ISL 2019-20: After Turkey and Australia, Bobo seeks to replicate his goal-scoring form with Hyderabad FC (Exclusive)

Deyvison Rogerio de Silva, aka Bobo, simply put, is a goal-scoring machine. Don't be fooled by his jovial and calm behaviour outside the field because once the referee blows the whistle, the muscular striker singularly concentrates on smashing the ball into the back of the net.

After beginning his professional career with Corinthians and being a part of the Brazil squad that finished third at the 2005 FIFA World U-20 World Cup, Bobo shifted his base to Turkey and he showed no mercy in his formative years. Recalling that period in an exclusive interaction with Sportskeeda, he said,

I have a lot of good memories while playing for Besiktas. We won the league, the domestic cup, and played the UEFA Champions League and the Europa League. It was a good start to my career.

After helping Besiktas win the Turkish Super League in 2009, he scored against top European clubs like Liverpool, Marseille, CFR Cluj in the Champions League. Ultimately, those displays caught the eye of Brazil's national team coach Carlos Dunga. The former FIFA World Cup-winning captain named him as a replacement in Brazil's squad for their match against the Republic of Ireland in an international friendly.

It was an amazing feeling. In that year, I got the trophy for the best player in Turkey. Dunga was the coach for the national team then. He came to Turkey and called me and said hey let's go to Ireland. We have made the papers for your club. You need to come to the national team.

Then, we flew to Dublin to play against their national team. It was a great feeling when you go in the dressing room and meet legends like Julio Cesar and Robinho. Although I didn't play that match, I was quite happy.

Bobo's highlight reels, however, came during his stay in Australia. Registered as a marquee player for Sydney FC, in the 2017-18 season, he averaged one goal per match helping his team top the league stages of the competition and winning the A-League Golden Boot award.

Bobo celebrates after scoring for Sydney FC in A-League

After firing blanks in his first three rounds, Bobo found the target in each of Hyderabad FC's next three fixtures. When asked if he can repeat his A-League exploits this season in the ISL, he sounded optimistic, quipping,

I think I can repeat it (average of one goal per match). I got injured in the pre-season and it pushed me down a lot. But now, I am 100% fit. I can perform much better now. But as a team, we have to play together and improve. I don't play alone and we have lots of scope for improvement.

Like almost every foreign player or manager in his first season in ISL, Bobo too has his reservations on the refereeing aspect of the game. He was robbed of a goal against Odisha FC in the 16th minute when he slid the ball into the back of the net with an outstretched leg but the officials adjudged him to commit a foul on their defender.

I was very frustrated with that because we prepare everything for the game. We do the hard work and then we go to the game. We score the first goal but then you cancel the goal. When I saw the video and realized that it was 100% goal, then I got more frustrated.

Even in our game against ATK, I said to the referee in half-time, hey the ball hit the chest but you gave a penalty. He replied I am sorry man if it hit the chest. But sometimes these things happen in football. For things like this, you can only pray (that it doesn't repeat).

Despite being stranded at the bottom of the table with five points from twice the number of matches, Bobo doesn't think his team lacks individual quality. In fact, he was all praise for certain Indian players. However, he thinks the long off-season could halt the development of youth players.

The overall team is good. I like the boys a lot. I think Gurtej is good. Then I think, Mohammed (Yasir) is good. Kamal is a very good goalkeeper for me. We have good Indian boys in our team.

But, I think the long break is not good for them. You play continuously and then for six months, you just sit there and do nothing. This is not good for them because in football you need to play almost everyday. That is a good time for them to improve.

Holding a notorious record of being the only side in the ISL 2019-20 to not keep a clean sheet yet, the burden to score goals has increased substantially. Bobo has averaged 3.83 shots per match so far this season, meaning that he is miles ahead of his nearest competitor, Sergio Castel, whose tally stands at 2.83.

But, he needs to start converting those chances. Bobo's aerial prowess is difficult to match testified by the two headers which he scored against ATK. After all, once he gets into his groove, there is no stopping him.

And, Hyderabad would hope that the Brazilian hits a purple patch sooner rather than later.