The quality of the players is key, but the choice is even more critical. Ribeiro and Gaulart, once known by fans as the Cruzeiro twins, have taken two very different paths, with naturalized player Gaulat not only failing to realize his World Cup dream, but also failing to qualify for the national football team due to his age.
Recently, Brazilian national team coach Tite announced the 26-man list for the 2022 Qatar World Cup, which opens at the end of this month, of which the 33-year-old Ribeiro is on the list, while the 33-year-old national football naturalized player Gaulat can only play in the Brazilian second division. This very different situation made fans sigh that choice was too important, Ribeiro achieved his dream, Gaulat achieved financial freedom.
Former Cruzeiro twin stars Ribeiro and Gaulat all left Brazil for Asia in the winter window of 2015, the former joining UAE club Al Ahly and the latter joining Guangzhou Evergrande in the Chinese Super League. The two also met in the AFC Champions League final, with Guangzhou Evergrande beating Al Ahly 1-0 over two legs to win the AFC Champions League for the second time in team history. Ribeiro, who is now two years older than Gaulat, currently plays for Flamengo giants in the Bundesliga and was finally selected for the World Cup squad in Brazil with his outstanding performances (7 goals and 6 assists this season), while Gaulat, who chose to be naturalized by the national football team, has now dropped sharply and can only play in Bahia this season, scoring only 2 goals in 16 games.