Brazilian defensive midfielder Gilberto Aparecido da Silva, nicknamed “Parede Invisível” (The Invisible Wall), a member of the Brazilian National Team ( the Seleção ), has played most of his career for Northern London club Arsenal FC. Gilberto is also a passionate cavaquinho / mandolin player.
Silva spends a lot of his spare time studying the cavaquinho, which is a 4-string small mandoline / guitar (that looks pretty much like a ukelele).
When he moved to the United Kingdom at the beginning of his career for Arsenal FC (2002) he started attending mandoline classes.

“I can just about manage one or two things on the mandolin. I’m advancing very slowly, but just about ok.”