Hong Kong’s Brazil-born football skipper defends city over picking foreigners

Centre-back Helio Goncalves defended Hong Kong’s liberal use of naturalised players after captaining a Brazilian-influenced national team to Monday’s drubbing of Brunei.

Jorn Andersen’s side hit double figures at Hong Kong Stadium, eclipsing in one night the nine goals scored across the head coach’s opening 14 matches in charge.

Goncalves, who was born in Sao Paulo but moved to Hong Kong in 2008 before making his debut for the city eight years later, said the scoring spree stemmed from a “change in mentality”. A rotten run in front of goal had threatened to undermine the steady progress achieved since Andersen was appointed in December 2021.

Brazil-born Everton Camargo, having obtained a Hong Kong passport last month, added thrust, creativity and potency in this month’s matches with Cambodia and Brunei, scoring three goals in 150 minutes on the field.

Another Brazil-born player, Fernando, was on the scoresheet against Brunei, while Goncalves netted his first international goal. The three South American players lined up with debutant Michael Udebuluzor, who was born in the city but relinquished a Nigerian passport to represent Hong Kong’s national team.

The latest 23-man squad included six naturalised players, and Andersen is targeting “two or three” more who are eligible for passport changes, including Kitchee’s Brazilian forward Juninho.

Chastened Brunei head coach Mario Rivera claimed national teams should be allowed only one naturalised player in the starting 11.

“We are always hearing this about naturalised players,” Kitchee player Goncalves, who has 31 caps, told the Post. “We stayed here for seven years [to qualify for passport, through residency], seven long years playing in the same country and the same league.

“I think it is more than enough. We changed nationality … gave up our nationalities to be Chinese, to play for Hong Kong.

“I feel like a Hongkonger. Whatever other people say, I don’t care. My heart is Hong Kong, so I give my best for the national team.

“The mix of local and naturalised players helps everyone grow and play better. Competition is better for the team and makes Hong Kong stronger.

“We needed to change the mentality of the team for these matches. Before there was the feeling, ‘We score only a few goals … it is difficult to score.’ We were creating opportunities but needed the confidence to finish them.”

Goncalves celebrated wearing the armband for the first time with a clean sheet and a smart headed goal. The lone moments of concern arrived when 37-year-old Goncalves and fellow centre-half Leung Nok-hang took it in turns to succumb to complacency and cough up opportunities for Brunei.

“I was waiting a long time for my first game as captain and my first goal, so it was a great night for me,” Goncalves said.

“It is an honour every time I wear this badge and represent Hong Kong, so it was very special to captain the team.”

Hong Kong play Bhutan home and away in a Fifa World Cup play-off next month and will fancy making light work of a team ranked 26 places beneath them, at 185, in the global rankings. Their prospects of achieving smooth passage into a four-team qualification group have unquestionably been enhanced by the additions of Camargo and Udebuluzor.

“We will try to score as many goals as possible at home, playing away is difficult, so we want a good advantage,” Goncalves added.

“Everton is a tough player, fast on the counter-attack. He is going to help a lot in terms of goalscoring.

“Michael is strong, he can hold the ball and finish. He gave a big effort and created opportunities for other players, there were only positive things from him.”