A double on debut against Kaizer Chiefs for Marcos 'Pepe' de Jesus meant he had introduced himself in the perfect way on the domestic scene in his first start back in September 2006.
Three days earlier he had been thrown onto the fray as a substitute for BidVest Wits against Mamelodi Sundowns in his first man and had harassed The Brazilians defence so much that he was guaranteed of starting the next match against Chiefs on the weekend.
PART 1 | Brazilian footballer who became an English tutor while picking up isiZulu
Start he did and what a show he put on.
Two goals in a 2-1 win meant Pepe was suddenly noticed by all but only ultimately went on to last just two years at Wits before leaving for Cyprus after which he played in Vietnam before calling time on his career back home in Brazil a decade ago.
"I had to stop because I was already 30 plus, I have always been a big guy who had to train harder to remain fit enough to compete at a professional level.
"I wasn't fat, but I had lost some of the speed and intensity needed to play at the high level," Pepe tells KickOff.com from home in Brazil.
"After I stopped playing football, I had some administration work to do with some of the things that I had done while still playing.
"I then went to school, and I now work as a security supervisor.
"You know the guys who wear the uniform and patrol around the shopping malls, houses, and bars to make sure everyone is safe.
"At times I drive the security car as an escort.
"It is many different things that I do in my work as a security here and I stay around the Sao Paulo areas.
"I have been doing this job of being a security for four years now.
"Look, I had to do this job because I have three family friends who are also employed here.
"For me, it doesn't matter anymore that I played professional football before because I still need to look after my family as a married man with two kids aged 16 and 17.
"I tried to remain in the game by recommending players, but I didn't like some of the things that were happening in the game.
"The only time that I'm involved is when I play, and I guide youngsters wherever I can.
"My line of work means I must work eight hours a day every second day always, so my time is limited.
"This job of being a security is not paying me anything close to what I earned as a footballer.
"The money is way little.
"What I earn now is not even half of what I want I was paid when I was playing in South Africa," says Pepe – whose English is limited.
"I only learnt the football language, but I can understand well when spoken to and can speak in a relaxed space.
"The trouble is that here in Brazil there is never anyone to speak English to," he says looking back at how he came to leave Wits in 2008.
"In my second season at Wits, things really changed for the worse for me and I had to respect the choices of the coach Roger de Sa under whom I thought I would enjoy better fortunes because he also spoke Portuguese like me.
"Roger and Eric Tinkler both spoke Portuguese, so they really grew close to me, but I don't know why they didn't put in to start games.
"I scored five goals in seven starts in my second season and felt could have done better if I had played more but I had to respect the decisions of those in charge.
"Another issue was that I injured my knee in my second year and felt like I didn't get all the support that I felt I needed.
"I needed to come back to Brazil for surgery and recovery and at that time my contract expired.
"From there I went to Cyprus and then Vietnam but football and the people there make it difficult for one to stay longer.
"Asian people do respect, but it is difficult to speak their language and the food is something else.
"It was then that I decided to come back to Brazil where I retired in 2013," says Pepe.
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