The untold story of Bica - Sunderland AFC's first-ever Brazilian signing

Take an unknown Brazilian striker, add in Wayne Rooney’s agent and a 45-minute League Cup cameo, and you have one of the strangest stories of Sunderland’s recent history.

We are, of course, talking about Bica - or Marcus Di Giuseppe, to use his full name - the forward who disappeared as quickly as he arrived on the banks of the Wear in 1999.

Exactly how - and indeed why - the obscure striker rocked-up at the Stadium of Light is a story that has gone untold for over two decades.

But after a series of messages and emails to South America, we tracked down the man in question to find out exactly what happened…

Sunderland are on the up – but in need of reinforcements

It’s the summer of 1999 and Sunderland, back in the Premier League after romping to the first division title, are on the lookout for a striker.

Peter Reid has strengthened his squad considerably, but sees his attacking options weakened by the departure of young Michael Bridges - Leeds United’s £5million offer proving too tempting.

Sunderland fail to source a replacement before the season begins, but keep their options open in the coming weeks.

Trialists come and go, but one gets further than most - Bica, a Brazilian striker who spends almost a month in the North East.

A quick glance at his career history isn’t too convincing. He counts Austria Salzburg and Paniliakos among his former clubs, but the 29-year-old has spent most of his career in South America.

So just how did he end up on Wearside?

“Until Sunderland, I was playing for Sport Boys in Peru,” explains the Brazilian.

“I had an amazing season, scoring a lot of goals and providing good assists.

“Then in the middle of this season, my managers – Eduardo Silva and Pedro Salas – talked directly with Paul Stretford to build a good proposal to try and get me to play at Sunderland.

“When I saw the opportunity, I accepted and flew to England straight away.”

“Sunderland were looking for players with my behaviours,” he continues.

“I was playing very well in Peru and deserved a chance inside Europe, especially in England and I wanted the possibility to play in the Premier League.

“I had a good contract but I saw my future in Europe, so it was easy to negotiate with Sunderland.”

Bica was a free agent after leaving his former club (the striker denies there was anything sinister behind the early termination of his deal, and claims a ‘friendly’ agreement was made for his contract to be terminated), and so was free to train with Sunderland once he arrived in England.

The involvement of a super agent

Once in the North East, the Brazilian was managed by Stretford - one of the first ‘super agents’, who went on to oversee the career of Wayne Rooney.

Stretford was a close acquaintance of Sunderland manager Reid - indeed, the Liverpudlian was one of the early shareholders in Stretford’s Proactive Sports Management agency when it was floated on the London Stock Exchange in 2001.

Numerous players linked to Stretford, such as Claudio Reyna and Carsten Fredgaard, would arrive at Sunderland under Reid and the relationship between manager and agent saw Bica given an opportunity to impress - representing a dream come true for the striker.

“It is very important that I tell you how excited I was to see Sunderland.

“The club, the structure… it was imposing and majestic.

“The Stadium of Light, was more beautiful than anywhere I had played in my life.

“When I arrived, everyone inside the club, including staff and the squad, gave me an amazing reception and I made a lot of friends in Sunderland - such as Stefan Schwarz and Eric Roy who had arrived recently, like me, in Sunderland.”

The striker obviously impressed behind the scenes, as he saw his trial spell at the club extended.

Then came a chance to make his mark.

A shock debut and a shirt printing faux pas

As Sunderland headed to Walsall in the League Cup - carrying a slender 3-2 lead from the first leg. Reid rolled the dice.

Regular strike pairing Kevin Phillips and Niall Quinn were rested, with Danny Dichio and Carsten Fredgaard leading the line.

Looser regulations at the time allowed Bica - still formally a trialist - to be registered for the game. He was named on the bench, much to the surprise of supporters - and the man himself.

“I was surprised.

“It was a cup game and I was really, really prepared.

“It was one amazing game. The Sunderland shirt was like a second skin for me and in my first game, fans knew and shouted my name. It was amazing.”

Introduced at half-time, the striker became the first Brazilian to play for the Black Cats and did himself no harm with a steady, if unspectacular, performance.

But his inclusion bewildered the fans who had travelled to the Bescot Stadium, many unaware of who the striker was.

Indeed, such was the mystery around the striker, that Sunderland’s staff were unsure on what name he required on his shirt. They hurredly punted for ‘Marcos’ - an incorrect spelling of his first name.

On the field, however, the signs were slightly more positive. Bica came close to scoring with an effort from distance as Sunderland brushed aside the Saddlers - and Reid was impressed.

“I’m trying to make contact with his agent, who is overseas at the moment, to see if I can play him again in the reserves next week,” said the Sunderland manager after the win.

“I’ve not made a decision on him yet and I won’t be rushed on it because I like to be sure.”

‘In that moment, I saw a dream realised’

Reid managed to contract Stretford and Bica was subsequently handed a start in a reserve fixture against Manchester United, playing an hour and scoring in a 1-1 draw.

“That goal was the best memory of my European career,” he says.

“I scored against Manchester United, in incredible weather, seeing important players playing alongside me. In that moment, I saw a dream realised.”

But that dream would quickly come to an end.

Shortly after the second string game, Reid informed Bica that he would not be handed a contract at the Stadium of Light. Sunderland instead continued their search for a striker - a pursuit which ultimately ended in Milton Nunez being signed in the March of 2000 (perhaps not by coincidence, Nunez was another player with links to Stretford).

As for Bica, he wasn’t quite ready to give up on his English dream - and ironically it was first division Walsall, the side against which he made his single Sunderland appearance, who came calling just a week after his Wearside exit.

“After Sunderland, Paul Stretford told me about Walsall’s proposal.

“I accepted, to try and make a good history in England.

“But when I arrived, I saw a club without structure, different to my vision, and I didn´t have a good relationship with Walsall`s coach.

“I quickly terminated my contract and went back to Brazil.”

Bica made only a single appearance at the Bescot Stadium, before returning to South America and signing for Universito de Deportes - where he went on to net seven times in eight appearances.

His Premier League dream was over, with Bica quick to confess that perhaps he wasn’t ideally suited to the rough and tumble of English football in the 1990’s.

“I think it could have been easier if I had more time to understand how I could help Sunderland.

“The ball was up in the air all the time - that was the model of the game in England at that time.

“I’m almost 1.9 metres tall, but my game was on the floor, with the ball at my foot.

“I’m from Latin American, so my Brazilian ability, quality and the model of my game was completely different.”

So what has now become of Sunderland’s first Brazilian import?

Having called time on his playing career in 2005, Bica moved into the world of sports management - and is now trying to help South American youngsters follow in his footsteps.

“Now, I’m living in Peru and working for my company - Bica Sport.

“I have two different areas which I work on to deliver quality and safe projects in Latin America.

“I run Bica Sports Management which plans and manages the careers of young and professional Latin American players across the entire world.

“The second area is Bica Sport Training which is a project we’re planning to run two times a year in Peru.

“The first edition will be happening on 4th, 5th and 6th December 2020 – with 80 families joining us for three days.

“The best players will get to spend a week with some of Peru’s biggest teams, and we’ll help to administer their careers.”