One of the biggest positives from Gary O’Neil’s first season in charge at Wolves was how he united the supporters and a disillusioned squad.
But arriving just four days before the start of the season meant O’Neil had a big job on his hands to bring everyone together.One of the stars of that season was Matheus Cunha. The Brazilian notched 14 goals and eight assists, despite a serious hamstring injury, to record the best goalscoring season of his career so far.
But it was not all plain sailing. Wolves put in a fantastic performance on the opening day at Old Trafford, but lost 1-0. “After the Brighton game, I didn’t have a good reaction after two games and started to do crazy things saying training wasn’t the best and Gary came to me and said ‘I’m with you, I’m not your enemy. I know it’s hard to start a new journey with someone but I’m here to help you’.
“At the time I followed the Premier League I watched more of Chelsea at Stamford Bridge and United at Old Trafford. To go there and score three goals, I will always remember it. It was one of the best moments in my career.”Wolves beat Albion 2-0 in the FA Cup, Cunha scoring the second, to record a first win at the Hawthorns since 1996 – a historic afternoon for this Wolves side.“Maybe it’s my second best moment here because I felt it from the fans.
He came back ahead of time after just seven weeks, but Wolves were already in a slide that saw them end the season with one win in 11 games.“It was a moment where I was enjoying playing football, a hat-trick at Stamford Bridge. It was a dream come true. After that, it was the next game. I was very sick the whole week, a fever and all this.
Wolverhampton may not be the sun-kissed Spanish capital of Madrid, but it is the warm welcome of locals that has helped him and his family settle.“Germany was very good for me, I played very well there. But it was not the best relationship with the culture. The fans were amazing. But away from football the people were very far away from my culture.
He added: “I started to speak many languages also because it helps me on the pitch. I left Brazil at 18 years old so I thought I would never adapt in Switzerland, a different culture and everything.
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