Ex-Flamengo champion misses late pen, denies Paulista side promotion | OneFootball

Adriano Imperador’s backup in 2009, Bruno Mezenga became Ituano’s ‘villain’

A member of Flamengo’s 2009 Brazilian championship-winning squad, Bruno Mezenga missed the chance to make history with another red-and-black club: Ituano. The team needed just a win over Ferroviária to earn promotion to the top division of the Campeonato Paulista, but the striker missed a penalty late in the match.

In the clash held last Thursday (30), Ituano and Ferroviária were tied 1-1 when, in the 42nd minute, the referee awarded a penalty to the red-and-black side. Then 37-year-old Bruno Mezenga picked up the ball to try to ‘seal his place in glory.’ However, the forward struck it at mid-height, and goalkeeper Dênis Júnior made the save, securing promotion for Ferroviária.

Bruno Mezenga was signed by Ituano in December last year for the Paulista Série B and Brasileirão Série C campaigns. However, the former Flamengo player is not having a good year. In 21 matches, the center forward has just two goals and two assists.

HOW DID BRUNO MEZENGA DO AT FLAMENGO?

A product of Flamengo’s youth academy, Bruno Mezenga made his professional debut in 2005. However, the high point of the striker’s career with the Sacred Shirt came in 2009, when he frequently filled in for Adriano Imperador. The backup, for example, started in the penultimate round of the Brasileirão, when the Nation’s Favorite took over first place in the competition with a win over Corinthians.

Afterward, Bruno Mezenga remained at Flamengo in 2010, but then left the club. Since then, the player has spent time in lesser-known European markets, such as Turkey, Serbia, and Poland, and later played for lower-division teams in Brazilian football. The exception was his spell at Santos in 2023, after standing out in that year’s Paulistão with Água Santa.

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