Bérgson Gustavo Silveira da Silva (Alegrete, 1991)better known as Bergsonlive at your 35 years in a reality parallel to that of the Brazilian soccer player average. He does not wear the shirt of a European giant nor does he drag the spotlight of the Selectionbut its records in Southeast Asia They force you to rub your eyes: 200 goals in 195 games with the Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) of the Malaysia Super League. An average higher than the goal per match that rivals the wildest eras of Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi. However, Alegrete’s path to the throne of Malaysian football was not a garden of roses, but rather a Survival race in the ruthless ecosystem of Brazilian football.
Emerged from the Gremio quarryBérgson experienced first-hand the drama of the eternal assignments and lack of stability in his native country. A congested reality where talent is abundant and time is scarce. “When you start in Brazil, where the 90% of boys between 10 and 15 years old want to be soccer players“The competition is huge,” reflects the striker. “If you don’t have a path mapped out in the youth ranks of a big team, you don’t have many options left: either you become a footballer right there or you have to go out and make a living. That happened to me and it happens to 85% of kids,” he added.
That constant instability hits mental health hard of young footballers, forced to mature at a forced pace while they see how the spotlight is on the chosen ones who emigrate early to European football. “At 19 or 20 years old you doubt yourself a lot, especially when you look around and see kids your same age who are already being sold to Chelsea, Tottenham or Europe.“, Bérgson related about the lack of confidence in his beginnings in Brazil. “In many moments People tell you to look for something else, but the reality is that there is no other option.you only have that and you have to move forward.”
Late maturity
With the perspective that the years provide, Bérgson does not hide when analyzing what he lacked to emulate the careers of compatriots like Vinícius Jr or Rodrygo: “If I had reached the maturity at 18 or 19 that I achieved after 26 or 27, I would surely have had a much more successful career in more renowned clubs at the European level.“Bérgson chained countless transfers during his stay at Gremio, including a stage in Portugal (SC Braga) and two in South Koreawhich he remembers as an opportunity to find financial stability: “It was an economic opportunity which also made me grow a lot as a person, but football-wise I didn’t advance in neither of those two years.
Johor, the last bullet that became history
After being crowned top scorer in the Brazilian Serie B with Paysandú at 26 years oldBérgson understood that the train from the Old Continent had already passed. In 2021 Johor’s call came. A leap into the void that changed his life forever. In Malaysia, under the support of the Prince of Johor, Bergson not only found a goal, but also a place to take refuge and extend his sporting career. “When we decided to go to Malaysia, it was like taking a blind leap knowing we only had one bullet left.. Luckily we got it right,” said the Brazilian about his arrival in Malaysian football.
Going to Malaysia was like taking a blind leap knowing we only had one bullet left.
The rest is history. After a first season of adaptation where he managed to score 30 goals In 32 games, Bérgson continued to crown himself as the ‘King of Malaysia‘: 46 goals in his second season (2022/23), 38 in the third (2023/24), 44 in the fourth (2024/25) and 42 in this last course 2025/26. In total, the Rio attacker already adds 200 goals in 195 games with the Johor shirt. Unreal figures within the reach of the greatest football legends, such as Cristiano Ronaldo or Leo Messi.
These data facing the door have led him to get many individual prizes: third top scorer in the world in 2022top scorer in the Malaysian Super League, three times ‘Golden Boot’ of the domestic championship and three times best foreign player in the league. Next to nothing. “My family, my representative and I stopped counting. We said to ourselves: ‘If we score 30 in the first year by adapting, in the next ones we can do many more’. When you arrive with that hunger and desire to a place where you feel comfortable, things happen by themselves. Yesterday there were 150, the day before yesterday there were 100, and We are already going for 200 goals“Bérgson said about his scoring statistics.
“Being on the field and scoring goals is what gives me the most pleasure in life. The day I don’t feel that happiness, that hunger or that motivation, I don’t know what I will do,” Bérgson explained about his motivation to continue playing in such a dominant team like johor at 35 years old.
Being on the field and scoring goals is what gives me the most pleasure in life
He Bergson’s growth has gone hand in hand with transformation of a club that has gone from being an unknown to an Asian giant capable of handling the multimillion-dollar budgets of Saudi Arabia in the Asian Champions League. “When I arrived, there were only three of us foreigners. Today we are more than 20. The club has made a lot of progress together with us,” he says. Johor has become a total dynasty in Malaysia: since 2021, it has lifted 5 Leagues, 4 Malaysia Cups, 4 FA Cups and 4 Super Cups.
A Johor with a Spanish accent
If Johor has become known in Spain in recent years for something, apart from its major sporting successes, it is because of the large number of old acquaintances of Spanish football who have passed through its ranks or are currently active there. From Jesé, Jonathan Viera or Roque Mesa until Samu Castillejo, Jordi Amat or Nacho Méndez: “I get along very well with everyone, honestly. In the group we were Samu, Jordi Amat, Heberty and me. We were a group of two Brazilians and two Spaniards.” However, Bérgson highlights the name of Alvaro Gonzalez above all of them: “I identified with him a lot. He had a profile of great leadership and positivity that helped us a lot. in a season where the players didn’t have as much of a say.”
His current coach, Xisco Muñozalso left Spain. Having managed Huesca, Watford or Sheffield Wednesday, in 2025 he embarked on this adventure in Malaysia. “It has its particular characteristics. He asks us for a game that is not so combined, but more direct, where the forward presses high and does not go down as much to look for the ball. It has been a learning experience for me. I see a lot of potential and good things in it.“Bérgson explained about the Mallorcan coach.
A new horizon
With his contract expiring next Decemberthe desire of the battering ram is crystal clear: “My wish is to retire in Malaysia for everything they have given me and for everything I have achieved at the club.“However, fate has a secret for him. last and unexpected twist of script to his professional career. Despite his extraterrestrial numbers in Johor, Bérgson never saw it possible to be called up with Brazil: “The boys who played in the big clubs in Brazil had priority, and At 20 I had already gone to Korea. There I gave up the dream of playing for the national team.“. However, starting next season, now with a Malaysian passport, he will be able to achieve another of his objectives: be international with Malaysia. “It’s something very beneficial for me,” acknowledged the former Gremio player.
Brazil, Neymar and the World Cup
Bérgson also wanted to get “wet” about his world cup predictions. Go to your favorite selection: “If I have to choose only one, I choose Brazil“. Also highlighted the importance of a player like Neymar: “It is the best we have, even at 70%. We suffer from that ‘dependency’, but it isand all the top teams have that franchise player that makes a difference to you.”