Every Championship or Football Manager player has wonderkids that they remember over the years. One player that sticks out to me is Paulo Henrique ‘Ganso’, who first made an appearance in FM11.
For me, he was the sort of wonderkid who would surely make it in real life, as he seemed to have all the attributes to become a top player. As you will later find out, like many FMs, his career didn’t go as well as he would have liked.
Who is Paulo Henrique ‘Ganso’?
For anybody unfamiliar with his game, Paulo Henrique ‘Ganso’ was one of the brightest young Brazilian talents of the early 2000s. The name ‘Ganso’ is a nickname which means ‘Goose’ in Portuguese. He reportedly earned the nickname because of his long neck and perceived awkwardness.
As a wonderkid in several editions of FM, “Ganso’ was a must-buy player. Every save for a few editions, if I had the money, I would sign the attacking midfielder. If I remember rightly (I am old!), he cost around £15-25m from Santos when he was in his early 20s.
It always turned out to be a bargain because he was a player who used his excellent technical ability and flair to both score and create goals from his number-ten role. “Ganso’ was the sort of player you would change your tactic for if you were not playing with a number ten.
He would have some excellent at the start of the game, and with experience and the right coaching, he would become world-class, a player that every club in the game would want.
Unfortunately, if you didn’t experience success in the early seasons of the game, he would usually be picked up by Real Madrid or Barcelona. As with so many wonderkids on FM, he would go on to win numerous trophies and individual awards before retiring after his glittering career.
What happened to ‘Ganso’ in real life?
In real life, ‘Ganso’ joined Santos’ youth team in 2005 at the age of 16 from Paysandu after starting his youth career with Tuna Luso.
He stayed in the Santos youth ranks for three years before breaking into the first team in 2008. He only made three appearances in the debut campaign. However, the following season saw him enjoy his breakthrough campaign.
He made 45 appearances for Santos in all competitions, scoring a respectable nine goals for the Brazilian giants. His career continued to flourish at Santos, as he made 43 appearances in 2010, scoring 13 goals and helping his team to win the Campeonato Paulista.
He wasn’t as prolific in the following two seasons. Nevertheless, the attacking midfielder assisted Santos in winning the Campeonato Paulista in two more consecutive campaigns, along with securing the Copa Libertadores with the club in 2011.
From 2010 until 2012, the attacking midfielder made eight appearances for Brazil. He failed to feature for the Selecao for the rest of his career.
Moving on from Santos
In September 2012, after five successful years with Santos, ‘Ganso’ moved to the club’s rivals Sao Paulo in a deal reported to be worth around £7m.
The attacking midfielder never quite recaptured the early goalscoring form of his career in five years with Sao Paulo. He made 214 appearances in all competitions for the club, scoring 24 goals in the process. The only trophy he won as a Sao Paulo player was the Copa Sudamericana shortly after joining the club in 2012.
In July 2016, ‘Ganso’ embarked on a new adventure, and it led to a first taste of football outside of his native Brazil, as he moved to Spanish outfit Sevilla for a reported fee of around £8m.
However, the attacking midfielder failed to nail down a regular starting spot for the Andalusians, making just 28 appearances for the Los Nervionenses before joining French club Amiens on loan in August 2018, where he made just 13 competitive appearances.
In the summer of 2019, “Ganso’ returned to Brazil, joining Fluminense as a free agent. The attacking midfielder is still at Fluminense after six years of mixed fortunes with Flu.
He experienced a slight renaissance in 2022 when he scored nine times in 57 appearances for the Tricolor in all competitions. His performances even led some to suppose that he deserved a recall to the Brazil squad for the first time in a decade. However, he couldn’t maintain that form in the following campaigns.
In his Fluminense career so far, ‘Ganso’ has made 259 appearances and scored 26 goals, which for a player of his undoubted ability is hugely overwhelming.
He has not entirely lived up to his potential
It is clear to anybody that the former Brazilian international has not lived up to his FM potential, but few players do in real life. He undoubtedly had the ability to go far but never entirely fulfilled his potential.
In the early days of his career, he impressed, producing some outstanding seasons. He has also achieved a lot in a short space of time with Santos.
Many of the FM wonderkids end up in obscurity, but ‘Ganso’ has had a long and relatively successful career, even if he didn’t quite become the world-class player that many predicted in the early stages of his career.
Did you ever encounter Paulo Henrique ‘Ganso’ when he was a wonderkid on FM? Let us know here or via our socials
