Heurelho Gomes

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Personal information
Heurelho Gomes
Full name	Heurelho da Silva Gomes
Date of birth	February 15, 1981 (1981-02-15) (age 27)
Place of birth	João Pinheiro, Brazil
Height	1.92 m (6 ft 4 in)
Playing position	Goalkeeper
Club information
Current club	PSV
Number	1
Senior clubs¹
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
2002-2004 2004-	Cruzeiro PSV	059 (0) 118 (0)
National team²
2003-	Brazil	017 (0)
¹ Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 29 November 2006. ² National team caps and goals correct as of 23:57, 12 March 2008 (UTC). * Appearances (Goals)

Heurelho da Silva Gomes (born February 15, 1981 in João Pinheiro, Minas Gerais), is a Brazilian footballer who currently plays for as goalkeeper for PSV Eindhoven.

1 Club career
2 Notable achievements
3 Criticism of the board and chairman of PSV
4 International career
5 Career Stats
6 External links

[edit] Club career

He started his career at Cruzeiro until moving to PSV Eindhoven in July 2004, where he made his debut against FK Crvena Zvezda on August 11 of that year.

At first, there were critics, saying that Brazilians 'should be on the field, not in the goal'. In other words, there were doubts if Gomes was reliable enough. Those doubts were quickly erased. Even though he conceded two goals in his debut against RBC Roosendaal, which PSV won 5-2, he proved himself to be a reliable goalkeeper. Gomes established himself as one of the best goalkeepers in the world. He played a major part in PSV's four latest consecutive titles in the Eredivisie and in the great European achievements. In his first season, PSV immediately reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League, where in the 14 attempts before, PSV wasn't able to reach the second round. In the following seasons, PSV progressed each time from the group stage.

In the Eredivisie, Gomes is known for his outstanding reflexes, which has saved points from PSV more than one time. Also his trademark throwing ability is well known. Gomes is able to throw the ball all the way deep into the opponents half. Also before the start of the match and second half, Gomes jumps up above the goal with his shoulders, pumping up the PSV-supporters.

Gomes is a crowd favorite at PSV. He can speak Portuguese and Spanish, but has learned to speak quite a few words of Dutch. Most Dutch-football fans can't understand why he isn't in the starting eleven of Brazil. Even though the rivalry between PSV, Feyenoord and Ajax is intense, fans from rival clubs showed sympathy for the Brazilian. Most notably is his excessive cheering when his teammates score. In the match in Rotterdam against Feyenoord, Gomes injured himself after overcheering when his teammate Phillip Cocu scored the 1-0. Gomes was able to play further and even saved a point with a wonderful dive, which most goalies would find unstoppable.

[edit] Notable achievements

Gomes has achieved a lot since his stay at PSV. He held a clean sheet in 60 percent of his Eredivisie-matches. No other goalie has ever achieved that. In his first season, Gomes didn't concede a goal in 971 minutes. In the same season, Gomes had an another goalless streak. This time he didn't concede a goal in 817 minutes. In his third season, 2006-2007, he had again a notable streak. Gomes didn't concede in 956 minutes, which eventually played a huge part in PSV's surprise championship title. PSV won the Eredivisie 2006-07 title, after having the same amount of points as Ajax, but PSV finished first due to a better goal difference (+50, against +49 for Ajax). Even though those were very impressive stints, it wasn't enough to break the record of Heinz Stuy, who set the record in 1971 with 1082 minutes. Gomes did set a record, though. In the 2007-08 season, Gomes kept a clean sheet in his first 5 games.

[edit] Criticism of the board and chairman of PSV

Gomes has stated in several media that he wouldn't mind to stay at PSV until the end of his career. However, in December 2007, Gomes stated in the Dutch magazine Voetbal International that he had lost trust in PSV. He also criticized the trainer situation. Ronald Koeman, who he calls the biggest disaster created by the board of directors, went to Valencia, he was replaced by Jan Wouters, who stepped aside for Sef Vergoosen in January 2008, who in turn will be replaced by Huub Stevens in the summer of 2008. Also, Gomes criticized the way Koeman had treated youngster Ismaïl Aissati, saying that Koeman was too hard for the young midfielder and that he didn't get the trust that he needs. The conflict started when Gomes could have signed a contract until 2011, but the offer was withdrawn when the Brazilian was about to sign. "I miss the kindness that there was under Guus Hiddink. At first, PSV was like my home. My future was all set out, stay here until 2011, and then leave with my family to Brazil. Until my offer was withdrawn, saying that they needed a meeting to consider whether they should give me an offer or not. I don't get the feeling that PSV would really want me to stay here. I heard the club president say that any club who pays the right price can take me away. I didn't want to go, so I was really hurt that the president was so easy when it was about keeping me here or selling me. In this state, I won't extend my contract and i will probably leave when my contract ends. Or something drastic has to be changed here. I'm not saying this because I think that I'm running things here. I'm saying this because I see it as a my responsibility to give PSV a wake up-call."^{[citation needed]}

[edit] International career

Gomes made his debut for Brazil in 2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup. Although the competition is for senior national teams, Brazil chose to send an Under-23 squad to the competition. Gomes made 5 appearances as Brazil went to the final and finished second after being beaten by Mexico 1-0.

Despite being part of the Brazilian squad that won the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup, as the third-choice keeper behind Dida and Marcos, Gomes did not receive any playing time. He was also excluded from then coach Carlos Alberto Parreira's final 23-man roster for the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany.

It wasn't until his inclusion on the team for a series of late-summer friendlies, as a consequence of new Brazil coach Dunga's desire to play many of the Seleção's younger stars, that Gomes has finally gained some consistent playing time in goal. On August 14, 2006, he was called up for a friendly against Norway, which ended in a 1-1 draw. On September 3, 2006, he played in Brazil's 3-0 defeat of rivals Argentina at Emirates Stadium in England. Two days later, Gomes kept a second consecutive clean sheet in a 2-0 victory over Wales at White Hart Lane. His latest stint between the sticks was during a 2-1 win over Ecuador on October 10, 2006.

[edit] Career Stats

Season	Club	Country	Competition	Matches
2002	Cruzeiro	Brazil	Campeonato Brasileiro	14
2003	Cruzeiro	Brazil	Campeonato Brasileiro	40
2004	Cruzeiro	Brazil	Campeonato Brasileiro	5
2004/2005	PSV	Netherlands	Eredivisie	30
2005/2006	PSV	Netherlands	Eredivisie	32
2006/2007	PSV	Netherlands	Eredivisie	32
2007/2008	PSV	Netherlands	Eredivisie	34
			Total	174