Latest news with #HelioGoncalves
South China Morning Post
11 hours ago
- Sport
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong footballer says young players need to push themselves harder
Hong Kong defender Helio Goncalves has urged the city's young prospects to get serious or risk failing to fulfil their potential. Advertisement Goncalves, who was recently released by Kitchee following 11 silverware-laden seasons, said that even into his 40th year he would routinely beat the youngsters to training. 'In Hong Kong there are lots of players with huge potential, but something is missing,' Goncalves added. 'They need to be pushed. 'I always told them they needed to arrive early [for training], go to the gym and prepare. Don't get there 10 minutes before the coach says.' Goncalves, who hired his own personal trainer around eight years ago, said players should also use their spare time for self-improvement. Goncalves in action during a 2022 AFC Champions League win over Chiangrai United. Photo: Reuters 'How can you show your quality if you train, then go home and sleep,' he added. 'I knew I had to push myself; staying at Kitchee for 11 years is hard. It's a big club with big ambitions, and they demand a lot.'
South China Morning Post
3 days ago
- Sport
- South China Morning Post
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.'
