Fluminense draw with Fortaleza as Fred returns in U20 Brasileirão | OneFootball

Under the watchful eyes of the eternal captain, now the coach of the Ceará team, Moleques de Xerém draw 2 to 2 in a match marked by a weather interruption

An unusual scene marked the round of the Brazilian Under-20 Championship this Saturday, in Vale das Laranjeiras. Fluminense hosted Fortaleza and the final score showed a tie of 2 to 2, but the spotlight in Xerém was not only on the promises on the field. The main attraction was in the opposing technical area: Fred, one of the greatest idols in the history of the Tricolor, led the visiting team in his first match against his former club in this new stage of his career.

The match was quite eventful and even included a forced stoppage due to lightning in the area, which temporarily halted the game. For Fluminense, the goals were scored by William Lopes and Wesley Natã, securing the draw for the home team.

The idol's new journey

This Saturday's duel symbolized Fred's first clash against the institution where he made history, now wearing the coach's jacket. After hanging up his boots in the thrilling victory over Ceará in 2022 and briefly working behind the scenes as the planning director of the Tricolor, the former number 9 decided to move to the sidelines.

Initially, the project at Fortaleza involved managing the Under-16 and Under-17 categories, but his rise was swift, being promoted to lead the Under-20 shortly after.

On social media, the former Tricolor captain did not hide his emotion at having Fluminense as his first official opponent in the national tournament, describing the episode as a work of destiny.

— I received the invitation to take over the Under-20 category at Fortaleza and we are already making our debut in the Brazilian Championship this weekend. Destiny wanted the first game to be against Fluminense, which makes this moment even more special for me. It's a new beginning, with even more demands and responsibility in the development of the athletes. We keep working! — declared Fred.

After the game, Fred received, from the hands of Marcos Jorand (coordinator of the Xerém methodology), the armor with his name and the number 9.

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