It took Nani little time to make a major impact during his debut with Venezia.
The former Orlando City SC captain and winger subbed on in the 72nd minute and set up David Okereke's equalizer a minute later in a 1-1 draw against Empoli on Sunday.
This past Friday, the 35-year-old Portuguese attacker signed with the Italian Serie A side through the 2022-23 season.
Nani struck for 28 goals and added 23 assists across 77 regular-season games (64 starts) in his three seasons with Orlando. He was named an MLS All-Star in 2019 and 2021.
Former FC Dallas homegrown midfielder Tanner Tessmann started for Venezia but was subbed off after 34 minutes. Sporting Kansas City homegrown product and US men's national team midfielder Gianluca Busio came off the bench for the final 10 minutes.
Venezia are 17th in the Serie A table with 18 points from 21 matches and next meet top-of-the-table Inter Milan on Jan. 22.
