SACRAMENTO, Calif. ― There’s so much about Guilherme Marchi and Robson Palermo that mirrors one another that the two fan favorites from Brazil could be mistaken as brothers.
In fact, there was a time when it was actually easier for Palermo to just tell people that.
Back in 2002, a few years before Marchi came to the U.S. in 2004, Palermo was living with Marchi’s older brother Juliano, who only sparingly competed stateside in 2006 and again in 2008. Palermo and Guilherme traveled to rodeos and bull riding events and roomed together on the road.
Marchi owned a car that he had won, but didn’t have a driver’s license. Palermo had a license, but no car.
“I was his driver,” quipped Palermo.
Robson Palermo puts up 88 points on Black Bart in Round 1 of the Duluth Invitational in Duluth, Ga.
Jokes aside, their friendship – a brotherhood of sorts – has only been strengthened over the past decade.
Interviewed together or a part from one another, both are quick to note they’ve never had an issue with each other at or away from a Built Ford Tough Series event.
“He’s a nice guy. I trust him,” said Palermo, 30, of his friendship with Marchi. “If I need something I just call him and I know he’s going to help me. I trust everything he says. I never have a problem.”
“We never disrespect one another,” added Marchi, who turns 32 in July. “He’s one of those guys who has a big heart. Anything he can do for you, he’s going to do.”
Not only are the two of them close, so too are their families.
Both Palermo and Marchi spoke of the love the other has for their respective families.
“He likes my family,” said Palermo, who will be the subject of a long-form profile on www.pbr.com in March. “All the time he hugs my family.”
“Our kids play together,” Marchi said. “I love his kids, his kids love me; he loves my kids, my kids love him; and I like all the Brazilian guys, but I meet him in 2000, 2001. I traveled with him, and my mom and dad loved him. He stayed with my brother for a long time too.”
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“His daddy is a funny guy,” added Palermo, who couldn’t help but laugh while sharing stories of when he first met the Marchi family. “The first time I met him he was so drunk.”
Palermo had heard of Marchi long before the two ever met.
When they finally did cross paths at a bull riding event in Brazil they became fast friends.
In fact, they were so inseparable those who didn’t know any better thought they were brothers.
“People would ask and I would say, ‘Oh yeah, me and Guilherme are brothers,’” recalled Palermo. “Everybody thought me and him were brothers, but it was just a joke.”
One particular memory that leaves Palermo laughing is the time Marchi took him surfing.
Palermo had seen it on television, but had never tried it—much less seen it in person.
“I said, ‘What do I do?’ and he said, ‘Try to stand up,’” recalled Palermo.
It wasn’t nearly as easy as Marchi made it look or sound for the first timer.
Palermo lay on top of a borrowed surfboard and waited for a wave.
“When I stand up it grabbed me,” explained Palermo, while making a tumbling motion with both hands, “and it almost killed me.”
That was his one and only attempt at surfing.
Marchi came to the U.S in 2004.
A year later, Palermo and his wife Priscila came to Las Vegas in October to watch Marchi and Justin McBride go head-to-head for the 2005 world title.
McBride won his first of two gold buckles, while it was the first of three consecutive years in which Marchi finished second in the world standings before finally winning the title in 2008, the same year Palermo won the World Finals event for the first of a PBR record three times.
Guilherme Marchi vs. Bones during Round 3 of the 2008 Tulsa Express PBR Classic.
“We had a dream to come,” said Marchi, who was glad to have his best friend join him in 2006.
Robson and Priscila initially lived with Marchi before getting a place of their own.
They’ve since bought a ranch an hour southeast of downtown Dallas and continue to buy property. They have two kids – Gabriela and Mateus – and not only do they have no plans of moving back to Brazil, but Palermo also prefers when in-arena announcer Clint Adkins introduces him prior to Built Ford Tough Series events as being from Tyler, Texas.
Both have a few years left then they’ve already competed.
The two competitors are vying for a world title in 2014, but for different reasons.
RELATED: A look at the 2014 world standings
Marchi has finished second four times and wants to become only the fifth rider in PBR history to win more than one gold buckle, while Palermo is coming off surgery to both shoulders and is hoping a healthy season will result in winning his first gold buckle. Marchi is currently fourth and won last year’s BFTS event in Sacramento, where the top riders will be competing this weekend at Sleep Train Arena, while Palermo is ranked ninth in the world coming into this weekend’s event.
Regardless of who wins, there’s a bond and a respect Marchi and Palermo have for another.
However, only one of them can win.
“When you have a guy motivate you like (Palermo) push you and not only thinking about himself, but think about you too,” Marchi said, “that’s a guy you can trust.
“I kid him and say, ‘Palermo I’m so sorry buddy. I know you train so hard – you’re dedication – but I’m going to win in 2014,’” joked Marchi, before getting serious again, “but he deserves it. He’s worked so hard. He prepared himself so hard for 2014. I want to be a champion. He wants to be a champion and another 33 other bull riders want to be a champion too. It’s still a long way to go.
“I’m going to be happy for anybody — J.B. (Mauney), Fabiano (Vieira), Silvano (Alves), Mike Lee,” Marchi concluded, “(Whoever wins) deserves to win."
Follow Keith Ryan Cartwright on Twitter @PBR_KRC.