Reinforcements of Cruzeiro, goalkeeper Casio were presented to the fans on Thursday evening (30) in Mineirão, in Belo Horizonte, hours before the match against Universidad Católica, in the sixth round of Group B of the Copa Sudamericana.
The player took to the field alongside businessman Pedro Lourenco, the majority shareholder of Sociedad Anonima do Futebol (SAF), and revealed that he will wear the No. 1 shirt in the Celestial team.
The goalkeeper received applause from the fans present. “Oh my God, he’s the best goalkeeper in Brazil, Cassio,” shouted the Cruzeiro fans in the stands. The club sold 50,000 tickets for the match.
Cascio arrived in Cruzeiro on Tuesday (21) last week and began training at the Toca da Raposa 2 Stadium, in Bosnia and Herzegovina, amid a celebration from the fans present at the CT Stadium. The goalkeeper left Corinthians, where he became an idol, and signed with the Celestial club until May 2027.
The experienced goalkeeper will only be able to make his debut for Cruzeiro when the transfer window opens, on July 10. Cruzeiro coach Fernando Seabra Currently Anderson is the starter and Leo Aragão and Gabriel Grando are options.
Cassio had a contract with Timao until the end of 2024. However, he agreed to amicably terminate his contract after losing his place in the starting lineup to Carlos Miguel.
In the interview that marked his farewell to Corinthians, Cassio excited Cruzeiro fans when he declared that he would triumph at his new club. “Wherever I go, I will play well, you can be sure of that (laughs). I will be very successful wherever I go,” said the 1.96-meter “giant”.
Rich history in football
Cassio began his professional career in 2006 with Gremio. Young and with few opportunities, he was traded to PSV-HOL. After that, the goalkeeper played for Dutch club Sparta Rotterdam and PSV Eindhoven again, until arriving at Corinthians in 2012. The goalkeeper had several call-ups to the Brazilian national team between 2007 and 2019.
The goalkeeper became an idol for Corinthians fans when he scored 712 goals for the club, including 710 as starters. Casio has won nine trophies in the black and white: FIFA Club World Cup (2012); Copa Libertadores (2012); Two Brazilian championships (2015 and 2017); Recopa Soul Americana (2013); And four Paulista Championships (2013, 2017, 2018 and 2019).
This year, Cassio sat on the bench and saw Carlos Miguel take over as the starter. This was the second time the star had been passed over for a technical option, the other time being in 2016, when Walter became a starter until Cassio later resumed his position.
According to Cassio, his departure from Corinthians was not motivated by loss of ownership but rather by the search for a new challenge in his career.
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