Charlotte, NC- The Charlotte Eagles announced today the signing of Brazilian Amaury Nunes. The young native of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil comes to Charlotte after successful seasons with the Fresno Fuego of the PDL.
The announcement comes as the Eagles take the weekend off for Easter, and prepare for their final pre-season tuneups next Monday and Friday at Clemson University and UNC Charlotte. With Opening Day just two weeks away, the team is very excited to add a young skillful player to an already diverse and veteran roster.
Nunes began his young career as a youth player for Flamengo Football Club, one of the world’s most popular clubs, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Nunes became a young star in his time with Flamengo, and that success lead to a contract in the Dutch Second Division at age 19. Two years later, Nunes decided to come to the United States where he quickly made an impact at Oklahoma Baptist University scoring 21 goals in 19 games.
After spending his freshmen year at Oklahoma Baptist, Nunes transferred to Fresno Pacific University where he not only made an impact on the field, but also quickly became a leader as he was elected team captain all three years at Fresno Pacific. During his sophomore and junior years at Fresno Pacific, Nunes was named All-American Honorable Mention as he scored 17 goals in 16 games and 13 goals in 12 games respectively. He continued his goal scoring ways his senior year with 22 goals in 20 games played, which lead to him being named First Team All-American.
In addition to playing for Fresno Pacific University, Nunes signed with the Fresno Fuego of the USL’s Premier Development League where he played 2005 through 2008. While with the Fuego, Amaury continued to shine on the field scoring 9 goal in 7 games played in 2005, 12 goals in 10 games in 2006 and 10 goals with 10 assists in 14 games played in 2007. In 2008, Nunes experienced early success scoring 8 goals and tacking on 2 assists in 8 games played before suffering an injury that kept him out of the lineup for the majority of the season.
Although 2009 will be Nunes’ first season with the Eagles, Hall of Fame Coach Mark Steffens admitted he had the young Brazilian on his radar for quite some time now. "We are really excited to have Amaury with us this season, but he has actually been in touch with us for a while," said Steffens. "We really tried hard to get him last year, but the timing did not work out for him so we are happy things have worked out for this year. Amaury is a young smart player who has obviously received great training at a young age while he was with Flamengo. To have a smart, skillful player who has such knowledge for the game is rare. We’re looking forward to having him as a part of our team in 2009."
Nunes quickly got his first taste of being a professional in Charlotte, as he was on hand last Friday night at Time Warner Cable Arena to sign autographs for thousands who attended the special night with the Charlotte Bobcats, who partnered with the Eagles for a special youth soccer event. The sell-out crowd witnessed a great game as the Bobcats lost a nail-biter to the visiting Miami Heat.
"It’s been a lot of fun so far," said Nunes. Everyone in Charlotte have been so friendly and welcoming. It’s been a great place to be even in this short time, and I’m really looking forward to the challenge of helping the team get back to the USL-2 Final. I really am thankful to be in a community like this and an organization where I can play the sport I love while helping to impact the community."
Nunes and the rest of the Charlotte Eagles will take the Easter weekend off before traveling to Clemson University to take on the Clemson Tigers Monday night at 6pm. The Eagles will then play their final pre-season game at UNC Charlotte’s Transamerica Field against the UNCC 49ers Friday night at 7pm. Both games are open to the public and are FREE ADMISSION.
The Charlotte Eagles will open their 2009 USL-2 Season on April 25th at 2pm at Charlotte Christian Stadium, as the Defending 2008 Regular Season Champions take on their in-state rival, Wilmington. Tickets are on sale now at www.CharlotteEagles.com.
