(photo: Alexandre Guzanshe/EM DA Press)
New football director cruise, Alexandre Mattos made a request to the fans in relation to former player Ronaldo. The statement was made during the announcement of the sale of SAF to businessman Pedro Lourenço, this Monday (29/4), at Toca da Raposa 2, in Belo Horizonte.
Mattos lamented the fact that some Cruzeiro residents burned a Ronaldo flag in protest against the team’s performance in the Copa Sudamericana. The episode occurred in the early hours of April 12, after the 3-3 draw with Alianza, from Colombia, at Mineirão.
“When I saw the track, my heart hurt. Why did my heart hurt? In the 80s, Cruzeiro had a great time to take a huge leap forward in the 90s. And this leap was made thanks to this citizen who is sitting here. It was perhaps the biggest sale in Brazilian football at the time. Ronaldo changed Cruzeiro’s level.”
Alexandre Mattos
Alexandre referred to the beginning of Ronaldo’s professional career, in 1993. Aged 16 to 17 at the time, the striker impressed the football world with his dribbling, sprinting and finishing. For Cruzeiro, the Phenomenon scored 56 goals in 58 games and was called up by coach Carlos Alberto Parreira for the Brazilian team in the 1994 World Cup.
Even though he didn’t play any matches in his fourth championship, Ronaldo gained visibility to move to PSV Eindhoven, in the Netherlands. The net US$6 million from the transfer enabled Cruzeiro to prepare the ground for titles such as the 1996 Copa do Brasil and the 1997 Libertadores.
Ronaldo became the best player in the world three times and played in other World Cup finals – he was runner-up in 1998, in France, and champion in 2002, in Korea and Japan (as a bonus, he reached the top scorer, with eight goals). A global idol, the Phenomenon played for Barcelona, Inter Milan, Real Madrid, Milan and Corinthians until he retired at the age of 34, in February 2011.
Ronaldo football manager
As soon as he ended his career, the former number 9 of the Brazilian team plunged into the corporate world to invest the millions of dollars he accumulated as a great star of his generation. In football management, he had his first experience at Valladolid, in Spain, in 2018. He later became a partner at SAF do Cruzeiro, in 2022.
Deep in debt exceeding R$1 billion and in Series B for the third consecutive year, Cruzeiro finally celebrated its return to the national elite in the first year of Ronaldo’s administration. The club won the 2022 Series B, with 78 points, and remained in A in 2023 by finishing 14th, with 47. For everything that was done, Mattos asked the Fenômeno for more recognition from the fans.
Cruzeiro changed its image at an impressive speed. Cruzeiro reorganized and restructured itself in an impressive way. If I can ask the fans for anything, thank this guy. In two moments, he was very important for the club’s history. Those who sometimes don’t know the history, at a very young age, understand that winning in football is very hard. What they did in two and a half years was excellent. That’s why Cruzeiro is being acquired today. Ronaldo, thank you very much, from the bottom of my heart. Anyone who knows football knows what you represented back then for Cruzeiro.
Alexandre Mattos
Alexandre Mattos at Cruzeiro
Alexandre Mattos returned to Cruzeiro at the invitation of Pedro Lourenço. The executive worked at Toca from March 2012 to December 2014, being state champion (2014) and two-time Brazilian champion (2013 and 2014).
At the end of 2021, the director was very close to returning to Toca, even participating in negotiations. However, with the sale of SAF shares to Ronaldo, Cruzeiro chose not to sign Mattos and sought Pedro Martins.
Mattos’ return to Cruzeiro occurred just two weeks after he was announced as CEO of América, a club of which he was director from 2005 to 2009. Lourenço’s “unrefusable proposal” caused Alexandre to quickly change his outlook.
Mattos also commanded the football department of Palmeiras (January 2015 to December 2019), Atlético (March 2020 to January 2021) and Athletico-PR (December 2022 to December 2023) and Vasco (December 2023 to March 2024).
