From the start, Estevao attracted attention - and discomfort.
"Stop being a coward and take Estevao off, it's not fair," rival parents would complain.
"He was far superior to the others. So we took him off so it didn't look bad for the other children. Then we moved him up an age group, under-nine, under-11, and he stood out just the same," said Adair Junior, one of his first coaches and better known as Juninho.
Self-imposed pressure has always been part of who he is. After training, he stayed behind working on fundamentals with his father, a former goalkeeper for a local team.
"Ivo was a goalkeeper, but he always struck the ball really well and demanded the same from Estevao," recalled Serginho.
"And Estevao has always been a perfectionist. They'd hang a bib in the top corner of the goal and tell him he had five shots to knock it down. Until he did, he wouldn't stop, even if we asked him to."
The 'terrao' - essentially a dirt pitch - where he grew up completed his football education.
"Most of our training sessions were there," said Juninho. "It's a fast surface that forces quick decision-making and tight control."
His tight control was a skill also shaped against the first 'defender' he ever faced - a Rottweiler.
"Estevao would play with the ball, the dog tried to get it, and he'd keep dribbling past the dog," said Serginho. "Try playing with a dog - it'll take the ball off your feet."