Jose Mauricio is the Brazilian midfielder who is best known to Russian fans for his appearances for the Grozny Terek. He began his career in Brazil, but, like many local football players, he decided to move to Russia to play European football and receive significantly more money than at home. Jose Mauricio is not a star player, but he copes with his tasks at a fairly high level.
Carier start
Jose Mauricio was born on October 21, 1988 in Brazil, where he began to get involved in football since childhood. At eleven, he enrolled in the football academy of the local Corinthians club, which trained many young talents who later began to play in Europe. For seven years, he was in the system of this club, until in 2006 he moved to another Brazilian club - Fluminese, with which he soon entered into a professional contract. However, for a long time the midfielder was not considered as a player of the basic structure, and only in the third year as a member of an adult team he began to get to the base more often.
In 2009, scouts from Europe closely watched him, after which in January 2010 it was announced that Jose Mauricio was transferred to Terek. The Russian club paid 200 thousand euros for the football player, and the Brazilian got a chance to show himself in the new championship.
Transition to Terek
From the first season, Jose Mauricio, whose photos began to appear on the pages of local sports publications, got a place in the starting lineup. He spent 28 matches, scoring five goals, and became fan favorite. Over the next four and a half seasons, Mauricio appeared on the field another 146 times, scoring twenty-five goals. Unfortunately, with “Terek” he was not able to take a single trophy, and the Brazilian dreamed of winning something in his career.
And he had a great chance - in the winter of 2015, his contract with the club expired, which he could extend. The leadership offered him this opportunity, but suddenly on the horizon there was interest from one of the strongest clubs in Russia, St. Petersburg "Zenith". Naturally, the football player Jose Mauricio refused to renew the contract with “Terek” in order to take advantage of the chance he had.
The game for Zenit
Of course, the level of play in the new club was much higher, and Mauricio realized that he would face serious competition - just look at the standard pair of club midfielders, Spaniard Javi Garcia, Zenit captain, and Belgian Axel Witsel. But Jose did not give up and already in the first half of the game for Zenit appeared on the field 15 times, scoring two goals. In the current season, the statistics of the Brazilian were no worse: he came out in 11 matches and scored two goals, but it is worth noting that almost all the time he comes on as a substitute, and not in the starting lineup. However, given the fact that he comes out in almost every match, he hardly has any reason to complain. In the summer of 2016, he extended the contract with the club until 2019, so he still has many opportunities to help his team. And, of course, we must not forget that Mauricio has already begun to receive what he came to Zenit for, trophies. In 2016, the club won the Russian Cup first, and then the Russian Super Cup.
Team appearances
To date, Jose Mauricio has not received a single call to the national team of Brazil - so far, the coaches do not believe that he has sufficient qualities to represent the country. Perhaps if he will more often enter the field as part of Zenit, he will be able to claim a late call, as happened, for example, with Dante and Bavaria. In the meantime, he only has five games for the Brazilian youth team in the age group under 17.