FC Goa player Bruno Pinheiro has signed for Apollon Smyrnis FC of the Football League Greece.Pinheiro had a fantastic second half of the inaugural Hero Indian Super League (ISL) season. He was part of the resolute FC Goa backline that did not concede for four games straight which invariably paved the path for their dramatic turnaround in the. The ball-playing centre back formed a formidable partnership with Grégory Arnolin in the centre, and his 14 appearances also saw him team up with Indian youngsters Debabrata Roy and Narayan Das at the back.The 27-year-old Portuguese footballer was popular among fans of FC Goa and also the ISL at large and returned with fond memories of his time on and off the pitch. “For us to share the dressing room (in the ISL) with legends like Pirès, Zico and Santos is amazing. They help us improve our skills and we have to improve ourselves when we train every day. To come to India is not a step back in my career. It has been a great experience so far,” he had said in an earlier interview to indiansuperleague.com.Pinheiro has represented Portugal’s under-19, 20, 21 and 23 teams. He faced problems early in his career when the club he was playing for experienced financial difficulties and was relegated to the third division which prompted him to emigrate. He continued his career in Cyprus and Poland before returning home three years later, but quickly moved on again to Thailand, Greece, India and now again back to Greece.
