Lucas de Souza Ventura
Quick Facts
Biography
Lucas de Souza Ventura (born 19 May 1998), simply known as Nonoca, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays for Cruzeiro as a defensive midfielder.
Professional Career
Nonoca was recruited by Cruzeiro Youth Team in 2014, while playing a tournament in his native city. In 2017, Cruzeiro's coach Mano Menezes promoted him to the senior squad. On April 9, 2017, Nonoca made his professional debut in the match against Democrata-GV at Campeonato Mineiro.
When Nonoca was promoted to Cruzeiro's First Team, he was convinced by his staff and family to use the name Lucas Ventura, but decided to change back to his nickname in June 2017, defending he was always known as Nonoca by Cruzeiro's colleagues and staff, since he was a kid growing up on the junior team. Nonoca participated well in several games in 2017, getting regular call-ups and being regularly used as a sub for Cruzeiro's defensive midfielders.
International Career
Nonoca was called for Brazil U17 in 2014.