. Here the winter is different.”
On Italian football’s importance growing up in Brazil, he said:
“Italy had beautiful football. Back then Serie A was like the Premier League today. We always watched Serie A – Juventus, Sampdoria, Ronaldo, Cafu, Adriano. The best Brazilian players were in Italy. For us South Americans, Italy and Spain are the best countries to live in. Life is good, food is good, the sea is near. Here it’s perfect.”He remembered his initial challenges adapting:
“First you must learn the language. I understood and made myself understood, but you must also adapt to the culture, the city, the meaning of the club. At Torino they gave me an Italian teacher. I learned playing, but the first year was tough. European football is different defensively. Step by step I got better and now I’m proud of who I am.”
Adapting to Juventus
Bremer admitted the jump to Juventus meant raising his standards:
“Here you need a lot of physical strength. Playing for Torino is one thing, playing for Juventus is another. At Juve you play every three days, at Toro you had a week to prepare. You must pay attention to everything – diet, sleep. Every year you need to add something extra not to lower your level.”
On wearing the legendary No. 3 shirt:
“It has a symbolic meaning. I’ve always played with number 3. I always wanted it but I also wanted to play with Chiellini. When I arrived here, I called him and asked if I could wear his number 3. He told me to take it with no problem. I always give my all to deserve the shirt because I play for Juventus.”If he couldn’t wear the 3, Bremer joked he would take “33.”
Mindset and Inspiration
“For us Brazilians, we are very faithful to God. My wife and I are very devout. Everything that happens in our life I attribute to God. Nothing here is by chance, everything has a reason, for me it’s always God.”
He also explained how past injuries taught him resilience:
“At first I was angry, it was the start of the season and I knew it would be tough. Then I told myself I had to look at the positive and how to come back stronger. Training is like the match: after the injury I learned even more that great players and great athletes have a winning mentality. So you must do the same.”Lockdown introduced him to basketball idols:
“I started watching basketball during Covid. I was coming off a difficult year, good matches followed by poor games, with no balance or consistency. I didn’t understand what I was doing wrong and how to improve. Then I discovered Kobe and Jordan and learned their mentality.”He admitted his family played a vital role in helping him through difficulties:
“My family helped me a lot. When I had a bad match, I used to shut myself in my room and not want to talk to anyone. Then slowly, I improved. You learn from everything.”
Rivals, Leaders and Juventus Ambitions
Bremer mentioned tough opponents: “The most difficult attackers to mark are Neymar, Ronaldo, Mbappé.”
He also highlighted the importance of coach Igor Tudor: “He helps us a lot, being a defender himself. And we’re a good team, we all want to learn and that’s a strong foundation. Then there’s individual work too.”
On leadership within the squad, Bremer noted:
“I feel like a leader, but I’m not someone who speaks a lot off the pitch. I like to lead by presence. They see what I do, and I want to be an example. We’re a young group and I want to help my teammates. Gatti, Dusan and Locatelli are leaders as well.”He even recalled a heated incident with Loïs Openda that ended respectfully:
“It was destiny, as I said before, God. Immediately after the match he apologised to me, he wrote to me. In reality it was just an episode, unfortunately it happened with him but these things happen, it’s normal. I haven’t seen him at Continassa yet but I know he’ll apologise again and then we move on.”For Bremer, however, everything circles back to one truth: the fight to win. “We are Juventus, and we must always fight to win.”
