Corinthians keeper on lifelong diabetes: ‘No more football’ | OneFootball

The routine of Lucas Oliveira in Corinthians futsal goes beyond training sessions and matches. Diagnosed with diabetes at age 11, the goalkeeper has lived for 24 years with daily care involving insulin, diet, and blood glucose monitoring. At 35, the player recalled the fear of having to give up the sport after discovering the condition and explained how information and new technologies have helped him balance treatment with his professional career.

The account was given during an appearance on the Caminhos do Ouro videocast. Currently, Lucas uses a glucose sensor on his arm, which allows him to track his glucose levels through his phone or a reader throughout the day. During matches, monitoring receives special attention because of the changes that can occur during sports activity.

Photo: Beto Miller / Corinthians

For the goalkeeper, however, this scenario is very different from what he found when he was diagnosed in the early 2000s. At the time, the smaller amount of information available caused concern in his family and made Lucas believe he would not be able to keep playing.

“I thought I wouldn’t be able to play anymore. For those looking from the outside, maybe it seems complicated, right? But since I’ve already made it part of my daily life—I’ve had it since I was 11, so it’s been 24 years now living with diabetes.”

Technology became part of Lucas’s routine

After more than two decades living with diabetes, Lucas has also followed changes in the resources available for blood glucose control. The sensor currently used by the goalkeeper makes monitoring easier during his routine and allows him to check his levels whenever necessary.

“Today there are also a few more conveniences, like the glucose sensor I use on my arm. I can check it anytime; it sends the readings to my phone, to the reader. I wake up, I have to check it, take insulin, make corrections, think a little about what I’m going to eat, but any athlete does that, right? So it doesn’t change much.”

The care, however, needs to be adapted to the demands of a match. Lucas explained that he pays closer attention to corrections on game days, mainly because of the influence adrenaline can have on his glucose levels.

“But on game day we have to be more alert with the corrections, because adrenaline has an influence, so blood sugar can go up.”

The diagnosis initially brought fear of leaving the sport

Lucas received the diagnosis when he was still a child. At that time, according to the player himself, access to information about the condition was more limited, which increased his family’s concern and created doubts about what he would or would not be able to do from then on.

“Today there’s also a lot more information, right? When I found out, in 2001, 2002, anyway, we had very little information. My mother was very desperate. I thought I wouldn’t be able to play anymore, right? Then I found out that sports help, but you can live with diabetes doing anything—working in an office, living a high-performance sports life—you can do it.”

Continuing in the sport led Lucas to professional futsal and later to Corinthians. The goalkeeper arrived at Parque São Jorge in 2022 and made his debut for the club on March 12 of that year, in a 3–1 win over São José in the Paulista Championship.

Since then, Lucas has totaled 178 matches for Timão, with 93 wins, 37 draws, and 48 losses. Even playing in goal, he has also scored four times and provided three assists.

His Corinthians journey includes titles

In addition to his run of matches, Lucas has been part of important achievements since joining the club. The goalkeeper was part of the squad that won the National Futsal League and the Paulista Championship in 2022, as well as the Torneio Mucho Más in 2025. In total, he has three titles from six finals played wearing the black-and-white shirt.

This season, the player has 33 appearances and one goal for Corinthians. His most recent outing came last Sunday (20), in a 0–0 draw against Joaçaba in the International Futsal Challenge.

The journey built since the diagnosis, therefore, turned a concern that arose in childhood into part of the routine managed by the athlete. Today, between constant blood glucose monitoring and the demands of high performance, Lucas continues to guard Corinthians’ goal as he completes his fifth season at the club.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.