The DeBrito name needed no introduction to anyone involved in soccer. Pedro DeBrito had helped UConn win a national championship, and his brother, John, had been scoring goals at a torrid pace at Kaynor Tech in Waterbury.
“Pedro called me,” Ray Reid remembered, “and said he and his father wanted to meet me. I was an assistant at Southern at the time. I only knew Pedro as a big-time player. I drove to Waterbury, and we sat down and he said, ‘We want Johnny to play for you guys.'”
No convincing needed on either end. John DeBrito joined the program at Southern Connecticut, a perennial Division II title contender, and helped put the Owls over the top, with NCAA titles in 1987 and ’90.
John DeBrito died unexpectedly in Miami last Wednesday. The cause of death is not yet known. He was 51, and predeceased by his brother; Pedro DeBrito died in an auto accident in 2014 at age 55.
“Both these guys were really big-time players,” Reid said, “but if they played pickup soccer, they could be playing with three guys who were awful, but these two guys made people feel special. Would never show impatience for the guy who wasn’t good enough, always encourage him. These two brothers did as much for the state of Connecticut in soccer as any pair I’ve ever known.”
John was known to idolize his big brother, and leaves as important a legacy. Both Pedro, inducted in 2000, and John, 2006, are in the Connecticut Soccer Hall of Fame.
“Johnny was a utility guy. He could play anywhere,” Reid said. “He was a great person, a great father to his two kids. Humble, quiet, great sense of humor, a really well-liked guy.”
The brothers were born in Cape Verde, moving with the family to Portugal and then, in 1975, to Waterbury when Pedro was a teenager and John about 7. Pedro didn’t play high school soccer, but made it to UConn to play for coach Joe Morrone. He had 43 goals and 59 assists in his career, then played professionally in the now-defunct North American Soccer League, and subsequent pro leagues until 1993.
Reid, the longtime head coach at UConn, was an assistant under Bob Dikranian at SCSU in 1986 when John DeBrito joined the program and won the ’87 title, and had become head coach when DeBrito and the Owls won again in 1990. John had 20 goals and 32 assists during his career at Southern, scoring both goals in the 2-0 victory over Cal State-Northridge in the 1987 Division II final.
“What a guy,” said Gary Cronin, who played with DeBrito at SCSU. “John and I competed with each other since we were around 12 years old. I played at Sheehan in Wallingford, and we played Kaynor Tech in a state playoff game. Hands down, Johnny was a huge reason why I went to Southern. When I found out that he went, it became a no-brainer for me. You always want to play with the best players. He played for the team. He played with his heart. He would do anything for you on the field.
“The DeBrito Family was such a huge soccer family. Everybody knew them. Pedro kind of kicked it off at UConn and what he did for the state. Johnny always looked up to Pedro, and a lot of people looked up to both of them. Just that name itself, DeBrito, it was an incredible experience just to be a part of that.”
John was inducted in to the SCSU athletic Hall of Fame in 2019.
“We are terribly saddened to hear of John’s passing,” said Jay Moran, Southern’s athletic director. “I had the pleasure of meeting and speaking with John at last year’s Hall of Fame dinner. He was very soft spoken and humble about his very well-deserved honor. He was an all-time great student athlete at Southern Connecticut, and our thoughts and prayers are with John’s family at this extremely difficult time.”
Said Tom Lang, SCSU’s current head coach, “John was a class act, a really great person. He was a legendary player and one of the all-time greats at Southern Connecticut. We’re all going to mourn and grieve his passing.”
John DeBrito played professionally from 1991-2001. He was an original member of the New England Revolution, when Major League Soccer started up in 1996, and played in six games for the U.S. national team. He was working as a firefighter in Miami at the time of his death. He and his sisters have been holding soccer tournaments in Waterbury and Miami to raise money for a scholarship fund in Pedro’s honor.
“During their eras, which were different eras, when people watched them play,” Reid said, “everybody wanted to be Pedro DeBrito or John DeBrito.”
Services and arrangements for John DeBrito are pending.
Dom Amore can be reached at damore@courant.com.
