In the 2001 season, he made his professional debut for Flamengo, where he started the whole game, in a 2–1 loss against Santa Cruz on 2 September 2001. After this, he received a handful of first team appearances throughout September by Manager Mário Zagallo. On 10 October 2001, Bahia scored his first goal for the club in a 2–2 draw against Botafogo. At the end of the 2001 season, Bahia went on to make ten appearances and scoring once for the side in all competitions.