Vitor Roque meets Athletico for the first time; remember great moments

The reunion took place in Furacão’s defeat to Palmeiras, this Sunday (19), at Allianz Parque, in São Paulo, in the 12th round of the Brasileirão. The player was doubtful, as he was out for three weeks recovering from a ligament injury resulting from an ankle trauma. The number 9 entered the field in the 36th minute of the second half.

“First of all, I would like to be grateful for the opportunity and happy to be back helping Palmeiras. It was a difficult victory, with one less, but this demonstrates the strength of our group, which is to run every minute for all the balls, and we came out with the victory. For the time I was away, it demands training, pace of play. It means continuing to work, with great humility, to be 100%”, he said as he left the pitch to canal Premiere.

Vitor Roque’s time at Athletico

Vitor Roque’s time at CT do Caju began in a negotiation that leaves Cruzeiro fans angry to this day. While the Minas Gerais club was trying to renew its contract, Rubro-Negro paid the fine of R$ 24 million and hired the jewel with short and long term thinking.

On the field, the center forward quickly became the youngest to score goals for Athletico in the Campeonato Brasileiro and Libertadores, both at 17 years old. In the international competition, he scored the qualifying goal for the semi-final against Estudiantes, in Argentina, and provided decisive assists against Palmeiras to guarantee a place in the final.

In total, Vitor Roque played 81 games for Athletico, scored 28 goals and provided ten assists between 2022 and 2023. With great performances, the striker was sold to Barcelona, ​​but he did not have the same performance and was loaned to Betis before returning to Brazil. Palmeiras bought ‘Tigrinho’ last year for R$25 million.

At Palmeiras, the center forward has already played 72 matches, with 26 goals and six assists, in addition to this year’s Campeonato Paulista title.

The person who was rooting for Vitor Roque’s return to take a few more days was coach Odair Hellmann, who joked after Athletico’s victory over Chapecoense. “I hope that Vitor Roque recovers on Monday. That he can meet us again at the hotel, we buy him a coffee and even take a physiotherapist to help with the treatment. And on Monday he will be released”, he said, laughing. However, the young striker was not decisive in the Red and Black defeat in the Brasileirão.

After the reunion with Hurricane, the report from OneTwo Sports lists Vitor Roque’s five greatest moments during his highly notable time at the club.

1 – Estudiantes 0x1 Athletico – Libertadores of 2022

Just a few months into Athletico, Vitor Roque scored the qualifying goal for the Libertadores semi-final against Estudiantes, in Argentina. When the game headed towards penalties, the center forward secured the victory in second-half stoppage time.

‘Tigrinho’ himself classified the goal in La Plata as the greatest moment in his time at Furacão.

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“The most memorable moment was the goal against Estudiantes, there in Argentina, in the semi-final. After 17 years, reaching the final again was very important for me and for the club”, highlighted Vitor Roque, in his farewell interview with Athletico, at the end of 2023.

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2 – First title as a professional

Vitor Roque played just six games during the 2023 Paranaense Championship, just one as a starter, but he was an important player in the title campaign. He scored four goals, three in the quarter-finals against São Joseense and another in the first game of the decision against Cascavel.

“My first professional title. It will always be marked in my life. It was very important to have the taste of being a champion, of lifting a trophy. And the undefeated campaign is very important for the club and for the fans. It will be marked in my life”, highlighted Vitor Roque.

3 – Athletico 2×1 Libertad – Libertadores of 2022

At the time as Pablo’s reserve, Vitor Roque gained a chance as Athletico’s starter due to his competitor’s injury and needed just five minutes on the field to open the scoring in the 2-1 victory over Libertad. The goal started Rubro-Negro’s journey through the knockout stage to the 2022 Libertadores final.

Furthermore, Vitor Roque, aged 17 years and 120 days at the time, became the youngest player in Furacão’s history to score a goal in Libertadores. The record is held by striker Angelo, who was at Santos and now plays for Al-Nassr, in Saudi Arabia, aged 16 years, three months and ten days in 2021.

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“My first goal in the Libertadores, against Libertad. In my first Libertadores, in my first minutes on the field. It was something inexplicable. Something I had dreamed of since I watched Libertadores games with my father”celebrated Vitor Roque.

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4 – Atlético-MG 2×3 Athletico – Brasileirão 2022

Revealed by Cruzeiro, Vitor Roque took the rivalry with Atlético-MG to Curitiba and became one of the biggest executioners of the Minas Gerais club while wearing the Athletico shirt. In his second game against Galo, the center forward scored two of the three goals in the 3-2 victory in Mineirão.

It was the first time that Vitor Roque scored two goals in a match wearing an Athletico shirt. In the interview after the match, he did not hide that he had a “special pleasure” in scoring goals against Atlético-MG.

5 – Cuiabá 0x1 Athletico – Brasileirão 2022

In just the fifth game, Vitor Roque scored his first goal with an Athletico shirt and also secured a 1-0 victory over Cuiabá, at Arena Pantanal. The striker came on during the second half and needed just over 20 minutes to find the net.

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“My first goal with the Furacão shirt, in the match against Cuiabá, there in Mato Grosso. It was a difficult moment for me, I hadn’t been playing much… It was a relief goal”, said the center forward.

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Then coach Luiz Felipe Scolari praised Vitor Roque after the feat. “The worst player for a defender to face is the stocky, short center forward, who protects the ball well, who is a sprinter and who goes out to work that ball. These are the skills he possesses”, he praised.