Jordan Alexandre Grilo Santos was born in a land where ice hockey rules and named after basketball’s GOAT. Yet if any place in Canada was going to bear someone who would earn his crust playing a sand sport in a red uniform, it is Leamington, Ontario. It is known, after all, as ‘The Sun Parlour of Canada’ – despite temperatures reaching as low as minus 32°C – and ‘The Tomato Capital of Canada’.

When Jordan was just three months old, his family relocated to Nazare – one of the most popular tourist destinations of Portugal’s ‘Silver Coast’. He has gone on to unearth silver and gold galore. Jordan has lifted the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup™ trophy – made from the two lavish, lustrous chemical elements – twice. He has won multiple Mundialitos and European titles. He seized the adidas Silver Ball at Paraguay 2019. He was named the planet’s Best Player in 2019.

“Now I’m fully satisfied,” he said after the latter triumph. “Now I’ve won everything.”

It was a good job. Soon into the following year Jordan had to undergo a knee operation. It turned into two. He was out for one-and-a-half years. Jordan had all but decided to quit, but was persuaded out of it by his close ones.

“Phew,” is his reaction to that now. Jordan is no longer “fully satisfied”. He is, by contrast, desperate to use his ‘Left foot of gold’ to become a tricampeão in February’s global finals in Dubai.

When you were starting out, it was very difficult to make a career out of beach soccer and many people tried to talk you out of it, right?
Jordan: A lot of people called me crazy. Beach soccer wasn’t as developed as it is today. Only those who were really outstanding could make a living from it. But I believed in myself. I felt that I had what it took to become one of the few who made it. I knew it would take a lot of hard work, but I knew I would put in that hard work. My grandmother always believed in me and backed me. She told me to follow my dream, to give it everything. Thanks to her help and my determination, here I am, living my dream.

One dream must have been lifting the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup in 2015…
It was really special for a couple of reasons: it was my first Beach Soccer World Cup title, and we won it at home, in front of our families and friends, amid that amazing atmosphere. We already felt a good, strong energy during our preparations for the World Cup. We felt that, playing at home, the energy of our supporters would spur us on to the title. They were fantastic and that’s what happened. It was one of the best moments of my career. It is unforgettable and, even now, it makes me really happy thinking about it.

In 2015 legends such as Alan, Belchior and Madjer dazzled for Portugal, but in 2019 you played the lead role in the nation’s triumph…
۲۰۱۹ was a really special year for me. I won a lot. I went into the World Cup having just won the Best Player in the world award, so I had that extra responsibility, though it was healthy responsibility. Fortunately, 2019 was a bit like 2015. There was a good energy in the squad. We went into the World Cup following a very good year. We won the European title, the Mundialito, and we were very confident. Our players were in very good form and fortunately we played a great tournament and emerged victorious.

How did it feel when you were named Best Player at the Beach Soccer Stars Gala in Dubai?
A little bit of everything was passing through my head. Everything that I had dreamed of since I was a kid, worked towards. It was the realisation of a dream. I knew I was making constant progress, year after year, and that year was really memorable because all the sacrifices I had made were worth it. I had a lot of pressure on my shoulders in 2019, so to win the Best Player award was an amazing feeling. There are so many great players in the world, so it was very rewarding.

You had two serious knee injuries and came close to retiring in 2021, right?
Yes. It wasn’t just down to the injury, but also to trying to cope with it mentally. I’d had a wonderful year in 2019 and then, in my first competition in 2020, that happened to my knee. At first I was calm. I thought, ‘It happens. I’ll recover’, but I seemed to suffer setback after setback. I had to undergo another operation. It didn’t go well. I was doing everything I could to no avail. I was asking myself, ‘Why can’t I get back in shape? Why am I in pain? Why did this happen to me?’ It was very tough mentally, but thanks to my family and closest friends, who didn’t let me give up, I was able to believe the sacrifice would be worth it in the long run. Now I’m recovered. I still have a couple of limitations, but I feel in good shape for the World Cup.