A Brazilian footballer, Bruno Fernandes de Souza, began playing football in the youth division of Tombense FC, in 2001. After a year, he switched to the youth division of Clube Atletico Mineiro, and in the same year started playing professionally for the same club. The goalkeeper remained with the club till 2006, during which time he made over 50 appearances with the team.In 2006, de Souza signed a contract with Media Sports Investments, which is an investment fund, and has been associated with Mineiro in various transactions. De Souza’s deal is rumored to be of the tune of about € 2 million, plus an additional 15% regarding a future deal. This eventually led to Bruno signing up with Corinthians EC, which was a partner of MSI at that time.
De Souza’s stint with Corinthians was not a good one, with manager Emerson Leao’s consistent refusal to allow him to play, choosing former keeper Marcelo instead. Unsatisfied with this, de Souza was loaned out to Flamengo for the 2006-07 season, with whom he made over 60 appearances.
| Position | Goalkeeper |
| Born | 23 Dec 1984 |
| Nationality |
Brazil
|
| Team History | |
Flamengo
|
2008 - 2010 |
|
Flamengo
|
2006 - 2007 (loan) |
Corinthians
|
2006 - 2007 |
Clube Atletico Mineiro
|
2002 - 2006 |
De Souza’s had a better time at Flamengo partly also because the week he arrived was when the first team keeper of Flamengo, Diego da Costa Menezes, was out due to injury. De Souza made his debut against Internacional, and impressed everyone with his performance, which confirmed his position as first-choice keeper, in the first team.
De Souza made three spectacular saves during the Rio de Janeiro State Championship, making him an instant hit with fans, especially as this helped Flamengo bag the championship title. This spurt in popularity was followed by rumors of de Souza moving to Europe, and the MSI was keen on cashing in on his fame as well. One of the clubs he was most linked to was FC Barcelona.
But in 2008, Flamengo signed on de Souza permanently with € 3 million deal. De Souza revealed his desire to be the rubro-negro, sometime in the future. After becoming a permanent member of his current club, Flamengo, Bruno went on to score three impressive goals, one in a free-kick against Coronel Bolognes, during the Copa Libertadores, the second in a penalty kick against Coritiba and the third was in 2009, once again in a free-kick against Mesquita.
De Souza has also been part of the Taca Guanabara title win, both in 2007 and 2008, as well as the Rio State League title win in 2007 and 2008.
