Fairytale start to life at FCA: Chaves in focus
New signing nets the leveller
First Team
26.01.2026, 16:00
It seems that Arthur Chaves has settled into his new colours in no time. When FC Augsburg travelled to league leaders FC Bayern München on Saturday, the 24-year-old loanee from TSG Hoffenheim slotted straight into the backline to make his first start for the club. If that wasn’t enough to impress, of course, he delivered a crucial equaliser to boot.
Trailing 1-0 in the 75th minute, Chaves met a corner delivery from Mert Kömür with the perfect glancing header to guide the ball into the back of the Bayern net to level the affair, topping off a stunning debut with his second-ever Bundesliga goal. “I’m absolutely over the moon and can hardly put my feelings into words,” gushed the 24-year-old after the game, a team performance that felt “like a fairytale” to him. He could only come up with “crazy, crazy, crazy” when asked about the mere two-day turnaround from arriving in Augsburg to celebrating a 2-1 win in Munich.
From Florianópolis to Europe
Chaves began his footballing journey thousands of miles away, in Florianópolis, capital of the Brazilian state of Santa Catarina. It was here that the central defender, who has German heritage with his mother’s maiden name being Zimmermann, was not only born but spent countless hours of his youth kicking a ball around the streets. At ten years of age, he joined Avaí FC, eventually rising through all the club’s youth ranks and helping the team achieve promotion to the Série A.
Chaves made the move to Europe in the summer of 2022, joining Portuguese side Académico de Viseu F.C., establishing himself as a first-team stalwart within two seasons. At the same time, he picked up a number of caps for Brazil U23, winning gold at the 2023 Pan American Games. He played every minute possible at the tournament and played a major role in Brazil’s fantastic defensive record, conceding just one goal in the entire competition, namely in a 1-1 final against Chile, which the Seleção ultimately won on penalties.
Instant impact at FCA
In August 2024, Chaves swapped Portugal for the German top-flight, signing for TSG Hoffenheim. In his first season in Sinsheim, Chaves made 34 appearances across the Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal and Europa League, impressing with his physical presence and positional play. These qualities of his are now being put to good use at FC Augsburg, clearly on display from just his first game for the club. Against Bayern, Chaves showed how valuable he can be for FCA: not only did he bag the equaliser, but his stats across the board were nothing to be sniffed at: 75% tackle success rate, 82% pass completion and 45 touches underscore what can only be described as a convincing display.
Having started quickly, to say the least, and shown how fierce he can be in a duel, Chaves has everything that it takes to become a key player at FCA, and keep up the story of his “fairytale start” over the coming weeks.
