Helena Sampaio (footballer)

Helena Sampaio
Sampaio with BK Häcken in 2025
Personal information
Full name Helena Rodriguez Sampaio
Date of birth (2002-02-04) February 4, 2002
Place of birth Porto Alegre, Brazil
Height 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Position Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 BK Häcken
Number 30
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2021–2024 USC Trojans 78 (12)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2025– BK Häcken 22 (3)
International career
2018 Brazil U-17
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of November 8, 2025

Helena Rodriguez Sampaio (born February 4, 2002) is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Damallsvenskan club BK Häcken. She played college soccer for the USC Trojans, earning first-team All-American honors in 2024.

Early life

Growing up in Porto Alegre, Sampaio began playing football with boys when she was four. She only started playing on a girls' team in her early teens when she joined Grêmio's new women's side before briefly playing with Internacional.[1] She started high school at Colégio Marista Rosário in Porto Alegre, where she led the football team to two state cup titles.[2] When she was 15, she successfully tried out for IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, and received a scholarship to train and finish high school there.[3]

College career

Sampaio played for the USC Trojans from 2021 to 2024, scoring 12 goals with 18 assists in 78 appearances. During her sophomore season, new head coach Jane Alukonis put Sampaio into the starting lineup, and she recorded a team-second-best 8 assists in 18 games.[2][4] She started all 19 games in her junior season, scoring 6 goals with 3 assists and earning All-Pac-12 Conference second-team honors. With the program's move to the Big Ten Conference in her senior season, she scored 5 goals with a team-best 7 assists in 23 games, helping USC to the conference regular-season title and the NCAA tournament quarterfinals. Following her senior season, she was named the Big Ten Midfielder of the Year, first-team All-Big Ten, and first-team All-American.[2][5]

Club career

Swedish club BK Häcken announced on January 5, 2025, that they had signed Sampaio to her first professional contract on a two-and-a-half-year deal.[6] She was the club's first Brazilian player.[6] She made her professional debut on March 15 as a stoppage-time substitute against Djurgården in the Svenska Cupen.[7] On May 16, she scored her first professional goal to conclude a 6–1 league win over Alingsås.[8] On October 7, she scored her first professional hat trick, and her first continental goals, against Polish club Katowice in the second qualifying round of the UEFA Women's Europa Cup, breaking a stalemate just seconds after replacing Felicia Schröder in the eventual 4–0 win.[9] On November 8, she started in a 2–0 win over Djurgården as Häcken clinched the league championship for the first time in yellow and black.[10]

International career

Sampaio trained with Brazil's under-17 team and was an alternate for Brazil's roster at the 2018 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup.[2]

Honors and awards

USC Trojans

BK Häcken

Individual

References

  1. ^ Furtado, Tatiana (December 11, 2018). "Do futebol com meninos ao primeiro torneio internacional: a trajetória da seleção feminina sub-17". O Globo (in Portuguese). Retrieved December 19, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d "Helena Sampaio". USC Trojans. Retrieved December 19, 2024.
  3. ^ "Craque e determinada: de Porto Alegre aos Estados Unidos atrás do sonho de jogar bola". Revista Bá (in Portuguese). December 28, 2018. Retrieved December 19, 2024.
  4. ^ Collier, Crash (October 23, 2024). "How a wonder-goal put Helena Sampaio in the spotlight for USC". USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. Retrieved December 19, 2024.
  5. ^ "Courtnall, Sampaio, Hayes Earn All-America Recognition". USC Trojans. December 11, 2024. Retrieved December 13, 2024.
  6. ^ a b "Topprankad brasilianska ansluter till BK Häcken". BK Häcken. January 5, 2025. Retrieved January 5, 2025.
  7. ^ "Helena Sampaio". flashscore.com. Retrieved October 7, 2025.
  8. ^ "Häcken Dominates Alingsås 6-1 in Goal Fest at Bravida Arena". Sweden Herald. May 16, 2025. Retrieved October 7, 2025.
  9. ^ Pinheiro Diamant, Jonatan (October 7, 2025). "Hattrick för Häcken: 'Jag kan inte tro det'". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved October 7, 2025.
  10. ^ a b Zaza, Amanda; Rydén, Anna; Björklöf, Viktoria (November 8, 2025). "Häcken vinner historiskt SM-guld". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved November 8, 2025.
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