"Matthaeus: Bebeto's son, a master of free kicks on his home field."

Your digital magazine game against Sporting with a terrible toothache ended with two goals. Next week, you will return to Alvalade for your200th career match and want to use the "Law of the Ex" again. The Brazilian midfielder has found happiness playing football again at Farense, returned to the league, and opened a chest full of memories for Maisfutebol.

When Matteus Oliveira met Ruben Amorim on the field of the San Luis stadium at the end of September, the Sporting coach couldn't resist making a joke in the form of a provocation.

“Slow down! I know your left leg,” he said before the match between Farense and Sporting, the 7th round of the league. Amorim had no idea what hell awaited his former student that night. All because of the wisdom that had been extracted. “In the lead-up, late at night, I started experiencing unbearable tooth pain. I called the club doctor and said, ‘Doctor, please give me something I can take.’ And he prescribed me some medication, but despite that, I went to the match in a lot of pain. The truth is that all those worries turned out to be good. They made me feel more alive,” Matheus Oliveira shares in a conversation with Maisfutebol.

Here he is, back in the I League with a bang. He stepped onto the field, scored two goals from free kicks, and almost completed a hat-trick against Antonio Adan. He overcame his toothache and became a real headache for his former club; although Sporting, the league leaders, still won 3-2 thanks to a last-minute penalty. The celebration of the Farense players after Matheus scored against Sporting.

Burden and blessing, under the sign of "7"

Matheus is a rare case where a person was already famous before their birth. Right after giving birth, his mother, former volleyball player Denise Oliveira, went live across Brazil to announce Bebeto, who was at the national team training camp just two days before the match against the Netherlands in the quarter-finals of the 1994 World Cup. In the SBT studio, set up in the United States to follow the "Copa" [see video], he was called to score that goal which became famous in the history of world football, holding the newborn between Romário and Mazinho. Almost three decades later, fans still remember this gesture, as the midfielder of Farense tells us: "When I'm with my father, people come up to us and ask us to hug together, take pictures, shoot videos... In Portugal, in Brazil, in the United States... Wherever we are, it happens. It has stuck in people's minds. And then they say: 'You're not a baby anymore...' This gesture symbolizes what it means to be the son of a football legend - it's a blessing, but it can also be a burden. Matheus thanks God for his father, but recalls the psychological difficulties he had to face.

From the bets of Jesus to happiness restored in Faro

Matheus now wears number 27 at Farense. In Algarve, he found a place where he can be happy. Since leaving Mafra in the middle of last season, he has been a decisive factor in the rise of José Mota's team. Now, back in the I Liga, he is an undisputed starter and has achieved his best career stats at the beginning of this season, scoring four goals and providing one assist. After his academic training and first appearance for Flamengo's first team, he left behind Estoril, Vitória de Guimarães, Sporting, and a brief return to Brazil to play for Coritiba. "I know my mental strength and that when I'm in good shape, everything happens naturally. I needed to return to the joy of doing what I love most. I lost a bit of that joy in playing football. The move to Farense was an important step in my return to myself. I showed the ability to rise above the situation, and things are happening even better than I expected," he admits, having traveled all over Portugal from north to south.

In fact, Matheus has been Portuguese since he received dual citizenship at the age of 15. "My great-grandfather and great-grandmother are from Trás-os-Montes, so, on my father's advice, I got a Portuguese passport while I was still playing for Brazil's youth teams. Eventually, I ended up here much later, but I love Portugal! We have a good quality of life, safety, and the food is really delicious. Good fish, seafood... Moreover, my second daughter was born in Lisbon."