Last season’s runners-up Tai Po have brought in several new Brazilian imports for the new season, adding to their existing core of Brazilian players, totaling nine foreign players from Brazil in their squad. This formidable lineup has made them one of the favorites for the league title. They have also appointed two-time HKPL Best Defender Gabriel Cividini as the team captain, with the soon-to-be 30-year-old Brazilian player, known for his combative playing style, vowing to lead the team in their challenge for silverware.
Gabriel hails from São Paulo, the largest city in South America. Like many Brazilian children, he was influenced by his father, who was a Corinthians fan, and fell in love with football from a young age. He played in the Corinthians youth academy: “The atmosphere at Brazilian league matches is always so lively, with tens of thousands of fans in attendance, which really captivated me, so I dreamed of becoming a professional footballer myself.”
He started his professional career in the fifth division of the São Paulo state league with União Mogi, before going on to play for the now named Red Bull Bragantino, Bangu in Rio de Janeiro, and Treze FC in Paraíba.
The family relationship is very close in Brazil, and Gabriel has been playing for clubs within Brazil, wanting to maintain close ties with his family. However, in 2022, his friend João Emir introduced Gabriel to the opportunity to develop his career in Hong Kong: “At the time, due to the pandemic, I couldn’t have a trial, so I spoke to Coach Li Hang Wui in Brazil via video conference, and afterwards Coach Wui invited me to join the team. I didn’t have much knowledge about Asia then, but since it was a new challenge, I thought I could give it a try. However, not being able to be with my family frequently is very difficult for me.”
Adaptation
Gabriel ultimately accepted the offer from Tai Po and arrived in Hong Kong, a city he had never set foot in before.
Although it was a major metropolitan city like his hometown of São Paulo, the lifestyle and food culture were vastly different from what he was used to in Brazil: “At first, the food was the hardest thing to get used to. It’s not that it’s not delicious, but the soups and meats are cooked very differently from the Brazilian style, and the way of eating is also very different. Of course, I gradually adapted to it over time. The weather was another challenge – the summers here are extremely hot and humid; sometimes we have to train on artificial turf pitches, which is very rare in Brazil and puts a lot of strain on my knees.”
However, Gabriel quickly adapted to the Hong Kong climate. In his debut season, he made 17 appearances, often using his powerful physique to dominate opposing foreign forwards as a center-back, and frequently contributed to the attack as well.
He was selected to the league’s Best XI team for two consecutive seasons, becoming the HKPL’s Best Defender: “I had won individual awards like Man of the Match in Brazil before, but that wasn’t a goal of mine coming to Hong Kong. For me, the team’s results are the most important thing. In the previous season, our budget wasn’t that large, but last season we had better resources and a great coach, so our results improved. This season, we’ve gone through an extremely rigorous pre-season and brought in many new players, and we will be targeting all the titles!”
Last season, Gabriel often wore the captain’s armband, leading the team’s charge on the pitch. This season, he has officially taken on the role of team captain: “For me, being Kitchee’s captain means not just having responsibility to the club, because we have many fans, especially the local kids who really support us, so I also have a greater commitment to the community. I’m 30 years old now and have been a professional player for 11 years, so I’m happy to share my experience with the younger players in the team and encourage them to put in extra training.”
With a large contingent of Brazilian players on the team, and assistant coach Gérson also speaking Portuguese, the language used within the team is more often Portuguese than English: “We have an advantage in that when the coach gives us instructions, Philip Chan can translate it directly for us, because his Portuguese is very fluent, so we don’t have any problems communicating! Cantonese is too difficult for me, and while I can understand English, I’m not that fluent. In order to communicate better with my other teammates and players, I’ve been trying to practice more English. I’ve been asking Igor (Sartori) to speak more English with me, and he’s actually stopped speaking Portuguese to me now.”
The Family
In recent years, some foreign imports have come to Hong Kong but quickly left due to difficulties adapting to the training and lifestyle, or dissatisfaction with the HKPL environment. However, Gabriel’s impression of the Hong Kong football scene is not bad – he feels the various clubs have good structures and facilities, and the level of competition is also quite high:
“Of course, in the first two years the standard of some teams was a bit uneven, but clubs like Lee Man and Kitchee are very strong, especially the foreign import forwards who are physically very impressive. Those matches are not easy to play in, but as a player I naturally want to challenge stronger opponents, so I really enjoy the big games against the top teams.”
“The Hong Kong fans are also very good to the players. In Brazil, when you lose a match, the fans will curse you, criticize you, even want to kill you – and you know Brazil is not a safe place. But in Hong Kong, even when we’re behind or lose, the fans are still so positive and encouraging, which really motivates us to play.”
“The overall social security and transportation in Hong Kong are also very good, so the living environment is quite comfortable. The only thing is the BBQ here is not as appealing as the grilled meats in Brazil – barbecuing is part of our culture, and when we were training in Thailand before, it was basically us helping to grill the steaks for everyone.”
Now in his third season playing in Hong Kong, Gabriel was aware before arriving that if he stays for seven years, he would have the opportunity to naturalize and represent the Hong Kong, China Representive Team.
“Of course being able to play in international matches is a dream of mine. This coming season, I will do my utmost to help the team win titles. As for further into the future, I can’t decide on that yet. My family makes a point to visit me in Hong Kong every year, and their support is the biggest motivation for my football career. My wife also fully supports my football ambitions, even though she has just completed 6 years of medical training in Brazil and is starting her practice there – I can’t ask her to give up her own career and dreams just to live with me in Hong Kong.”
Profile
| Name | 加比爾施華捷尼 Gabriel Roberto Cividini Moreira |
| Pos. | CB |
| Preffered foot | Right |
| Birth | 1994/11/4 |
| Pro Team | União Mogi – SP（2013-15） CA Bragantino – SP（2015-16） Atibaia -SP（2017-19） Nacional – SP（2020） Bangu – RJ（2021） Treze（2021-22） CA Juventus -SP（2022） Tai Po（2022-） |