As career journeys go, they don't get much crazier than Maidstone United goalkeeper Lucas Covolan.
The 32-year-old will be in net for the National League South side as they travel to Championship promotion-pushers Ipswich Town today (January 27) for their FA Cup fourth round clash.
Like his club, who were forced out of the Football League in the 90s after going bankrupt, Covolan has had to fight tooth and nail to make a success of himself.
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Sky Get it hereA former Brazil youth international, he started out at Vasco da Gama alongside one Philippe Coutinho, and played with future Chelsea star Oscar in his nation's under-20s side.
“It was like a dream come true," he recently recalled to The Guardian. "Oscar was unbelievable. Everyone knew he was going to be a star. One time he arrived at training in a helicopter. We were like: ‘Oh my days!’”
While their careers soon took off, Covolan struggled to make it in his home country. At top-flight Athletico Paranaense, he was eighth-choice goalkeeper.
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In fear of seeing his playing days fade before his eyes, it was aged 24 he ventured to Europe. Spain was his destination but after two years of further struggles, England was his ultimate home.
Impressive spells at Whitehawk and Worthing saw him join Torquay United, where his “single happiest moment in football" occurred - scoring a 95th-minute equaliser in their 2021 play-off final against Hartlepool.
Torquay eventually lost on penalties, despite Covolan making two saves in the shootout, but he progressed to League Two anyway as Port Vale signed him to a two-year contract.
While it seemed he'd finally got to the promised land he'd long been seeking, the 6'4" shot stopper started suffering with depression as the weight of expectation he placed on himself became too much.
“I felt like I needed to be perfect,” he explained. “I put so much pressure on myself that I was not enjoying football any more."
Covolan was an unused substitute as Vale won the play-off final in 2022, before they loaned him to Chesterfield for the following season. With Maidstone, there's a dream of returning to Wembley as the lowest-ranked side still left in the competition look to continue their fairytale FA Cup run.
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