Jacy Maranhao's Wild Night at Couto Pereira

For a few surreal seconds at Couto Pereira, Coritiba defender Jacy Maranhao was on top of the world. Then he vanished.

With Coritiba 1-0 up against Chapecoense in the Brazilian top flight and the first half ticking towards the break, the 29-year-old centre-back did what centre-backs rarely get to do. He rose, met the cross, and powered in a header. A defender’s dream.

The stadium erupted. Jacy took off, sprinting towards the celebrating home fans, adrenaline doing the thinking for him. He hurdled the advertising boards in one clean motion – and then, suddenly, he was gone, swallowed by the ground.

On the other side of the hoarding sat a tunnel leading down to the away dressing room. Jacy landed awkwardly, disappearing from sight as quickly as he had appeared on the scoresheet.

The joy turned to shock. Teammates rushed over. Stewards peered down. After a few uneasy moments, the defender clambered back up, gingerly, ankle clearly bothering him. The roar this time was one of relief, laced with disbelief at what they had just seen.

The pain, though, was only getting started.

While Jacy tried to run it off, VAR stepped in. The goal that sparked the chaotic celebration was ruled out, chalked off after review. No goal, a twisted ankle, and a bruising dose of embarrassment. Football can be cruel; on this night it was also slapstick.

Coritiba would eventually win 2-1, but Jacy’s evening ended early. The ankle knock forced his substitution shortly after half-time, the defender paying a heavy price for a rare trip into the limelight.

“I twisted my foot there. It’s a bit sore, but I’m fine,” he said afterwards, playing down the damage but not the moment. Then came the line that summed it all up: “Centre-backs hardly ever score goals. So when you do score ... I just got carried away.”

Anyone who has played in his position will understand. Years of grappling at set pieces, heading clear, doing the dirty work at the back – and then, finally, the ball flies in at the other end. Instinct takes over. The celebration writes itself, until a tunnel appears where solid ground should be.

The incident added another bizarre chapter to a very specific piece of Couto Pereira folklore. This was not the first time a player had disappeared down that same passageway. In 2014, Cameroon striker Joel suffered an almost identical fate, vaulting the barriers and tumbling into the same tunnel during Coritiba’s 3-1 win over Sao Paulo.

Different year, different player, same drop.

The stadium has seen title fights, relegation scraps, and derby fury. Yet the image that lingers now is of a centre-back briefly tasting the glory of a goalscorer, only to be literally cut down by the architecture of his own celebration.

Coritiba took the points. Jacy took the fall. And Couto Pereira’s most dangerous opponent remains that tunnel lurking just beyond the advertising boards.