Oliver Minatel

Oliver Minatel

Personal information
Full name	Oliver Thomal Minatel
Date of birth	(1992-08-29) 29 August 1992 (age 32)
Place of birth	Campinas, Brazil
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s)	Forward
Youth career
2002–2007	Guarani
2007–2009	Paulínia
2009–2010	PSV
2010–2011	Nacional
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2011–2013	Nacional	11	(0)
2013	Velo Clube	11	(1)
2014–2015	Ottawa Fury	44	(9)
2015	→ Ottawa Fury Academy	1	(0)
2016	Puerto Rico FC	9	(1)
2017	Richmond Kickers	15	(2)
2018	South Melbourne	18	(7)
2019–2021	Cavalry FC	31	(7)
2022	York United	6	(1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 10 October 2022

Oliver Thomal Minatel (born 29 August 1992), known as Oliver, is a Brazilian former professional footballer. He currently serves as a scouting coordinator with Orlando City SC in Major League Soccer.

Career

Youth

After spending five years at his home club Guarani, Mintatel joined the esteemed academy of Paulínia in 2007 where he would play three seasons in the Campeonato Paulista and featured in the Copa São Paulo.

At Nacional, Minatel spent one year with their U-19 squad where he finished second on the team in scoring with 18 goals from 22 matches. Minatel made the move to Nacional after spending a year with the U-19 side of Dutch side PSV Eindhoven. PSV discovered Minatel while scouting players in the Copa São Paulo, the biggest U-19 National Tournament in the world.^[1]

Nacional

Minatel spent three seasons with Portuguese side C.D. Nacional that included two years in the Primeira Liga. Minatel became the youngest player in Nacional club history to start in an international match when he featured in their UEFA Europa League qualifier against Icelandic side Fimleikafélag Hafnarfjarðar at 18 years of age.

Velo Clube

Minatel moved back to his native Brazil to Velo Clube, where he spent the majority of 2013, before signing with NASL club Ottawa Fury on November 14, 2013.^[2]

Ottawa Fury

Oliver would go on to be the club's leading scorer in 2014, scoring 7 goals in 22 league appearances. On 19 January 2015, he was re-signed by Ottawa for an additional year.^[3]

In April 2015, Oliver made international news after being attacked by a fellow passenger while on an Air Canada flight from Toronto to Atlanta with his team for an away match against the Atlanta Silverbacks. He was uninjured and the perpetrator was taken into the custody of the FBI and local law enforcement in Atlanta. The unprovoked attacker had attempted to choke Oliver with a headphone cord from the seat behind, but was separated from him by Minatel's teammates and other passengers.^[4]

Oliver finished the 2015 season with 3 goals in 25 appearances in all competitions. In December 2015, he was officially released by the club.^[5]

Puerto Rico FC

On March 10, 2016, Oliver was signed by NASL expansion team Puerto Rico FC.^[6]

South Melbourne

On February 13, 2018, Oliver joined the South Melbourne FC for the 2018 season. Throughout the later stages of the season, Oliver was utilised in a defensive midfield role in which he excelled despite playing out of position. He was pivotal in South Melbourne's survival against relegation.

Cavalry FC

Oliver returned to Canada in 2019, joining Cavalry FC ahead of the inaugural Canadian Premier League season. Oliver was Cavalry FC's first-ever non-Canadian signing.^[7] He cited the quality of life in Canada as a factor in his decision to return.^[8] He scored 8 goals in his first season with Cavalry as the team came very close to winning the championship. In December 2019, Cavalry announced Minatel would return to the club for the 2020 season.^[9] Unfortunately, he fractured both his tibia and his fibula in a match against York9, ending his season. He returned for the 2021 season, but was sidelined for most of the season due to his injury, only managing to appear in 3 matches at the end of the year. He departed the club following the 2021 season.^[10]

York United

Minatel remained signed with York United FC ahead of the 2022 Canadian Premier League season.^[11]

After a number of injuries that limited his time with both Cavalry and York United, on October 11, 2022, Minatel announced his retirement from the professional game.^[12]

After retirement

Shortly after putting an end to his playing career, on February 8, 2023, Minatel was officially announced as the new Head of Recruitment and Player Development by his former club Cavalry FC.^[13][14]

In the summer of 2024, he joined Major League Soccer club Orlando City SC as a scouting coordinator.^[15]

Career statistics

As of 16 November 2021.^[16]

Club statistics

Club	Season	League			National Cup[a]		League Cup[b]		Continental[c]		Other[d]		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Nacional	2011–12	Primeira Liga	10	0	3	0	2	0	3	0	0	0	18	0
	2012–13	Primeira Liga	1	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0	1	0
	Total		11	0	3	0	2	0	3	0	0	0	19	0
Velo Clube	2013	Paulista Série A2	11	1	0	0	—		—		0	0	11	1
Ottawa Fury	2014	NASL	22	7	2	0	—		—		0	0	24	7
	2015	NASL	22	2	1	1	—		—		2	0	25	3
	Total		44	9	3	1	0	0	0	0	2	0	49	10
Ottawa Fury FC Academy	2016	Première Ligue de soccer du Québec	1	0	—		0	0	—		—		1	0
Puerto Rico FC	2016	NASL	9	1	5	2	—		—		0	0	14	3
Richmond Kickers	2017	United Soccer League	15	2	1	0	—		—		0	0	16	2
South Melbourne	2018	NPL Victoria	18	7	0	0	—		—		0	0	18	7
Cavalry FC	2019	Canadian Premier League	22	7	5	1	—		—		2	0	29	8
	2020		7	0	0	0	—		—		0	0	7	0
	2021		2	0	0	0	—		—		1	0	3	0
	Total		31	7	5	1	0	0	0	0	3	0	39	8
Career total			140	27	17	4	2	0	3	0	5	0	167	31

1. Includes appearances and goals in the Taça de Portugal, Canadian Championship, Copa Luis Villarejo and U.S. Open Cup.
2. Includes appearances and goals in the Taça da Liga.
3. Includes appearances and goals in the UEFA Europa League.
4. Includes appearances and goals in the Soccer Bowl and Canadian Premier League Finals.

Honours

Club

Calvary FC

• Canadian Premier League Finals
  • Runners-up: 2019
• Canadian Premier League (Regular season):
  • Champions: Spring 2019, Fall 2019

References

1. "Home | nasl.com". nasl.com. Retrieved 25 January 2014.
2. "News | Ottawa Fury FC". ottawafuryfc.com. Retrieved 25 January 2014.
3. "Fury FC Re-Sign Young Talents Oliver and Davies". ottawafuryfc.com. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
4. "Oliver Minatel, Ottawa soccer player, attacked on Air Canada Jazz plane". CBC. Retrieved 14 April 2015.
5. "Roster Update - December 14". ottawafuryfc.com. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
6. "I JUST WANT TO WIN: Meet Brazilian winger Oliver Minatel". Puerto Rico FC. 3 June 2016. Retrieved 18 January 2019.
7. "Cavalry FC signs 1st international player in Brazilian forward Oliver Minatel". CavalryFC.CanPL.com. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
8. Armen Bedakian (21 January 2019). "Wise and ready to build a club, Cavalry FC striker Oliver Minatel returns to Canada". Canadian Premier League.
9. "Cavalry locks up three more key pieces". Cavalry FC. 5 December 2019.
10. Jacques, John (5 January 2022). "Oliver Minatel Departs From Cavalry FC". Northern Tribune.
11. "York United Adds Oliver Minatel". Northern Tribune. 25 January 2022. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
12. Jacques, John (11 October 2022). "Curtain Call: Minatel Wraps Up 12-Year Career". Northern Tribune.
13. "Cavalry FC names Oliver Minatel head of recruitment and player development". Canadian Premier League. 8 February 2023. Retrieved 8 February 2023.
14. "Cavalry FC Announces Oliver Minatel as Head of Recruitment and Player Development". Cavalry FC. 8 February 2023. Retrieved 8 February 2023.
15. O'Connor-Clarke, Charlie (30 July 2024). "'I was very fortunate': Cavalry FC's Head of Recruitment Oliver Minatel joining MLS's Orlando City SC". Canadian Premier League.
16. Oliver Minatel at Soccerway

External links

• Oliver Minatel at Soccerway