FULHAM frontman Rodrigo Muniz has been fishing longer than he has been a striker.
And the two skills go hand in hand for the Brazilian, who heads for the local lagoon rather than the beach when he goes home.
Muniz celebrated his winner at Wolves on Tuesday night by pretending to reel in a rod.
And ahead of the FA Cup fifth-round trip to Manchester United, he said: “I tried fishing in England… but it was too COLD.
“My mum and dad used to go almost every weekend. I loved it and I still do.
“You go there, you sit and relax, and when you get the bite from the fish, you feel, ‘This is really exciting’. And you have to take your chance — just like a striker.”
Muniz is making a big splash now but dad Alexandre was once the local celebrity in their Brazilian hometown of Sao Domingos do Prata.
Factory worker Alexandre had a sideline in Axe — a style of music particularly associated with Carnival season.
Muniz Jr, 23, recalled: “Everybody in town would tell me, ‘Your dad is a really great singer’.”
But Alexandre was also an avid football fan who coached his son.
Muniz recalled: “When I was eight, Ronaldo came back to Brazil to play for Corinthians.
“I remember watching him on the TV and my dad said, ‘Look at the striker, he is the biggest star of the club because he scores goals, the centre of attention’.
“I was a midfielder but the next day I had training and I said to my coach, ‘Now I am a striker.’”
Muniz adopted Samba Boys legend Ronaldo and Zlatan Ibrahimovic as his idols and, aged 14, moved hundreds of miles from home to join Desportivo Brasil, a club near Sao Paulo.
His mum Luzia, a school cook, had to talk him out of leaving after the first week.
But the goals soon flowed and continued after he earned a move to the youth set-up of Brazilian giants Flamengo.
Muniz had to wait for chances in the senior side because Gabriel “Gabigol” Barbosa and Pedro were top dogs.
But he still attracted attention with his contribution to the club, winning three trophies.
A personal phone call from Fulham boss Marco Silva helped decide his next move.
Fellow Brazilian Richarlison had become a Premier League star under the Portuguese at Watford and Everton.
Muniz revealed: “Marco Silva said, ‘Look at Richarlison now’, and said he wanted to do not exactly the same with me, but very similar.
“I didn’t play a lot in Flamengo but he believed in me. I had offers from Saudi Arabia, Atletico Madrid and other clubs.
“But Marco really wanted me to play for him and, after that call, I decided to go to Fulham.”
The patience Muniz learned from fishing stood him in good stead once more.
In his first season in England, 2021-22, he watched and learned from Aleksandar Mitrovic as the Serb banged in the goals that earned Fulham promotion from the Championship.
In his second season, Muniz had an underwhelming loan at Middlesbrough. But midway through last season, everything clicked.
Muniz is a devout Christian and he said: “Fishing helped me but what helped me more was the Bible, because there are a lot of examples in there of patience.
“When I was in Flamengo, I told myself, ‘Now it is Pedro and Gabigol time, my time is coming’.
When my time arrived, I scored goals and came here. My third season in England was really good… it was my time.”
Muniz scored eight goals in eight league games in February and March 2024 — and became the first Fulham player for 14 years to be named Premier League Player of the Month.
He wept when Brazilian team-mates Willian and Andreas Pereira presented him with the trophy.
And on Boxing Day last year, Muniz moved Fulham fans to tears by scoring the stoppage-time winner that earned their first victory over neighbours Chelsea at Stamford Bridge since 1979.
He revealed: “A woman came up to me and said, ‘I was here when we won 45 years ago and I am here now, thank you so much.’ Then she started crying. I felt really happy.”
Muniz has had to be patient again for much of this season with in-form Raul Jimenez being Silva’s first-choice frontman.
But Muniz started at Wolves on Tuesday and scored a sumptuous winner in the 2-1 victory.
His last three league goals have all been decisive in 2-1 victories — with that strike at Chelsea and at Newcastle last month — and has also scored three times in Fulham’s two FA Cup wins against Watford and Wigan.
In the fifth-round Red Devils clash, Silva’s side will try to repeat last season’s 2-1 league win which was the club’s first triumph at Old Trafford for 21 years.
Muniz loves a big stage, having already scored at Anfield, the Etihad, Stamford Bridge and St James’ Park this season.
And he once struck twice for Flamengo at the legendary Maracana Stadium, including a bicycle kick.
Muniz said: “I feel much better than last season. I have more confidence, even though I have not played a lot, and I am in the best shape since I came here.
“I was 20-years-old when I scored that goal in the Maracana.
“If I can score any goal at Old Trafford I will be very happy. But if it happens like in the Maracana it will be even better.”
The highlight of Muniz’s fishing career was landing a massive “tambaqui” back home a couple of years ago.
But reeling in fallen giants United would be his biggest catch yet in England.
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