Nov. 11, 2006 – Caio Canedo Correa scores in final high school game

Caio left Nantucket High School at age 16 for a trial with Volta Redonda FC, the club of his father, Luiz Alberto “Lulu” Canedo. The move paid off as Caio impressed with the youth team, then joined Sao Paulo FC’s junior team. Caio had a tryout with Udinese in Italy, returned to play for Volta Redonda, then signed with Botafogo as an 18-year-old.

Caio (b. Aug. 9, 1990 in Volta Redonda) scored 13 goals in 49 games in the Taça Guanabara in four years, starring as Botafogo defeated Vasco da Gama before a crowd of 81,908 (Nantucket’s population is about 10,000) at Maracanã in the 2010 final. Caio earned the nickname “Talismão” while playing in a reserve/support role with Botafogo, teaming with Sebastian “El Loco” Abreu and German Herrera.

In 2012, Caio was loaned to Figueirense, leading the team in scoring with nine goals in 26 appearances. In 2013, Caio moved to Inter Porto Alegre on a 3 million euro transfer, the team loaded with strikers, including Abreu’s Uruguayan teammate, Diego Forlan, and future MLS forward Gilberto. Caio impressed on loan to Al-Wasl Sports Club and completed a transfer to the Dubai club for a 1.35 million euro fee. In 76 games, Caio has scored 43 goals in the UAE Gulf League.

Nantucket coach Rich Brannigan discovered Caio juggling a ball at an elementary school, where he was a fourth-grade student of Brannigan’s mother, Janet. Caio has since performed for former Brazil national team coach Dunga, plus high profile managers Joel Santana, Jorginho, Oswaldo de Oliveira, Ney Franco, Caio Junior, Gabriel Calderon, Rodolfo Arruabarrena.

Brannigan, who played at St. Michael’s in Vermont, monitored Caio’s progress through youth club teams, then Caio moved to the adult league at 14.

Nov. 11, 2006 – Old Rochester 3:1 Nantucket, MIAA Division 3 South tournament

Andrew Marcucci scored twice for Old Rochester, which went on to lose to Lynnfield on penalty kicks in the Eastern Massachusetts D3 high school final. Caio, a sophomore who also played basketball, totaled 34 goals and 26 assists as the Whalers compiled a 17W-4L-1D record. Fabricio Correa, Caio’s brother, had been named a Boston Globe All-Scholastic performer with Nantucket in the Lighthouse League in 2002.

Caio was receiving attention from NCAA Division 1 colleges, but decided to go to Brazil after the fall semester. He  told the Globe’s Conor Nevins: “My mom’s making it a little hard now that these colleges are calling. But she’s always said, `If this is what you want to do, you’re big enough to make up your own mind.’ I have to do it because it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. They want me to try out with the big guys. I can hit the jackpot in Brazil with a big club.”

TODAY IN NEW ENGLAND SOCCER HISTORY