On January 3rd, Flamengo debuted in the São Paulo Cup against Ji-Paraná-RO. The fourth goal for Flamengo was scored by Wendel, recently promoted from the under-17 team. Twenty-two days later, the campaign ended with the same... feet? Almost. Wendel scored the only goal of the final with a header. The winning goal.

Right after the debut, in an exclusive interview with FlaTV, he spoke about the emotion of the first goal.

"It's a huge thrill to score the first goal in the Copinha. It's a high-level competition. The teams are becoming more equal. We have to stay focused on scoring more goals in the upcoming games," he said, as if he knew what was coming.

The celebration of the first goal was marked by tears in honor of the father.

"My father told me to play closer to the box, in the under-17s I didn't score as many goals. When I scored, I remembered him and cried," he said.