Francisco ‘Chico’ Geraldes faced the media following his inaugural goal for Wellington Phoenix in the Isuzu UTE A-League, but this was no typical post-match press conference.
After netting his first A-League goal during Saturday’s thrilling 2-2 encounter with Western Sydney Wanderers, the conversation took a quirky turn, touching on rock icon Mick Jagger and the experience of swimming with sharks in New Zealand.
Geraldes, who is currently on loan from Malaysian powerhouse Johor Darul Ta’zim, shared a hilarious account of his recent visit to Invercargill on the South Island of New Zealand.
“Was it Mick Jagger? I won’t repeat what he said,” the Portuguese midfielder remarked, alluding to the Rolling Stones’ infamous description of Invercargill as ‘the arse**** of the world’ back in 1965 during a tour.
“Regarding my expectations, I had very low ones when heading to Invercargill. Was Mick Jagger right, what on earth am I doing here?”
“But when I finally arrived, I thought, okay, it’s not so bad. I specifically went to swim with sharks, and the experience was incredible.”
“And Scotty (Wootton) also sent me a video of a shark entering a cage—I’m pretty sure it was in Mexico—but I only saw it after my dive, so that was just perfect.”
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When reflecting on swimming with the intimidating great whites, Geraldes noted: “Initially, I found it quite claustrophobic. Tight spaces aren’t really my thing.
“With all the action in the cage, it was tough to communicate with the instructor. It was my first experience diving with oxygen.
“There are specific signals you need to acknowledge—like thumbs up doesn’t mean you’re okay; it signals that you need help and want to ascend. I was giving a thumbs up to indicate I was fine, but I didn’t want to surface.”
“What added to my anxiety was knowing we had to take a lesson first, which took place in the ocean. I had a thousand thoughts racing through my mind: I need to breathe, can’t breathe through my nose—this is tricky, I can’t recall the signs, and you can’t put any part of your body outside the cage, yet I wanted to engage.”
“At one point, she was touching me and pointing out the shark, and I was just thinking, ‘bloody hell, so much is going on—calm down.’”
“But overall, it was an amazing experience, and I’m pleased I went through with it.”
“Although, my mother wasn’t a fan of the idea, to be honest.”
So, what did Phoenix head coach Giancarlo ‘Chiefy’ Italiano make of this adventure?
“I didn’t have a chat with him about it, but I suspect he shares the same concerns as my mum,” Geraldes concluded with a grin.
Compiled by SportArena.com.au.
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