Many players come from around the world to Australia, encompassing the football community with a story attached to their arrival. These journeys are often insightful but occasionally go unheard, even in the A-Leagues. They give perspective and provide lessons that some might never have the opportunity to share. But such stories are sporadically being circulated more and more. One notable story is that of Luiz Felipe Lobo, who recently sat down with Front Page Football to discuss his football career in his home nation, Brazil, and his journey since arriving in Australia.
Luiz Lobo in action for Sydney United. (Image supplied)
Lobo has had many experiences and challenges since moving to Australia, where he has resided for the last 11 years. His love of football has brought him new opportunities to express his talents in the Football NSW state leagues and futsal leagues. Lobo recently began new journeys with Sydney United in the NPL NSW and the Futsalroos, Australia's national futsal team.
Lobo was born in São Paulo, the largest city in Brazil and home to some of the nation's biggest football clubs.
Football is the most significant sport in Brazil. Millions of fans follow it throughout the nation, witnessing some of the best players in the nation and the world. Football's support influenced the dreams of many kids growing up in Brazil, including Lobo, who was supported by his uncle Marcelo.
"My uncle (Marcelo) used to always take me everywhere, more than my mum and dad. He kind of took me as a son and was the one who loved football," Lobo told Front Page Football.
"My dad was not much into it, so he never understood, 'How can I get a trial? Where can I take my son?' [There was] never a big fuss about that.
"My uncle used to take me, since I was four or five years old, to his games with his mates and to stadiums. In Brazil, around 50,000 to 60,000 people go to any game, and that, for me, felt different with football."
Lobo was born in São Paulo, Brazil. (Image supplied)
The Lobo family's passion for football created an environment where the game was very present for Luiz as he grew up in São Paulo. It led him to play futsal at five years old for his school team and at seven for a club, Pequeninos do Jockey.
After his junior career, Lobo underwent many trials to improve his chances of becoming a professional player in Brazil. There are 20 professional teams in the Brasileiro Série A, the top tier of Brazilian football, and only a few academy players make it. The reality of unsuccessful trials is often disheartening and demoralising for young players.
"The chance of making it (professionally) is very, very low because there are so many players. Brazil has over 200 million people. I would say that out of the 200 million, only 190 (players) are told they [will] one day be a professional footballer," Lobo explained.
"You have to be gifted technically, you need to have talent, but you need to work hard, be driven.
"My uncle used to say that to me a lot: 'When you go to trials, you got to be loud, you have to show that you want the ball,' because you got to be noticed somehow. Sometimes, you are not going to be noticed [for] what you do with the ball, but you can be noticed by being proactive. That is what I say to every player that I coach."
At 22 years old, after alternating between football and university studies in São Paulo, Lobo decided to move overseas for a restart and a new opportunity to pursue an area related to football. He contemplated moving to the UK, Canada, the United States, New Zealand, or Australia. He chose to come to Australia and arrived in Sydney on 28 June 2013.
"Everything was different. It's funny because throughout the six months, trying to save the money to come here (to Australia), I was doing research, watching everything about Australia, about Sydney. But when you get here, everything is completely different," Lobo said.
"It was so hard for me in terms of the language because I didn't even know the basics. My English was very poor. I say to everybody, that's why you have to do that one thing in your life: I found a lot of strength in myself, which I wouldn't have been able to find if I didn't come here. I had tough moments with language, daily routines, and stuff like that, but I could create that strength somehow and just go with it."
It would not take long before Lobo was ready to play football for a club in Sydney. However, because he was unfamiliar with the football scene at the time, he joined his first club with the help of an agent who had resided in Australia for nearly 30 years.
"I had one guy that used to live in the same house as me when I arrived. I had all the NPL teams' addresses and phone numbers but I can't just go and knock on the door; I need to know someone. This guy that used to live with me had this student agent who also helped with [his] Visa," Lobo said.
"I went to his (the agent's) office in the city. It was just him; he didn't have a big agency; it was just himself. So I was speaking to him, and this random guy sat next to me. I think he heard that I wanted to play football and then gave me his mate's number, Kyle."
Since it was towards the end of the outdoor football season, Lobo started playing futsal for Botany Bay Pirates Futsal Club in the Football NSW Futsal State League for the 2013–14 season under head coach Fernando. The Pirates no longer participate in state league futsal but hold a special place in Lobo's story.
"It was a big club. He [Kyle] took me there for a session. There were heaps of Brazilians in the team. All the Brazilians in the team were here for ten years, so I met the main guys that have played futsal here in Sydney. We had a great team as well," he said.
"Because of this team, it changed my life here in Australia. The coach (Fernando) had a construction company, so he gave me a job for two to three months. He was my coach, and he also helped me outside futsal."
Lobo with the NSW Futsal Premier League trophy. (Image supplied)
After a few training sessions, Lobo eventually joined the team and met Itaua Batista, who would introduce him to Tony Basha, the head coach of Rydalmere Lions at the time. Rydalmere became the first club Lobo played for in outdoor football, starting in the 2014 season while playing futsal at Botany Bay.
"I struggled in the beginning with Tony. My English wasn't really good, and he did a few things that I didn't agree with at the time. I decided to leave and went to Brazil a month earlier than I should have because I needed to go," Lobo said.
"Back in Brazil, I used to play in a 4–4–2, and I was the guy behind the striker in the middle. When I arrived in Australia, it was 4–3–3. So Tony tried to use me as a nine (striker), and I've never been a nine, so I struggled with the pace of the game.
"Things were happening back home, and my head wasn't here. I did the whole pre-season, played two to three games and then went back to Brazil for two months. I felt a bit homesick, but I didn't want to go back to Brazil to stay. I just wanted to go there after one year here (in Australia) and see how I felt."
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Lobo returned from Brazil in August after the 2014 FIFA World Cup ended in his home nation. At this moment, he felt the need for a new club where he could start enjoying his football.
"When I came back, I had another year off from football. I didn't want to play for Rydalmere anymore, and I wanted to settle down and see if I wanted to play again. I was just going to enjoy my life and create this kind of pathway to stay in Australia," Lobo said.
"I played local (park football) for one year at Eastern Suburbs. The level was very poor, but it made me feel good [about] myself."
Towards the end of 2015, Lobo went on trial with the University of New South Wales Football Club (UNSW FC) and began coaching with the help of Renato Jelen, the technical director of the women's teams. Lobo started as an assistant coach of the girls' U13s team and joined the senior ranks that played in the NSW State League. He also helped Jelen at his academy develop his coaching skills.
Lobo (right) coaching junior girls players at UNSW FC. (Image supplied)
Lobo spoke of the mentality seen in Australian youth players compared to Brazil from his time overseeing trials and coaching.
"It is completely different, technical-wise. I wish I could come to trials and feel like, 'Oh! I'm actually terrible,' and it's not even the football itself; the attitude of the kids [is different]. I was coming up against kids from the Favelas, and that's their only way to have success in life," he explained.
"I'm there in the games, and the kid next to me is yelling. Maybe I'm better than them, but how much they wanted it and how hungry they were. You lose the ball; then you don't see the ball anymore. It is so technical, and they take you on. Different than here; it's just a different mentality."
Coaching is also vastly different in Australia, where, unlike Brazil, most coaches tend to prioritise physicality over the technical side.
"It's different times. My coaches (in Brazil) would care more about the fundamentals, the details, like your first touch, passing, and shooting," Lobo said.
"Players were given more freedom, but at the same time, you make sure [you know] where your body position is, your body shape to receive the ball, or where the opposition is."
Lobo stayed at UNSW for three years, playing for their men's team throughout and, over those years, coaching the girls' U15s and U17s teams. Before the State League was reformed into NPL 4, there were no restrictions on the number of Visa players each team could have. Lobo could adapt more to the physical nature of Australian football without any precautions.
"I learned a lot because it set me up for what was coming next. My frustrations of playing on terrible fields, with terrible referees, and getting kicked every single game showed me in the toughest way that if you wanted to play in Australia, you got to deal with this," he explained.
"That happens a lot with Brazilians that come here. We play, and people just kick you, and you always complain, complain to referees, and get cards. I used to always get cards. I realised nothing would change for me; I had to change my behaviour to succeed."
Jelen, a fellow Brazilian, remains an important person and friend to Lobo in his story. He assisted him from when he joined UNSW and eventually at Fraser Park, where they both moved to in 2019. Jelen mentored him both on and off the pitch.
"He did what my uncle did. He was the main person for me in Australia. Throughout my time at UNSW, he brought this professional side of football [to me]. He placed this mentality [in me], and that's when I started doing extra stuff. Since my first year at UNSW, instead of training only on Tuesday and Thursday, I would also train on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. That was the difference for me to step up," Lobo said.
"He understood how the system was and knew what the Australians thought about us Brazilians. He was very important for my progress. I was very lucky to have someone like him.
"Moments when I thought I was right, he would always tell me I wasn't. That's a friend. They see if you are not doing something properly and want the best for you. They will tell you as it is."
Jelen became the head coach of the men's team, and Lobo joined as a player the season after Fraser Park had been relegated to the State League. Under his friend and mentor, Lobo had one of the best seasons of his career, scoring 14 goals in 22 league appearances. Fraser Park missed automatic promotion by three points to first-place Central Coast United. But they still ended the season as champions after winning the Finals Series.
Lobo (centre) at Fraser Park lifting the State League Championship trophy in 2019. (Image supplied)
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Lobo had stints at Dunbar Rovers and Hakoah Sydney City East, moving up two divisions in three years. He became a permanent resident in 2022, nulling his Visa status and allowing him to move to North West Sydney Spirit in the NPL.
Lobo also moved between futsal clubs, departing UNSW for the Enfield Allstars in 2018. There, he attracted the interest of the Futsalroos head coach, Miles Downie, and began training with the national team in 2022. He also participated in the training camps located in Sydney.
"Three or four players who played for the national team played for my club, so I was very familiar and [felt] welcomed with the squad. I was also playing against the other players [in the team], so I had a good environment with all of them," Lobo said.
Lobo received his Australian citizenship in October 2023 and earned his first official call-up to the Futsalroos in March 2024 for the NSDF Futsal Championship in Thailand. Despite being Brazilian at heart, it was a proud moment for Lobo. It resulted from hard work and determination since coming to Australia ten years ago.
"I was really proud. I can't explain the feeling of representing the country, a home country in that sense. You feel very proud of yourself," he expressed.
"The first time I wore the whole Australian kit at training, I already felt something different, like, that's not normal. When everyone is dressed up as the Australian national team, you feel like you made it. You made it to a professional environment. Everything you have been dreaming of your whole life just comes true.
"Obviously, as a Brazilian, I always had that dream to play for Brazil, but once you go to another country, and everything that happened, the only thing inside my head was that I needed to enjoy every minute of this, and that is what I did."
Lobo now plays for Sydney United after a mid-season transfer from NWS Spirit and was a part of a Futsalroos team that finished as runners-up at the NSDF Championship at the end of April.
After ten years in Australia, Lobo now represents the Futsalroos, has played in the NPL NSW and the NSW Futsal Premier League, and coaches his academy and the Macarthur Bulls' Women's team as their technical director. He has constructed programs and training sessions where he preaches the importance of technical development and nurtures the next generation of players.
Lobo's success throughout his career is a testament to what hard work can bring you, even in unfamiliar circumstances.
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