"It was my second year for Flamengo," he recounts. "I was 21 or 22 and had a great year - I had got an award for best fullback of the season.
 
"But the missed penalty made me go from best to worst player in the fans eyes."
 
A phone call from the President of the club gave Cassio no choice but to leave - he was acutely aware of just how serious these particular supporters were.
 
"My head was spinning, I was afraid. I told the President to bring me the offers and I will go," he reveals.
 
Cassio accepted a loan request from another large Brazilian club Internacional, where he continued to thrive as a player before coming back to Flamengo a season later with the missed penalty - thankfully - forgiven and forgotten.
 
"The only problem when I came back was they had signed a big player in my position, so I was only playing occasionally," he says, "but then I had to have a knee reconstruction and after that I looked to go on loan again."
 
The next five years saw Cassio accept offers to play in the Mexican Primera Division, Paraguay Primera Division, the MLS as well as other clubs in his native Brazil but a common denominator played a part in why most of these moves didn't work: Money.
 
"I missed a great opportunity in Mexico," he says, regretfully. "My agent at the time didn't handle it well and so there was miscommunication regarding money."
 
His fate at Paraguayan club Olimpia was also cut short because of money troubles and Cassio abandoned his contract after only six months over unpaid wages.
 
"It's a big problem in South America", he says, "If you got paid well, it was OK. You could live on the money you had until you were paid next.
 
"But for the young boys and even people that worked in the club offices - we would sometimes have to give them money to survive."
 
There was a definitive moment in Cassio's career when, after not being paid by Brazilian club Santa Cruz for six months, he had enough of the instability.
 
"I remember telling Juliana I wasn't settling for anything but stability anymore. I would prefer to wait for a good opportunity to go overseas - even if it was smaller club or league, and try to settle for a while at least," he says.
 
It wasn't long before stability of the most unexpected kind came knocking, thousands of miles away in a place he only vaguely knew of - a place called Adelaide, Down Under.
 
"I knew of the A-League only through Romario", he says of the Brazilian legend's brief guest stint with the Reds. "Everyone in Brazil was watching because of him."
 
A few phone calls later and with a glowing reference on Australia from a close friend close of Romario, Cassio hopped on a plane with Juliana and their young son, Bernardo - but not without slight reservations.
 
"It was a big move", he reflects. "I remember telling Juliana that it was OK, if we didn't like it, we can go home."
 
But not only was Cassio a hit in his debut year at Adelaide United where he won the coveted Club Champion award, but he has since added a string of others awards to his collection.
 
"Of course, the personal achievements are important to me, but Australia has offered me so much more than that," he says.
 
One thing that clearly stands out is the couple's appreciation for what Australia has offered them and their children. They explain it very simply; it has given them the wonderful combination of real life as well as an incredible footballing experience.
 
"I grew as a man, here, " Cassio says. "Playing in Australia meant I had time to be a father, a husband. We played so much less than what I was used to and I think my game changed for the better because of that. I was happy."
 
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