JOAO GOMES simply cannot wait to grapple with Liverpool stars at Molineux tomorrow.
Because the Wolves midfielder reckons his game has been transformed since he became a blue belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
The Samba ace will get to grips with Arne Slot’s Reds and try to floor Mo Salah and Co as his side hope to grab their first Premier League win of the season.
Gomes said: “Learning Brazilian jiu-jitsu has improved my football.
“It’s helped a lot with my mobility — and flexibility. Before I tried jiu-jitsu, I don’t think I had a lot of that. I used to have a lot of pain.
“It has given me a lot of resistance to that pain. It’s helped with my conditioning.
“So doing it has given me a lot of benefits with regards to football.”
Part of its appeal to Gomes is the core concept that a smaller, weaker person can successfully defend themselves against a much bigger, stronger opponent by using leverage and weight distribution.
He said: “A lot of people see Brazilian jiu-jitsu as just a martial art — to do with violence.
“However, there are many other factors that I think are important. It’s the ability to use the strength of your adversary against themselves that appealed to me. It’s a martial art, it’s more about using your brain than your physical strength.
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“So there are some similarities with top-level football because a lot of it is played in the brain.
“It’s more mental than physical and in that respect, they are similar.
“In my opinion, you also learn respect and control and it also teaches you about the importance of a hierarchy within the sport.”
Unfortunately, Gomes, 23, has had to put his Brazilian jiu-jitsu career on hold since his £15million move from Brazilian giants Flamengo in January 2023.
He said: “I haven’t joined a club here because I haven’t found anywhere yet that has a group of people I can trust. In order for me to practice it here, I need to be able to trust them.
“They need to be much better than me, for me to be sure that they know what they are doing.
“I can’t have them hurting me — because of my football career. I need to feel safe, to know I’m going to come off the floor in one piece.”
So does Gomes believe bottom-side Wolves can pull off a jiu-jitsu-style turnaround and floor high-flying Liverpool amid an illness in camp?
He said: “They’re one of the best teams in the world. They’re one of the favourites to win the Premier League.
“But we can’t be afraid to lose. You cannot focus on your fear of losing.
“If you do that, you stop doing the good things that you are doing.
“Our mentality matters a lot. We need to focus on what we can do to come out on top.
“I know it will be difficult because of their players and their team.
“They’re likely to have most of the possession, but I’m confident if we work like we can, we can get a good result.”
Gomes’ only regret of his Prem move is his football-crazy grandad Valdomiro Gomes did not live to see him play in the world’s best league.
The Wolves ace added: “He was one of my biggest supporters throughout my career. He always came to watch me.”
