OL will face West Ham this Thursday (9 p.m.) at the Olympic Stadium in London, in the quarter-final first leg of the Europa League.
The Lyonnais have just registered the reinforcement last week of Mateus Tetê, Brazilian winger belonging to Shakhtar Donetsk and having had to flee the war in Ukraine.
Scorer in his first appearance, Sunday against Angers (3-2), the promising 22-year-old left-hander has already announced that he "wants to make OL history".
From our special correspondent in London,
From his third ball hit, two minutes after coming into play, Mateus Tetê showed Sunday against Angers (3-2) a glimpse of the “magical left foot” that Claudio Caçapa praises.
Peter Bosz's assistant, who had already been able to train his young compatriot in the Brazil U15 selection, is well placed to know how much this spring reinforcement fell from the sky for an OL far from the account in Ligue 1 (9th).
Qualified for the quarter-final first leg of the Europa League, this Thursday (9 p.m.) at West Ham, the 22-year-old winger intends once again to blast the Lyon attack at the end of the game.
Tetê's baptism of fire 🔥 👀
Throwback to the premiere of our new recruit do Brazil!
pic.twitter.com/OBmwPIx4Mw
— Olympique Lyonnais (@OL) April 5, 2022
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We would almost forget that we are facing a player whose last match dates back to December 11 (at Oleksandria) because the 18th day of the Ukrainian championship, scheduled for February 26, will never take place.
A player who had not experienced any collective training for five weeks, before arriving in Lyon on March 31, alongside his agent and former Le Mans striker Tulio de Melo, who participated in his arrival.
And above all a young man who had to leave Shakhtar Donetsk (based in kyiv due to the 2014 Donbass war), where he had been playing since 2019, due to the invasion of Ukraine.
In all, 26 Brazilians (players and relatives) left kyiv to join their country
“It's a complicated situation, but from the moment I arrived in Lyon, my head was 100% turned towards football, said the person concerned in an interview with OL Play.
That's what I love doing more than anything.
His compatriots from Shakhtar, as well as those from Dynamo, gathered at the Opera Hotel in kyiv, posted a video on February 24 on social networks asking for help from the Brazilian authorities, in order to reach their country.
The International Federation of Professional Footballers' Associations (FIFPRO), tells
20 Minutes
that it has helped a total of 26 Brazilians (the players and their families) to achieve this in a few days, by means of a train to reach Lviv, then to another to go to Romania, before flights to Sao Paulo.
Meanwhile, Mateus Tetê, who did not intend to return to Brazil, had already slipped from kyiv on his own.
“From the first day of the conflict, with his agent Pablo Bueno and his relatives who lived in kyiv, they were very reactive, telling themselves that they could not escape by plane, explains Isabelle Dias, translator and intendant of the OL for more than 20 years.
So they went to fill up with gas and drove off towards the Polish border.
“According to Franck Henouda, French agent based in Porto Alegre at the origin of this special connection between Shakhtar and Brazil, “they took 22 hours to cover 5 km as the roads were blocked to leave the country”.
Tetê's wife is Ukrainian
Close to all the Brazilian players who have been with OL for the past twenty years, Isabelle Dias admits "groping" on the subject with Mateus Tetê as she feels he is "very affected" by the Russian invasion in Ukraine.
Because more than most Brazilian players arriving at Shakhtar for more than 20 years, the promising left-hander has forged "strong ties" during his first experience away from South America.
Starting with the meeting of his wife, who is Ukrainian.
“I had to bring about thirty Brazilians in 20 years to Shakhtar, and this is the first time that one of them has married a Ukrainian, says Franck Henouda.
It is certain that it is not a destination that he will forget like that.
His in-laws live there, it's his second home now.
So much so that during his five weeks of talking physically, while residing in a hotel in Warsaw with his relatives, Mateus Tetê had his mind turned to Ukraine.
“An absolute model of professionalism”
"He is very altruistic so he helped the refugees a lot by preparing many food baskets for them when he was in Poland," says Isabelle Dias.
He now wants to bring to Lyon the governess he had in kyiv, as well as several other Ukrainian people.
Franck Henouda, who lives in the same street as Tetê's family in Porto Alegre, is full of praise for the Lyon rookie.
Few Brazilians are absolute models of professionalism like him.
His personality and his upbringing make me think of Fernandinho, Fred and Alex Teixeira.
He is used to always doing extra training after his session with his club.
»
“He announces that he wants to mark the history of OL”
Under contract until June 2023 with Shakhtar, the player is currently only from Lyon until the end of the season, as part of the exceptional system put in place by FIFA.
“I feel both relieved to be able to relive his passion and very measured, even in his joy after his goal on Sunday, underlines Isabelle Dias.
He repeated it: this is only the beginning of his dream, a new life is beginning for him and he announces that he wants to mark the history of OL.
“This pious wish will undoubtedly go through an adventure longer than the two months that remain to him this season.
Franck Henouda, who advised Tetê's agent to favor OL "and its extraordinary framework for Brazilian players" rather than AC Milan and other major European clubs interested, has little doubt about the fact that he extends in Lyon, but also that he shines in Ligue 1: “He comes out of a very stressful month and his life is football.
He has so many fangs that we will see him flourish and even fly on the ground.
After the winning goal after two minutes of play against Angers, what can he have in store for us during the crucial European meeting for OL, this Thursday at the Olympic stadium in London?
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