Flamengo youth winner with Paquetá earns Série B with Santa Cruz | OneFootball

Full-back discovered at Ninho do Urubu fulfilled the promise he made upon arriving at Arruda

Santa Cruz are back in Brazil’s Série B. This Saturday (03), Tricolor drew 1-1 with Maringá at Arena de Pernambuco and secured promotion with one round to spare. Among the starters in the campaign is right-back Thiago Ennes, champion of the 2016 Copinha with Flamengo alongside Lucas Paquetá.

With the result, Cobra Coral reached 11 points in Group B of the final Série C quadrangular. Maringá have 8, Floresta have 5, and Botafogo-PB, already eliminated, have 2. That way, Santa Cruz guaranteed at least second place in the group, which is worth a spot in the 2027 second division.

Santa Cruz fall behind, react, and seal promotion

The match started dramatically for the Pernambuco side. In less than 20 seconds, center-back Eurico lost the ball while playing out from the back, and Adeílson opened the scoring for Maringá. After that, the Paraná team dominated the first half and only failed to extend the lead because of goalkeeper Thiago Coelho.

In the second half, however, the picture changed. In the 5th minute, Everaldo crossed from the left, and defensive midfielder Pedro Favela headed home the equalizer. In the closing minutes, Matheus Cadorini nearly turned it around for Santa, while Serginho hit the post for the Paraná side. Even so, the score did not change again.

Besides promotion, the night also brought records. After all, 45,500 fans went to the Arena, the biggest crowd in Série C this year. The revenue of R$ 2,039,778 also became the highest in the club’s history.

Now, Thiago Ennes’ team will visit Botafogo-PB in João Pessoa in the final round. A draw guarantees first place in the group and a spot in the Série C final against the leader of the other group.

Thiago Ennes fulfills promise made upon arrival

Thiago Ennes joined Santa Cruz in March from Caxias. In 2025, Ennes had led Série C with Caxias, but the team missed out on promotion in the quadrangular.

At his unveiling, the former Flamengo player predicted exactly this Saturday’s outcome. In an interview reproduced by Coluna do Fla when he was announced by Santa Cruz, the full-back spoke about taking the club back to the second division:

Throughout the season, the full-back also suffered an ankle sprain, which kept him out of 4 matches in the first phase. Later, he regained his place and started in decisive quadrangular matches. One of them was the 1-0 win over Floresta in front of more than 44,000 fans.

From the 2016 Copinha to a long journey away from Flamengo

Born in Magé, Thiago Ennes started in Fluminense’s youth academy and joined Flamengo in 2014. Two years later, he started in the Copinha final on January 25, 2016, at Pacaembu. On that occasion, Corinthians went 2-0 up, but Rubro-Negro fought back to equalize.

In the penalty shootout, Ennes converted his kick, as did Lucas Paquetá. In the end, Flamengo won the shootout and claimed their third title in the tournament. That team also featured center-back Léo Duarte and striker Felipe Vizeu.

Despite the title, the full-back never made his debut for Flamengo’s senior team. In 2017, the club loaned him to União da Madeira (POR) and Cuiabá. After that, he played for Náutico on loan. Then in 2018, Flamengo decided not to register him for Série A, as Coluna do Fla reported at the time.

Since leaving Flamengo in 2019, the full-back has had spells with São Bernardo, Confiança, Remo, Santo André, Sampaio Corrêa, Paysandu, Campinense, Londrina, and Caxias. Now, at 30, he is finally celebrating national promotion with Santa Cruz, a club that went up from Série D in 2025 and followed it with a second straight promotion.

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