With the 2024-25 Isuzu UTE A-League season just around the corner, Sydney FC’s Brazilian midfielder Léo Sena sits down with aleagues.com.au reporter James Dodd, detailing the terrifying health scare which left him unable to play football for more than two years.
It was an unusually hot and humid early-spring afternoon at Sydney FC’s Sky Park training facility but arguably the perfect conditions for players to be put through their paces ahead of the new Isuzu UTE A-League season.
In the background, the usual football chatter of coaching calls and player appeals could be heard as Sydney FC side were busy putting the finishing touches on an impressive 6-3 friendly win over Central Coast Mariners.
Click here to secure your Unite Round tickets!
But the sound that could be heard loudest was a series of animated conversations in Portuguese as a group of Brazilians sat pitchside analysing the contest in front of them.
Among that group were Mariners’ Brazilian duo Mikael Doka and Vitor Feijão while Sydney FC star Douglas Costa was also present. But central to the conversation was new Sky Blues midfielder Léo Sena who, having helped cut the opposition apart in a scintillating first half display, had taken his place on the sidelines for a well deserved rest.
For 28-year-old Sena, the sheer fact he’s back playing professional football at all is something of a minor miracle.
“I see it as the opportunity of my life, due to the problem I had a few years ago, where I couldn’t play football for two years. I’m holding onto it with everything I’ve got, and I’m going to give it my best.”
At this point you may be wondering why a player in his prime and at one point on the cusp of a multi-million dollar move to one of Italy’s biggest clubs suddenly found himself out of the game for over two years.
CUP WINNERS: Macarthur hero’s big call after Australia Cup glory as Victory boss explains selection bombshell
For Sena, his problems began, like those of many others, when the world spiralled into chaos following the outbreak of COVID-19.
“I had just come from Atlético Mineiro and went to Spezia in Italy,” said Sena as he sat down to chat with aleagues.com.au in his native Portuguese following Sydney’s impressive win over the Mariners.
“I had a very good year, many teams wanted to sign me. However, due to COVID, I discovered a heart condition that kept me from playing football for two years and six months, without being able to train or do anything.”
The condition was called myocarditis and it was brought on after Sena contracted COVID-19. Most prevalent in males between the ages of 16 to 30, myocarditis is a disease which causes inflammation of the heart muscle, which in turn can lead to possible strokes or heart attacks due to the formation of blood clots.
MUST READ: Stajcic’s blueprint to turn Wanderers into ‘the best club in the country’
Sena continued: “At that moment, I thought I would never be able to play football again. It was a very difficult time for me and my family. So, during that time, I leaned heavily on God, my father and my mother, the people that truly love me.
“I got a new opportunity and was able to return to playing. I’m very happy, but it was a very tough period. I also have to be grateful for my time in Italy because everyone always treated me very well.”
Having joined Italian side Spezia on an initial loan from Brazilian club Atletico Miniero, the ball-playing midfielder’s performances were so good that the Serie A outfit made his move permanent the following season, signing Sena for more than one million euros.
JET SETTERS: How the Jets plan to emulate F3 Derby rival’s ‘tremendous turnaround’
Holding his own against the likes of footballing great Cristiano Ronaldo during Spezia’s clashes with Juventus, the classy number six’s appearances didn’t go under the radar. So much so, Italian giants Fiorentina identified the Brazilian as the man to anchor their midfield for the following season and soon agreed a deal worth €6million euros – almost $10million dollars in today’s market.
But before he got the chance to sign the final contract, Sena’s dreams were left in tatters after the discovery of the aforementioned heart condition during what he thought would be a routine medical ahead of his dream move.
FULL FIXTURE: Every match here
DERBY DATES: The matches to circle in your calendar now
TALKING POINTS: What you need to know about the 24-25 draw, inc new TV schedule
“At first, it was very frightening because I didn’t know how to react to this problem. Every month I had tests, and the doctors would say I was fine, improving, but I couldn’t train or do anything.
“I would always watch games on television or go to the stadium, and that was very hard for me because I wanted to be training, I wanted to be playing, but I couldn’t.
“Time was passing, and I was getting older, and I thought: ‘My God, will I ever play again?’ It was quite scary for me, it was difficult to accept. I lost many nights of sleep. I couldn’t eat, I couldn’t sleep.
“I kept thinking: ‘What now? What should I do? What am I going to do?’ Because my whole life has been about playing football, so it was very frightening for me.”
Sena’s ordeal though was only just beginning.
Following the confirmation of his heart condition, Italian legal red tape meant the midfielder was unable to be registered by Spezia and Sena was left in footballing no man’s land.
“After a year, I was already thinking that my career was over. Because every time I went to the doctor, they never told me when I could return. Whether it would be in 10 days, a month, a year – they didn’t know.
“I was in a very bad place, devastated. I always talked to my mum and dad, telling them that I thought my career was about to end.”
Eventually, Sena was released from his deal in the north of Italy and he returned to his homeland where he joined then Brazilian top flight side Goiás Esporte Clube.
A short spell with Bulgarian side Lokomotiv Plovdiv then followed before a return to Brazil with Agua Santa, but it was clear the midfielder’s career had been brutally stunted by something completely out of his control.
Then the Sky Blues came knocking.
Led by the club’s Head of Player Management, Alex Baumjohann – who was already aware of Sena’s abilities but, crucially, was informed of the player’s availability due to his connections within Brazilian football – Sydney FC opted to take a punt on the man they believed could prove to be a game-changer in the Isuzu UTE A-League.
And so, more than three years on from the diagnosis that left his footballing career in tatters, Sena is back on the pitch and doing what he does best.
“Just the fact that I’ve returned to playing is already very rewarding for me. I don’t have to prove anything to anyone, just to myself and my family, who have always believed in me.
“Every day I come to the field, I try to give my best. It’s a wonderful opportunity and every time I’m on the field, I thank God because, as I told you, those two and a half years without being able to train or play were very difficult.
“Every opportunity I have to be on the field, I am grateful and enjoy it as much as possible.”
Signed on a two-year deal, Sydney FC are hoping they’ve captured a player in what should be the prime of his career, and if his first impressions in Sky Blue are anything to go by, they could well be right.
While the Sao Paulo native’s arrival in the Harbour City was to little fanfare, the same can’t be said of his fellow countryman Douglas Costa.
CLICK HERE TO GET YOUR TICKETS FOR THE SYDNEY DERBY
“I grew up watching him play,” laughed Sena when the topic of conversation switched to Costa, who just happened to be standing behind the camera as this interview was recorded.
“He played for the Brazilian national team and for major clubs like Bayern Munich and Juventus. He played in the World Cup, I always cheered for him. So, for me, it’s a very big emotion.
ISUZU UTE A-LEAGUE MEN 2024-25 FIXTURE DETAILS
FULL FIXTURE: Every match here
DERBY DATES: The matches to circle in your calendar now
TALKING POINTS: What you need to know about the 24-25 draw, inc new TV schedule
He added: “Besides being a great player, he is a wonderful person and a great friend. He always helps me in my daily life. When I don’t understand many things, he assists me and helps me out.
“He is an excellent person. It’s no wonder he played in the World Cup for great teams.”
BIG PRAISE: Zadkovich’s ‘Best in Aus’ praise for young gun as ‘biggest leagues’ transfer interest addressed
The idea of playing professional football again was something Léo Sena thought might never happen following his devastating diagnosis which left him in sporting purgatory.
But now, more than three years later and surrounded by Sydney’s thriving Brazilian football community, the midfielder looks to have found a place where he can shine.
And with that, Sena and Costa posed for a few more photos with fans before making their way across the pitch and into the confines of the Sky Park facility.
You can catch Sena and Co in action in Round One of the 2024-25 Isuzu UTE A-League season when they take on the Wanderers in a hotly-anticipated Sydney Derby.
CLICK HERE TO GET YOUR TICKETS FOR THE SYDNEY DERBY
