Maccabi Haifa is currently in the midst of its training camp and defeated Dundee FC 2-1 in its first preseason friendly. One player in the squad who is attracting attention is the club’s newest acquisition, Bruninho as the 26-year old Brazilian attacking midfielder was recently acquired from Karpaty Lviv. In the Ukrainian League, Bruninho made 26 appearances and scored 8 goals this past season while the year before he played in 24 games and also found the back of the goal eight times.

Just as he arrived at camp, Bruninho and spoke about joining the Greens, “My full name is Bruno Roberto Ferreira da Silva, or Bruninho, or Bruni for short. I’m very happy to be here. I think this is a huge opportunity for me and everyone has welcomed me very warmly. I’m very happy with this new chapter in my life.

“When I first received the offer, I have to admit I didn’t know the club. But when I started researching its history and saw how ambitious Maccabi Haifa is, it really made me want to come. I already wanted to take this step in my career during the previous transfer window and I’m very happy I was finally able to do it now.”

Bruninho was in Israel for a short time before heading to join the rest of the team in Hungary but he knows how much the fans are looking forward to seeing him in action as he explained what he has to offer on the pitch.

“I’m very excited to meet not only our supporters, but also the people of Haifa who truly love football. I can’t wait for that day. I think the fans will get to know me better during the matches. I’m a player who loves to dribble, loves to attack, but I think that will become much clearer once I start playing.”

The midfielder continued, “I’m already very excited to make my debut. I remember watching Maccabi’s match against Paris Saint-Germain and I remember watching Lionel Messi and Neymar play, while the crowd was cheering nonstop. I simply didn’t realize at the time that it was the same club! But after I found out, it made me even more eager to come.”

Bruninho’s native tongue is Portuguese but that won’t impede his progress at the club, “I understand English quite well, but for official matters I still prefer to speak Portuguese and have an interpreter with me. In everyday situations, though, I manage well in English and understand everyone just fine.”

As a Brazilian, Bruninho couldn’t hide the fact that his country was just eliminated from the World Cup by Norway, “Today is not a good day to be Brazilian, but we have to be patient and keep going.”

Bruninho then shared his final thoughts for the season ahead as he spoke about some of his aspirations for the upcoming campaign, “I really loved arriving here at the training camp. Everyone welcomed me so warmly, even better than I imagined. Everyone has been very attentive and welcoming, helping me a lot and I’m happy with everyone here. Because this is such a big club, one that hasn’t won the league title in several years, I believe this could be the moment to bring trophies back. But I believe the way to do that is by playing good football and going as far as possible in every competition.”