2023-09-13 19:18:38
Euphoria – disappointment – happiness. The three feelings that show the path of João Gomesgoalscorer for Benfica’s under-17 and under-19 teams, between 2011 and 2013.
Euphoria when he stood out in the “heart club” and scored 39 goals in two seasons, alongside stars like Bernardo Silva or Rony Lopes. Disillusionment when he suffered his first serious injury and rejected the Second League to head to England. Happiness for giving your life a new direction.
Currently, João Gomes is president of senior football at Alpiarça Eagles and consultant SAP systems.
From the ecstasy of representing the country, playing for Benfica and training with the senior team, to the modest life as a consultant and president of the local club. An almost radical change of life. In an interview with zerozeroJoão appeared “happy” and reported the steps that guided a ball player to the offices of the Águias Alpiarça presidency.
“I stole the ball from my idol”
João was trained by Jorge Jesus and trained with the «idol Aimar» @Carlos Alberto Costa
Before his “dream” at Benfica, João caught the eye in Santarém and experienced his first major life change.
«It came about during the period when I played for Académica de Santarém, after a tournament where Sporting and Benfica participated. Interestingly, it all happened in the same week: we had a tournament [no fim de semana], on Monday I went to train at Sporting on a trial basis, but on Tuesday Benfica immediately wanted me to sign and that was it. Sporting still called me… but I had already signed”, he began by explaining.
«Playing for Benfica, even more so as a Benfica fan, was a dream come true»added the forward who even trained with Benfica’s main team and recalled a particular moment with Pablo Aimar.
q I don’t remember seeing anyone with Rony Lopes’ level, he was outstanding
João Gomes
«I trained with the Benfica senior team three times. I worked with great players like Aimar, Gaitán, Enzo Pérez, Luisão, among others.”
«But my first experience was in a training game. There’s a moment in training when I steal the ball from Aimar and I just think: ‘for me, training is over, I don’t need to do anything else’ [risos]. I was happy, because I stole the ball from my idol,” she underlined.
«Training with them, under the command of Jorge Jesus, was something unique. Of the people I didn’t know, I especially remember Rúben Amorim, because he was the one who best welcomed the younger people. Overall, it was an experience that I will tell my children about, without a doubt”, reinforced the former red forward.
In the Eagles’ youth teams, in addition to 39 goals in two seasons, João played alongside two “outstanding” teams and was present in the first Youth League final.
«The Youth League was an incredible experience. We had a lot of fans there, I’ve never seen anything like it.”
«We felt like players, with so many people around the hotels and the bus. That was crazy,” he continued explaining who impressed him most over his five years at Seixal.
«Bernardo Silva and Rony Lopes were the only players where my colleagues and I looked at each other and said: ‘this one is better than us’. We were all amazed at the things they did in training. But when I arrived at Benfica everyone talked a lot about Rony. Unfortunately, he had a lot of injuries as a senior and didn’t reach his full potential, but he was something out of the ordinary. At my age, I don’t remember seeing anyone at Rony Lopes’ level, he was outstanding», he clarified.
«I left Benfica in disbelief»
João Gomes was linked to Benfica for five seasons @Arquivo Pessoal
A goalscorer “with flair” and a very high collective spirit. João Gomes describes himself as a player and points to the moment he left Benfica: “It was tough.”
«At the time I was about to sign for a Second League club, but I ended up going to England alone, I opted for English football. I was trying out Derby Country, but I wasn’t prepared. Then I went to Rangers, in Scotland, also to try out, but it didn’t work out”, he began by explaining.
q I went through situations I didn’t expect
João Gomes
«When I returned to Portugal, the clubs already had their squads built and I had to go to the CNS. I went to the Ribeirãobut the club was unable to do so and that year it ended up going bankrupt”, lamented the former player, recalling his first experience as a professional.
«It was complicated, especially in terms of confidence. And it had already been a difficult year. In my first year as a junior I broke my leg – I was out for six months – and the following year, when I recovered from the injury, I didn’t play many minutes and I never had the same confidence again.”
«I played two years as a senior and ended up having a lot of disappointments. It didn’t go as I expected. In the clubs where I was after Benfica I went through situations that I didn’t expect, whether in terms of conditions, promises, among other aspects that, a young man like me, wasn’t prepared for”, he said.
«I left Benfica in disbelief and, after all the situations I experienced in senior football, I never felt comfortable playing again. In fact, I gave up football because I played football as a profession and not because I enjoyed it.”
«I preferred to abandon football and study»
With the dream of football becoming less and less a reality, João – like other athletes – “rolled up his sleeves” and changed course. Currently, the former player is a systems consultant SAP and president of senior football at Águias Alpiarça, a local club.
«I always thought I was going to be a football player and, I confess, I left my studies a little aside. At the end of my second year as a senior I said to myself: I will only continue if an offer for a professional championship comes up. I even had offers from the CNS, but I preferred to abandon football and study, because I hadn’t even finished 12th grade.”
João won two national championships (under-15 and under-19) @Arquivo Pessoal
«Then I decided to take the management course, because I wanted to change to a completely different area. In fact, I really wanted to leave football. I only entered the world of football management out of love for the local club”, he explained.
With the course completed and ambition redoubled, João created the senior team in the Santarém emblem – which had not had a competition for 15 years – and he remembered the city.
«Although the club’s president – Luísa Gargalo – has a section for each sport, I was the one who created senior football, which is why I am also president. But the role of president isn’t even good, because in fact we all help», he continued explaining how everything happened so quickly.
«There was a group of players I had contact with. I spoke to them, I spoke to the club’s management and as they already knew me, they ended up helping me start the project”, he said.
After a year at half pace, the Águias Alpiarça flew and achieved the much-desired promotion to the division. Something that left a mark on João Gomes: “I felt happy again.”
«The first year was done at the last minute. It was basically a group of Facebook When it came to playing, we had a week of pre-season, that is, everything was going to go wrong. The following year, already structured, we moved up a division and it was a very good year. I had never seen such great support from the land. People were happy, we even took the bus around the city. It was a great joy, which I no longer expected to have with football. Last year it went wrong and we ended up going down again, I think largely due to a lack of experience. It’s been a learning experience”, concluded the former Benfica goalscorer.
#felt #happy #zerozero.pt