Why this Brazilian football veteran refuses to leave Hong Kong after 17 years
More than 17 years after she handed over the DVDs that secured her honeymooning son a sudden move to Hong Kong, Helio Goncalves' mother would like him back in Brazil to work in the family's boat licensing business.
Released by Kitchee last month after 11 years at the club, centre-back Goncalves is hunting for a new employer. But the 39-year-old, who spent his opening six years in Hong Kong with Citizen, is planning to keep mum waiting.
'Hong Kong is my place, I became a better man here – spiritually,' Goncalves said. 'I raised my family here.
'Also, I believe in God and, in this period, I have become more attached.'
Goncalves lent on that faith last year when the youngest of his three children, five-year-old Aron, became gravely ill after contracting Guillain-Barre Syndrome while on holiday in Orlando.
Helio Goncalves leaps highest in a triumphant 2023 title decider against Lee Man. Photo: Dickson Lee
'It was very severe,' Goncalves said. 'First, the movement in his legs stopped, then it moved higher. Everything stopped working. He couldn't move his eyes; even his lungs were affected. He was in a lot of danger.'
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