June 25, 2024
From Brazil to the USA: Matheus Ferreira Pursues Soccer Dreams and Higher Education
By Kyle Coppola
From Brazil to the USA: Matheus Ferreira Pursues Soccer Dreams and Higher Education
Matheus Ferreira is a local soccer player with BRAVE SC in The Villages. He plays for the club, which competes in the USL2 league.
Ferreira is from Brazil. He grew up there his entire life and started playing soccer at the age of five. “I played soccer my entire life, and Brazil is known for soccer but I wanted to also continue my academic career as well. For me to pursue what I wanted to do and play professionally, I had to come to the USA for the opportunity to continue my academic and football career,” says Ferreira.
(Matheus Ferreira came to the USA in search of a higher education and to continue his dream of being a professional soccer player. Photo Credit BRAVE SC.)
Ferreira played his senior year of high school soccer in the USA and earned a high school diploma. He ended up going to Oklahoma Wesleyan University to play college soccer and study Sports Management.
“Before me, the only one in my family to graduate was my mom. It was always very important to me to set the tone for the family. When I graduated, it was very exciting. It’s not about what you achieve but what you do during you’re time there. I thought of all the hard work I went through in high school along with moving to a new country in order to graduate and further my career. Once I walked across the stage at college, it was such a huge moment for me and my family to have that degree in my hand,” says Ferreira.
(Matheus Ferreira has been so much fun to watch at the midfield position this year for BRAVE SC. Photo Credit BRAVE SC.)
For Ferreira, he still hopes to continue his soccer career professionally, but he has advice to offer younger players who are also in a similar situation as he is. “If you love what you do, you keep trying your best and believe it will work out, but work on things on the side and get a degree because if sports do not work out, you have something to fall back on,” says Ferreira. Matheus graduated with a sports management degree.
Matheus has been an anchor for BRAVE SC this season. BRAVE SC has not lost a game all year, and he is a huge reason for the success on and off the field. He has developed strong bonds with his teammates. The entire team is like one big family.
Matheus Ferreira is an amazing story. He came to the USA with dreams of achieving a better future for himself and his family. He has successfully done that. While his story is still being written, stories like this happen every day across our great nation.
(BRAVE SC are a top 10 team currently in the USL2. Ferreira has been a big part of that success. Photo Credit BRAVE SC.)
I was touched by his story of perseverance. Crossing a stage and receiving a diploma is one of the top five things to happen to any person in life. The hard work that goes into achieving something like that is hard to describe unless you have done it. Matheus is an amazing young man and we are very excited to see where life takes him! You can see him play for BRAVE SC in The Villages. Visit Bravesc.com for more info, schedule and ticket info.
Photo Credit – BRAVE SC.
Kyle Coppola was born in Newton, Massachusetts and received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Communications from Curry College in 2016. After traveling to Florida on a family vacation, he decided he could not get enough of the warm weather and made the move from snowy Massachusetts to central Florida 8 years ago.
For the last decade Kyle has gained valuable experience in social media content creation, marketing and sales, writing, video production, sports announcing and even broadcasting for local radio stations, such as FM 102.9 in The Villages and FM 91.5 in Massachusetts. Every year he volunteers at The Villages Charter High School as a play-by-play sports announcer for the football games as well as a public address announcer for the basketball games, including the annual Battle at The Villages Tournament.
Outside the office Kyle is a husband and father to two beautiful girls along with their cat. In his spare time he likes to spend time with his family, travel, play golf and swim. He is also a huge sports junkie and even bigger motorsports fan and loves to attend racing events when he can.
