The Campeonato Carioca has a debutante in its elite. This is Maricá, which debuts this Saturday (11), at 4pm, against Botafogo. The young club from the Lagos Region, founded in 2017, has as its main attraction coach Reinaldo, a former striker for Flamengo, São Paulo, Santos, PSG and Alvinegro himself, among others.
Its mascot is the “Bambuí Werewolf”, inspired by a folk story from the region and which promises to inspire the team to “frighten” their opponents.
Bambuí is a neighborhood far from the Center, between Espraiado and Cordeirinho beach. And there is a rural area where they say the werewolf appears on full moon nights. And this legend even became a funk song by a famous MC in the city, Meia Noite. This story was the inspiration for the mascot, which will haunt our opponents Douglas Oliveira, football director at Maricá
“Young duck doesn’t dive deep”
Maricá’s mascot is the “Bambuí Werewolf”, inspired by a folk story of the city
Image: Paulinne Carvalho / Maricá FC
The youngest among the state’s traditional teams, “Tsunami” – as the team is nicknamed – arrives in Rio’s Série A with a “down to earth” speech inspired by a popular saying.
I have a phrase that I say everywhere: young ducks don’t dive deep. So, we arrive, we want to play a beautiful role and believe in our work. We work really hard. There may be people who work as hard as us, but taller than us, there is no Arlen Pereira, president of Maricá, to UOL
‘In 8 years Reinaldo will be on the first shelf of technicians’
Reinaldo began his career as a coach in 2020, after retiring as a player the previous year. He had his first opportunity at Inter de Lages (SC). In 2022, it went to Carlos Renaux, also from Santa Catarina.
However, it was after his arrival at Maricá, in March 2023, that the former striker began to stand out. Last year, in addition to gaining access as Series A2 champion, he also won the Copa Rio.
I was a fan of Reinaldo as a player. I have many stories to tell about Reinaldo while I was a fan. And today I can say that Reinaldo is my friend. He’s a hard-working, humble, competent guy. He is very obstinate and seeks constant learning. I can say here: in eight, ten years, Reinaldo will be on the top shelf of Brazilian football coaches Arlen Pereira, president of Maricá
Man who “discovered” him for football took him to Maricá
The curiosity in this marriage between Reinaldo and Maricá is that the football director, Douglas Oliveira, is the same man who both “discovered” him as a player and took him to Flamengo’s youth divisions and was the one who gave him the opportunity to be Maricá’s coach.
“It’s a movie story. Douglas Oliveira is a guy who does a magnificent job, he coordinates all our football, he’s the guy who helps us think, with experience at Botafogo’s base, he’s a resident of Maricá. He was the first coach , the guy who discovered Reinaldo for football, who made Reinaldo go to Flamengo”, says Arlen.
-Douglas Oliveira remembers that Reinaldo’s start at Maricá was difficult. Even so, he remained convinced that it would work.
It worked very well. The biggest success was his stay when the team fought against relegation in Series A2, in 2023. Despite the bad results that year, the board understood that his work was serious and consistent. And this was fundamental for the achievements of 2024. Reinaldo is a coach who is still relatively new in his career and has a promising future ahead of him. The plan is for him to stay in Maricá for a long time Douglas Oliveira, football director at Maricá
Will compete in Series D and has improved the structure
Maricá will also debut in Series D of this year’s Brazilian Championship. The place was won due to the Copa Rio title. Still with a modest structure, the club has invested little by little to improve conditions for the players and has also received help from the municipal authorities.
Recently, the city hall inaugurated the João Saldanha stadium, a tribute to the iconic journalist who owned a summer house in the region. It has a capacity for three thousand people and will not receive the big ones at the State Championships.
The casting fee is around R$550,000/month. Half of the resources come from sponsorships and the other from transfers, broadcasting rights and sales of official products.
Interview with Douglas Oliveira, Maricá’s football director
UOL: What are the expectations for your first participation in the Carioca elite?
Douglas Oliveira: “The best possible. The board kept coach Reinaldo and 80% of the squad that won the Triple Crown in 2024: the Santos Dumont Cup, first round of Series A2, the title of Series A2 itself, which guaranteed access to the first division of Carioca and the Copa Rio. In addition, he brought 11 reinforcements, four of them foreigners. This created a qualified squad prepared to compete in the championship. The goal is to remain in the elite of the championship. Cariocão. And, if possible, reach the semi-finals.”
UOL: And how is the planning for Series D?
Douglas Oliveira: “The squad was assembled to compete throughout the season. The contracts run until the end of the year. With this, Maricá FC has a team capable of playing a good role in Carioca and fighting for access to the Brazilian Series C. The fundamental pillar of this planning was the maintenance of coach Reinaldo, who is in his third year at the club”.
UOL: How was the negotiation with the newly arrived foreign players?
Douglas Oliveira: “The idea was to bring players with experience in Europe, Mexico and South America to qualify the squad and help develop the team’s young values. And they also wanted to play in Brazil because of the visibility that the country offers. The salaries offered were attractive to them. These are players who have played for big clubs like Boca Juniors and have played for youth teams in Argentina and Ecuador. Maricá FC wanted to innovate and move away from the same names that are always used by lesser teams in Rio and Brazil.”
