In Eindhoven, where PSV’s Brazilian lineage still runs through street-corner memories of Romário and Ronaldo, Mauro Júnior has spent nine years building a route few would have predicted. The 27-year-old has now reached Brazil’s senior squad under Carlo Ancelotti, turning a positional reinvention in the Netherlands into a place in the first 26-man selection of the new post-World Cup cycle.
A left-back made in Eindhoven
Mauro arrived at PSV as an attacking midfielder and was presented in the No. 10 shirt. He also played on the wing during his earlier seasons, without finding a settled role, and at one point was close to leaving the club. The decisive opening came in 2021, amid the absences of the Covid-19 period.
When regular left-back Philipp Max tested positive, then-coach Roger Schmidt had no specialist replacement on the bench. Mauro, then 22 and already operating on the left flank, was asked to fill in. He initially had reservations about moving into defence, but accepted because his minutes were limited.
- He was named man of the match in his first game at left-back.
- Schmidt told him that, if he maintained that standard, he could stay at PSV as the team’s first-choice left-back.
- The conversion persuaded Mauro that his ceiling was higher at full-back than as a midfielder or winger.
- He has now played there for four or five years and says he feels increasingly at ease, despite still seeing room to improve.
His hardest adjustment was without the ball. Mauro said the defensive demands — marking, body shape and positioning — were more difficult than the technical side of the role. In possession, he felt more comfortable facing the play with space ahead of him.
“I was a very attacking midfielder from the academy onwards,” he said. “But after that first training session as a left-back, I told my agent that I thought I could reach the Brazil team from that position.”
He describes himself as an attack-minded full-back who can overlap or drift into central areas. PSV’s current structure often asks a full-back to move inside and create an additional midfielder in the build-up. Last season, he recorded 11 assists in 37 matches, a return he sees as evidence of his ability to affect matches in the final third while maintaining his work rate.
Brazil over a Dutch international route
The Netherlands explored whether Mauro might be interested in representing the country after his rise at PSV. He declined. He said the possibility of losing his Brazilian passport was an important practical factor, but the central reason was always his ambition to wear Brazil’s yellow shirt.
“I grew up in Brazil,” he said. “I have lived in the Netherlands for a long time, but I am Brazilian. Wearing the yellow shirt is something else; only Brazilians know the weight of it.”
Mauro also felt that naturalising for the Netherlands would not necessarily have suited him personally, despite his friendships with Dutch internationals. He cited differences in culture, lifestyle and mentality, while stressing that he gets on well with those players.
His commitment to PSV has followed the same logic of belonging. Mauro said he received several opportunities to leave Eindhoven, including moves that might have brought more exposure, but chose to remain because he and his wife are happy in the city and because he believes in the club’s project. PSV’s regular Champions League involvement also mattered.
- Mauro joined PSV directly at 18 after developing at Desportivo Brasil from the age of 14.
- He played only limited senior football for Desportivo Brasil, in the A-3 division.
- He stated clearly that he never played for Vasco da Gama, despite online records claiming otherwise.
- He sees PSV as a club that welcomes Brazilian players, helped by the legacy of Romário, Ronaldo, Gomes, Alex and Vampeta.
Romário’s name, he said, remains particularly vivid around Eindhoven. Restaurants and other places in the city still recount stories of the former PSV forward’s time there, while Gomes is also remembered for his success with the club.
A call-up celebrated after Ajax
The first indication of Brazil’s interest arrived after PSV’s away victory over Ajax. Following his team talk, Mauro’s coach called out his full name — Jaqueson Júnior Ferreira dos Santos — before telling the squad that the player had made Brazil’s preliminary list.
The dressing room celebration was especially loud, Mauro said, because PSV had won at Ajax for the first time in three years. His teammates lifted him into the air after the announcement.
On the day Ancelotti named the final squad, Mauro watched at home with his wife. He knew he was among the pre-selected players but still felt anxious as the announcement unfolded. Once Ancelotti said his name, his phone was overwhelmed with calls and messages from relatives, friends and people with whom he had not spoken for some time.
He spoke with his parents, who were also watching, and described the moment as unique. For Mauro, being included among the first 26 players selected after the World Cup is a privilege given the depth of competition across Brazilian football.
Three friendlies and a World Cup target
The left-back sees the forthcoming three friendlies and the training camp as his opening step rather than a finished achievement. With Douglas Santos older and Alex Sandro’s cycle apparently nearing its end, he believes there is an opportunity on Brazil’s left side, but he knows he must earn a lasting place.
“I dream of playing in a World Cup for Brazil,” Mauro said. “I am 27 now, and I would be 31 at a World Cup. But first I have to arrive in very good condition, show my football and take this opportunity.”
He is prepared to adapt to the needs of Vinícius Júnior should they play on the same flank. Mauro said a player of Vinícius’s quality must be given the conditions to decide games, which means the full-back must make the right attacking and defensive choices. At the same time, he expects shared defensive responsibility when required.
- Mauro played with Vinícius Júnior at Brazil Under-20 level.
- He was also involved with Gabriel Magalhães, Bruno Guimarães and Douglas Luiz during Olympic preparation.
- His Brazil youth-team connections also include Matheuzinho and Corinthians goalkeeper Hugo Souza.
- His childhood football idol was Neymar, while Roberto Carlos and Marcelo are the left-backs he most admires.
He praised Roberto Carlos for his power, commitment and quality on the ball, and Marcelo for the technical ability that sustained such a long spell at Real Madrid. Yet Mauro’s own story has been shaped less by a conventional rise than by patience in one Dutch city: a midfielder who stayed, changed position and kept believing that Eindhoven could still lead him back to Brazil.
