Each month in the "our heroes" section you will read about the club's greatest idols. Who are these heroes and what have they meant to the club? With this month: Heurelho da Silva Gomes.
The Brazilian goalkeeper played four seasons for PSV and often thinks back to his time in Eindhoven. In his own words, Gomes experienced the best period of his career at PSV.
Gomes was born 41 years ago in João Pinheiro. The goalkeeper took his first steps in professional football with Brazilian club Cruzeiro. O Goleiro Grande, as Gomes is also called, made the move to PSV in 2004.
Records
Gomes did not immediately start his period in Eindhoven as first goalkeeper. In the first games of the season he competed with Edwin Zoetebier for the spot under the crossbar. Then trainer Guus Hiddink was convinced after a few games. Gomes became PSV's regular goalkeeper. The closing post kept his goal clean in sixty percent of his matches. Together with Zoetebier, Gomes kept the zero for no less than 1159 minutes in the 2004/2005 season. That was an absolute record.
Fans
Gomes is to this day very popular with the fans of PSV. In 2007, PSV supporters expressed their gratitude to Gomes through an atmospheric action at Philips Stadium. Throughout the stadium the colors of Brazil were displayed. Gomes entered the field visibly emotional. At the beginning of each half of play, he jumped above the goal rail several times with his arms and shoulders amid loud cheers from the spectators present.
Prizes
Gomes played 128 games in the PSV shirt. In the four seasons he played in the colors of PSV, he won several awards with the club. Gomes became national champion with the club four times in four years. The goalkeeper also won the KNVB Cup with the club in his debut season. In the same season, Gomes reached the semifinals of the UEFA Champions League. He distinguished himself in the quarterfinals against Olympique Lyon by stopping several penalties.
After winning several awards, Gomes left PSV behind in 2008. He left for England to play for Tottenham Hotspur. Later, the goalkeeper also played for TSG 1899 Hoffenheim and Watford, where he ended his career in 2020.