Matheus Cunha unveiled at Internacional, cites Flamengo: “I work miracles” | OneFootball

Former Flamengo player, Matheus Cunha spoke for the first time as an Internacional player

After a brief spell at Cruzeiro, Matheus Cunha is Internacional’s new goalkeeper. The player who came through Flamengo’s academy gave his introductory press conference this Monday (20) and made a curious statement: he guaranteed that he performs miracles. In addition, the goalkeeper believes that his good relationship with executive director Fabinho, an old acquaintance from his Mengão days, could help with his adaptation.

— What happened at Cruzeiro is in the past, I have complete confidence in my quality. I’m coming to help, Fabinho knows me from Flamengo, I’m arriving happy and very ambitious to work and put Inter back in the place it should never have left. Every football player faces pressure, especially wearing a shirt like this one. It’s about working hard — I believe a lot in hard work — training so I can keep improving and achieve great things here — Matheus Cunha began.

— My main characteristic is playing out with my feet, I have a lot of quality with the ball at my feet, leadership, and making miracles happen. The work will bring that out. The fans can expect a lot of respect, dedication, and hard work. I’ll give my life — added the goalkeeper who came through Flamengo’s youth ranks.

In addition to Fabinho, Matheus Cunha will reunite with goalkeeping coach Rogério Maia, with whom he also worked at Flamengo. Finally, the keeper will once again work with assistant coach Eduardo Melgarejo, with whom he shared a locker room on the Brazil U-20 national team.

WHO WILL MATHEUS CUNHA COMPETE WITH FOR A SPOT?

Matheus Cunha is not arriving at Internacional as an undisputed starter. The goalkeeper will compete for a place with Uruguayan Rochet and Anthoni. The player arrives in Porto Alegre after heavy criticism at Cruzeiro, where he played only 12 matches in the first half of this year. The former Flamengo player is still under contract with the Minas Gerais club and signed a loan deal with the team from Rio Grande do Sul.

HOW WAS MATHEUS CUNHA AT FLAMENGO?

The goalkeeper joined Flamengo in 2020 to play for Mengão’s U-20 team. His first-team debut came in 2022, but the main season of his career was 2023, when he became the starter under Jorge Sampaoli. However, in the first leg of that year’s Copa do Brasil final, the youngster made a mistake and lost his place to Rossi, who took over for the return match against São Paulo.

Another important moment for Matheus Cunha at Flamengo came in the 2024 Copa do Brasil. On that occasion, coach Tite chose the goalkeeper for the knockout rounds, and that remained the case through the quarterfinals. However, the coach from Rio Grande do Sul was eventually dismissed, Filipe Luís took over in the semifinals, and also made Rossi the starter in the tournament, which ended with a title for the Most Beloved.

WHAT IS THE AUTHOR’S OPINION?

— Matheus Cunha had highs and lows at Flamengo. In 2023, for example, he was negatively decisive in the Copa do Brasil runner-up finish, coming off his line poorly on Calleri’s goal. However, in 2024, he shut the goal down in the knockout rounds against Palmeiras and played a key role in the title. At Cruzeiro, he felt the weight of replacing Cássio and made too many mistakes. Now, I understand that he arrives at Internacional to compete for a spot. It won’t be an easy task. Rochet is a Uruguay national team player — said Pedro Paulo Catonho, journalist for Coluna do Fla.

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