Tiago Coimbra knows all about being a new Canadian. Born in Fortaleza, Brazil, the teenage striker’s family would first move to Orlando, Florida, before settling in their current home of Vancouver, British Columbia. 

Since then, Coimbra has become a Canadian citizen, represented the country at the under-20 level and signed his first professional contract in Halifax. Coimbra has scored in back-to-back matches as the Wanderers get set to host Forge FC in Friday’s New Canadians Night match. 

“Brazil is a beautiful place, but it can also be pretty dangerous, and my mom wanted things to be different,” Coimbra said. “Everything started working out when we moved to Vancouver. I didn’t know much English, but you learn and meet people. We fell in love with Canada.” 

It was through sport that Coimbra says his family began to adjust to their new home. His father, Cristiano, an avid surfer, translated those skills into snowboarding in the winter before finding spots to catch waves on the Pacific Ocean in the summer. For Tiago, football is where he immediately found himself gaining confidence in his brand-new surroundings. 

“It was really cool to be somewhere with snow for the first time in my life, but as soon as it started melting, I wanted to play football, so my mom found me a team to play on. I remember I scored seven goals in my very first game!” 

Making friends through football, Coimbra began adjusting to life in Canada. He learned to snowboard and honed his craft as a striker with Faly Academy in Vancouver. Much like his 7-goal debut caught the eye of his friends, Coimbra’s ability to score got the attention of a club in his home country and a big one at that. Still in high school, he joined Brazilian powerhouse club Palmeiras. While a Brazilian, Coimbra’s dual nationality earned him a new nickname when returning to his birth country, ‘Canadá.’ 

“It kind of felt like I did when I moved to Canada, I had to adjust to a different culture all over again; things are very different in Brazil, so when I went back, I had to get used to it,” Coimbra recalls. “I also couldn’t come home to Canada for two years, I barely got to see my family, so that was pretty challenging, but the club did a good job of taking me in and looking after me.” 

Coimbra reflects on his time back in Brazil with Palmeiras as a critical period for developing into a professional. The São Paulo-based side won their 11th league championship in 2022, with Coimbra playing for both the club’s U-17 and U-20 teams alongside the likes of top Brazilian prospects, including Endrick Felipe. It was during that time that Canada came calling. 

“Being born in Brazil, I obviously wanted to represent Brazil at first. But as soon as we moved to Canada, my family fell in love with the country, and with me growing up there, I started telling people it would be amazing to play for either Canada or Brazil. So it was a dream come true when I got the call from the national team.” 

GOAL! Tiago Coimbra opens the scoring for Canada!#canm20 🇨🇦 1-0 🇰🇳#CU20pic.twitter.com/t5gH6NsbfI

— Canada Soccer (@CanadaSoccerEN) June 22, 2022

Coimbra represented Canada at the CONCACAF U-20 Championship and scored his first international goal in the competition. It was emotional for Coimbra, who at that moment thought of his parents, the ones who made it all possible by moving him and his siblings to Canada. 

“My family was camping during the competition, but they brought a tv with them and had it set up with a bunch of Canadian flags and maple leaves. It was really fun to see,” Coimbra said. “I told my dad if I scored, I would run straight to the camera for him, so that’s what I did. I don’t remember what I said, but I had to hold my tears back.”