Tiago Pereira Cardoso (18) has signed his first professional contract with Borussia Mönchengladbach. The Luxembourg goalkeeper talent was just getting a taste of the Bundesliga again.
Tiago Pereira Cardoso is Gladbach’s great goalkeeper talent.
IMAGO/Kirchner Media
Cardoso was in Gladbach’s traveling squad for the away game at Eintracht Frankfurt (0-2) on matchday four, after he was included as the third goalkeeper in the guest game in Bochum (1-2) in November 2022 and was allowed to take part in the warm-up program on the pitch. Since Monday, Cardoso has officially had “professional” status: As part of the contract extension, the young man was given a professional contract; Borussia did not provide any information about the term.
“We are very happy that we were able to retain Tiago for the long term. He has developed excellently and is one of the leading players in the U19s. Tiago is already performing at a high level. But he has even more development potential, which we can now share want to make the most of it,” Borussia’s youth director Mirko Sandmöller is quoted as saying in the press release. Sports managing director Roland Virkus says: “We are pleased that we are continuing on the path together with Tiago and that we can accompany him on his first steps on the way to the professional level.”
Cardoso is one of the most promising talents in the foal stable and is undoubtedly an early starter. At the age of just 17 years, two months and two days, he made his debut for the Luxembourg senior national team in June 2023, when he came on as a substitute in the second half of an international match against Malta (0-1). The goalkeeper with Portuguese roots joined Borussia in the summer of 2022 and moved to the left-wing Lower Rhine from the Luxembourg club CS Fola Esch. Cardoso has been captain of Borussia’s U19 since this season. Last December, as a 17-year-old, he played for Borussia’s U23 in the Regionalliga West for the first time.
“Tiago is a great talent. Also linguistically. He speaks five languages”
The 1.90 meter tall keeper trains regularly with the professionals. He was also able to prove himself among the professionals at the summer training camp in Rottach-Egern on Lake Tegernsee. In addition to his athletic abilities, Cardoso is also said to have leadership qualities. “Tiago is a great talent. Also linguistically. He speaks five languages. He still has to learn a few things and can learn a lot from Jonas Omlin and Moritz Nicolas,” Virkus explained at Tegernsee. Nicolas has currently been promoted to provisional number 1 due to Omlin’s injury (tendon injury in his lower leg).
Also injured among the goalkeepers in the professional squad is Jan Olschowsky, who was supposed to be loaned out in the summer, but then tore an inner ligament in his knee and had to undergo surgery. On Saturday in the 1-0 win against Union Berlin, veteran Tobias Sippel was again on the bench as a reserve goalkeeper.
Cardoso will continue to be able to recommend himself for higher tasks with the U19. “With the professional contract at such a big club, a childhood dream has come true for me. That fills me with pride and encourages me to repay the trust of those in charge. I know that I still have to work on myself, but I have the perfect one here environment to do exactly that and get the best out of myself,” said the goalkeeper after signing the contract and looked further into the future: “My big goal is to one day stand between the posts at Borussia Park.”
