Going into the 2008 finals, Brazil were without the great Manoel Tobias for the first time in 19 years, Spain had won back-to-back world titles, having overcome Brazil on both occasions, and boasted magnificent players such as Luis Amado, Kike Boned and Javi Rodriguez. Was the consensus that Spain had taken over as futsal\u2019s kings?<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/h4>\n<\/div>\nFirstly, Spain had a magnificent team. They had incredible individuals and, principally, played so well together tactically and technically. The top European teams are always on another level in this regard. We knew it would be really, really difficult to overcome Spain. Perhaps others felt that they had the advantage, but personally I felt we had something they didn\u2019t: the support. I think we had an excellent coach, great players, we played really well as a team and the supporters made a difference.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.ipna.ir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Spain-players-celebrate-scoring-at-the-FIFA-Futsal-World-Cup-in-2008.webp\")
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\nBrazil had terrible fortune with injuries throughout the competition\u2026<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/h4>\n<\/div>\nYou can\u2019t control injuries. At a World Cup you have so many intense, high-pressure games \u2013 one after the other. We sustained one injury, then another, then another. When Falcao got injured \u2013 he was only able to play a few minutes in the final \u2013 PC had already prepared us for it. We had to remain totally focused. What it meant was that everybody else, despite some players carrying knocks and having played more minutes than they were used to, had to step up and give extra. We all shared the same mindset: let\u2019s do whatever it takes to overcome this hurdle and win the world title.<\/p>\n
Was it pre-arranged that if a Brazil game went to penalties, you would go on for the shootout?<\/strong><\/p>\n(laughs)<\/em> What happened was madness. I\u2019d already been first-choice goalkeeper at the World Cup. Tiago hadn\u2019t. At your first World Cup you simply don\u2019t sleep. Not that I slept really well, because we\u2019d lost the last two World Cups to Spain, but I was less anxious than Tiago. We weren\u2019t allowed mobile phones and the telephones in our rooms were all disconnected because PC wanted us to be 100 per cent concentrated. I was rooming with Tiago. Our phone hadn\u2019t rung the whole time, but suddenly it rang. We both looked at it, puzzled, and I said, \u2018Please answer it\u2019. He did and said, \u2018Franklin, it\u2019s for you\u2019. People don\u2019t know about this, but PC was annoyed with me because I hadn\u2019t gone to play for his team Ulbras. He wouldn\u2019t even speak to me at training sessions \u2013 only when it was absolutely necessary on the court. It was a guy called Wagner who, when I played in Italy, I\u2019d spoken to over messenger. He\u2019d found out what hotel we were staying in and, I have no idea how, but managed to get through to the room. He said, \u2018I\u2019m really sorry to bother you, but there\u2019s a woman here who wants to speak to you\u2019. I thought it was really strange that he\u2019d been able to get through, so I said, \u2018Ok, no problem\u2019. It was a woman who did voluntary work in the favela. She said, \u2018Look, I don\u2019t know you, I don\u2019t anything about the sport you play, but I\u2019ve dreamt about you the last two nights. I dreamt that tomorrow you will be used by God.\u2019 I said, \u2018But I won\u2019t even play \u2013 Tiago will be in goal\u2019. She insisted, \u2018Tomorrow you will be used by God\u2019. As soon as I got off the phone, Tiago turned to me and said, \u2018Franklin, in training I\u2019ve seen how well you\u2019re doing stopping penalties. If it goes to penalties, do you not want to go in goal?\u2019 My immediate thought was that I wouldn\u2019t be warmed up, that I wouldn\u2019t be in the rhythm of stopping shots. But because of what the woman had told me, I said, \u2018Ok, I\u2019ll do it\u2019. Then I thought, \u2018Damn, how will I tell PC this? He\u2019s already angry with me\u2019.<\/p>\n\nHow did you feel during the game?<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/h4>\n<\/div>\nUsually, when you\u2019re a reserve goalkeeper, you\u2019re relaxed on the bench. But because the woman had told me I would be used by God, I stayed full concentrated. I really didn\u2019t want to go on, I was desperate for us to win without me, but I believed that in some way I would end up going on. I was dreading having to tell PC, but when Spain equalised, I got up, summoned the courage and told him, \u2018If it goes to penalties I\u2019m going on\u2019. He stared at me, shocked and angry, and said, \u2018Ah, yeah?\u2019 He called me every swear word possible! (laughs). He didn\u2019t stop me, though. It would have been easy to stop me. I was in the squad because PC rated me, trusted me. As soon as the final whistle sounded, Tiago ran up to me for me to go on. I could still hear PC swearing at me! I said, \u2018Thiago, have a few shots at me, I need to feel the ball\u2019. He did and I ran on.<\/p>\n
\nBrazil had lost the last two World Cups to Spain, the Maracanazinho was packed with futsal-impassioned Brazilians, you\u2019d risked the wrath of PC\u2026 you must have felt the weight of the world on your shoulders?<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/h4>\n<\/div>\nI\u2019ll be totally honest with you: if it was just Franklin, given everything you just said and the fact my family were all there, I don\u2019t think I\u2019d have been up to it. But because of what that woman had told me, I knew God was with me. When I saved the penalty from Torras, I thought, \u2018Thank God we\u2019re going to be world champions\u2019. Ari was our best penalty taker \u2013 that\u2019s why he was on the last one. When Ari missed, I walked back into the goal, opened my arms and said, \u2018God, make the ball hit me\u2019. And something crazy: she helped Brazil win the World Cup, but I\u2019ve never met the woman who called me. Maybe if she reads this she will get in touch.<\/p>\n
\nHow did it feel to become a world champion?<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/h4>\n<\/div>\nI have goosebumps now just thinking about it. Wow. It\u2019s hard to even put into words. Coming from where I\u2019m from, becoming a world champion is highly improbable. It was a feeling of great relief \u2013 Brazil hadn\u2019t won the World Cup for 12 years and we were playing in front of our people, we desperately didn\u2019t want to let them down \u2013 an indescribable joy. It was a heavenly moment.<\/p>\n
\nWhat were the celebrations like afterwards?<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/h4>\n<\/div>\nFirst \u2013 I\u2019ll never forget this \u2013 as soon as we went into the dressing room, PC gathered us together. He said, \u2018We\u2019ve dedicated ourselves and trained as hard as possible. We watched thousands of videos. We\u2019ve sweat beyond the realms of possibility. Despite all of this, we only managed to beat Spain on penalties. If we want to beat Spain again, we\u2019ll have to do even more\u2019. I think it was fundamental to us winning the next World Cup. PC was a genius. After that the celebrations were unforgettable. We went to a restaurant. There was us players, the coaching staff, our families, the TV crews and Ronaldo Fen\u00f4meno! Ronaldo Fen\u00f4meno, who is an icon for all of us, was thrilled. Can you imagine how that made us feel? I walked in the restaurant with my wife, he came\u00a0 over, gave me a big hug and said, \u2018Franklin, I need to get a photo with you\u2019. I said, \u2018You\u2019re joking me!? It\u2019s me who needs to get a photo with you!\u2019 He\u2019s such a humble guy and was really cool with all of us.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.ipna.ir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Brazil-celebrate-winning-the-FIFA-Futsal-World-Cup-at-the-Maracanazinho-in-2008.webp\")
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\nWhat did you think of Falcao as a player?<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/h4>\n<\/div>\nHe was on a different level. He did things that no other players from all over the world could pull off. He had ability that was off the chart. He had phenomenal talent. When he was playing for the team, you needed two, three players to match him. Falcao prepared, focused and playing for the team \u2013 added to his phenomenal talent \u2013 was unstoppable. I\u2019m very grateful I got to play alongside Falcao.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.ipna.ir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Falcao-celebrates-scoring-for-Brazil-in-2008.webp\")
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\nAre you confident Brazil can regain the FIFA Futsal World Cup title next year?<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/h4>\n<\/div>\nI think futsal has changed. I think before we had stars who were on a completely different level to the rest: Manoel Tobias, Falcao, Kike. I think nowadays it\u2019s more balanced. So many teams have lots of quality players. I\u2019ve been impressed with how Brazil have grown in recent years. I believe we can win the title, but it\u2019s also extremely difficult these days. In the past you had Argentina, Portugal always hitting the post [coming close to lifting trophies], but now they are winning titles. Iran are another team who have always had fantastic players and have the potential to win it.<\/p>\n
\nWho do you think if the best goalkeeper in the world right now?<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/h4>\n<\/div>\nGuitta. He\u2019s not only an excellent goalkeeper, but he also has something that I didn\u2019t: he\u2019s great with his feet.<\/p>\n
\nFinally, both your sons have become pro athletes. Do you think futsal has helped them with this?<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/h4>\n<\/div>\nI think they both got into sport because of futsal, because of my story. I think it\u2019s in their DNA. Matheus is a professional tennis player, he\u2019s already been on the ATP [Tour]. He\u2019s only 20. And Giovane is a professional beach tennis player. He played futsal, he trained with me. Returning a shot is kind of like saving a shot.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Franklin D. Roosevelt did more for American defence than any US president throughout history. He combatted the Great Depression with the curative New Deal and helped end the deadliest war in history. Fundamental to the latter was a telephone call between Roosevelt and British prime minister Winston Churchill \u2013 one enabled by a labyrinth system […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":886438,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20966],"tags":[9648,27535,26798],"class_list":["post-886412","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fifa-news","tag-fifa","tag-franklin","tag-ipna"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/91varzeshi.ir\/portal\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/886412","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/91varzeshi.ir\/portal\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/91varzeshi.ir\/portal\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/91varzeshi.ir\/portal\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/91varzeshi.ir\/portal\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=886412"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/91varzeshi.ir\/portal\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/886412\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/91varzeshi.ir\/portal\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/886438"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/91varzeshi.ir\/portal\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=886412"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/91varzeshi.ir\/portal\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=886412"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/91varzeshi.ir\/portal\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=886412"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
<\/p>\nBrazil had terrible fortune with injuries throughout the competition\u2026<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/h4>\n<\/div>\nYou can\u2019t control injuries. At a World Cup you have so many intense, high-pressure games \u2013 one after the other. We sustained one injury, then another, then another. When Falcao got injured \u2013 he was only able to play a few minutes in the final \u2013 PC had already prepared us for it. We had to remain totally focused. What it meant was that everybody else, despite some players carrying knocks and having played more minutes than they were used to, had to step up and give extra. We all shared the same mindset: let\u2019s do whatever it takes to overcome this hurdle and win the world title.<\/p>\n
Was it pre-arranged that if a Brazil game went to penalties, you would go on for the shootout?<\/strong><\/p>\n(laughs)<\/em> What happened was madness. I\u2019d already been first-choice goalkeeper at the World Cup. Tiago hadn\u2019t. At your first World Cup you simply don\u2019t sleep. Not that I slept really well, because we\u2019d lost the last two World Cups to Spain, but I was less anxious than Tiago. We weren\u2019t allowed mobile phones and the telephones in our rooms were all disconnected because PC wanted us to be 100 per cent concentrated. I was rooming with Tiago. Our phone hadn\u2019t rung the whole time, but suddenly it rang. We both looked at it, puzzled, and I said, \u2018Please answer it\u2019. He did and said, \u2018Franklin, it\u2019s for you\u2019. People don\u2019t know about this, but PC was annoyed with me because I hadn\u2019t gone to play for his team Ulbras. He wouldn\u2019t even speak to me at training sessions \u2013 only when it was absolutely necessary on the court. It was a guy called Wagner who, when I played in Italy, I\u2019d spoken to over messenger. He\u2019d found out what hotel we were staying in and, I have no idea how, but managed to get through to the room. He said, \u2018I\u2019m really sorry to bother you, but there\u2019s a woman here who wants to speak to you\u2019. I thought it was really strange that he\u2019d been able to get through, so I said, \u2018Ok, no problem\u2019. It was a woman who did voluntary work in the favela. She said, \u2018Look, I don\u2019t know you, I don\u2019t anything about the sport you play, but I\u2019ve dreamt about you the last two nights. I dreamt that tomorrow you will be used by God.\u2019 I said, \u2018But I won\u2019t even play \u2013 Tiago will be in goal\u2019. She insisted, \u2018Tomorrow you will be used by God\u2019. As soon as I got off the phone, Tiago turned to me and said, \u2018Franklin, in training I\u2019ve seen how well you\u2019re doing stopping penalties. If it goes to penalties, do you not want to go in goal?\u2019 My immediate thought was that I wouldn\u2019t be warmed up, that I wouldn\u2019t be in the rhythm of stopping shots. But because of what the woman had told me, I said, \u2018Ok, I\u2019ll do it\u2019. Then I thought, \u2018Damn, how will I tell PC this? He\u2019s already angry with me\u2019.<\/p>\n\nHow did you feel during the game?<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/h4>\n<\/div>\nUsually, when you\u2019re a reserve goalkeeper, you\u2019re relaxed on the bench. But because the woman had told me I would be used by God, I stayed full concentrated. I really didn\u2019t want to go on, I was desperate for us to win without me, but I believed that in some way I would end up going on. I was dreading having to tell PC, but when Spain equalised, I got up, summoned the courage and told him, \u2018If it goes to penalties I\u2019m going on\u2019. He stared at me, shocked and angry, and said, \u2018Ah, yeah?\u2019 He called me every swear word possible! (laughs). He didn\u2019t stop me, though. It would have been easy to stop me. I was in the squad because PC rated me, trusted me. As soon as the final whistle sounded, Tiago ran up to me for me to go on. I could still hear PC swearing at me! I said, \u2018Thiago, have a few shots at me, I need to feel the ball\u2019. He did and I ran on.<\/p>\n
\nBrazil had lost the last two World Cups to Spain, the Maracanazinho was packed with futsal-impassioned Brazilians, you\u2019d risked the wrath of PC\u2026 you must have felt the weight of the world on your shoulders?<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/h4>\n<\/div>\nI\u2019ll be totally honest with you: if it was just Franklin, given everything you just said and the fact my family were all there, I don\u2019t think I\u2019d have been up to it. But because of what that woman had told me, I knew God was with me. When I saved the penalty from Torras, I thought, \u2018Thank God we\u2019re going to be world champions\u2019. Ari was our best penalty taker \u2013 that\u2019s why he was on the last one. When Ari missed, I walked back into the goal, opened my arms and said, \u2018God, make the ball hit me\u2019. And something crazy: she helped Brazil win the World Cup, but I\u2019ve never met the woman who called me. Maybe if she reads this she will get in touch.<\/p>\n
\nHow did it feel to become a world champion?<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/h4>\n<\/div>\nI have goosebumps now just thinking about it. Wow. It\u2019s hard to even put into words. Coming from where I\u2019m from, becoming a world champion is highly improbable. It was a feeling of great relief \u2013 Brazil hadn\u2019t won the World Cup for 12 years and we were playing in front of our people, we desperately didn\u2019t want to let them down \u2013 an indescribable joy. It was a heavenly moment.<\/p>\n
\nWhat were the celebrations like afterwards?<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/h4>\n<\/div>\nFirst \u2013 I\u2019ll never forget this \u2013 as soon as we went into the dressing room, PC gathered us together. He said, \u2018We\u2019ve dedicated ourselves and trained as hard as possible. We watched thousands of videos. We\u2019ve sweat beyond the realms of possibility. Despite all of this, we only managed to beat Spain on penalties. If we want to beat Spain again, we\u2019ll have to do even more\u2019. I think it was fundamental to us winning the next World Cup. PC was a genius. After that the celebrations were unforgettable. We went to a restaurant. There was us players, the coaching staff, our families, the TV crews and Ronaldo Fen\u00f4meno! Ronaldo Fen\u00f4meno, who is an icon for all of us, was thrilled. Can you imagine how that made us feel? I walked in the restaurant with my wife, he came\u00a0 over, gave me a big hug and said, \u2018Franklin, I need to get a photo with you\u2019. I said, \u2018You\u2019re joking me!? It\u2019s me who needs to get a photo with you!\u2019 He\u2019s such a humble guy and was really cool with all of us.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\nWhat did you think of Falcao as a player?<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/h4>\n<\/div>\nHe was on a different level. He did things that no other players from all over the world could pull off. He had ability that was off the chart. He had phenomenal talent. When he was playing for the team, you needed two, three players to match him. Falcao prepared, focused and playing for the team \u2013 added to his phenomenal talent \u2013 was unstoppable. I\u2019m very grateful I got to play alongside Falcao.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\nAre you confident Brazil can regain the FIFA Futsal World Cup title next year?<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/h4>\n<\/div>\nI think futsal has changed. I think before we had stars who were on a completely different level to the rest: Manoel Tobias, Falcao, Kike. I think nowadays it\u2019s more balanced. So many teams have lots of quality players. I\u2019ve been impressed with how Brazil have grown in recent years. I believe we can win the title, but it\u2019s also extremely difficult these days. In the past you had Argentina, Portugal always hitting the post [coming close to lifting trophies], but now they are winning titles. Iran are another team who have always had fantastic players and have the potential to win it.<\/p>\n
\nWho do you think if the best goalkeeper in the world right now?<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/h4>\n<\/div>\nGuitta. He\u2019s not only an excellent goalkeeper, but he also has something that I didn\u2019t: he\u2019s great with his feet.<\/p>\n
\nFinally, both your sons have become pro athletes. Do you think futsal has helped them with this?<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/h4>\n<\/div>\nI think they both got into sport because of futsal, because of my story. I think it\u2019s in their DNA. Matheus is a professional tennis player, he\u2019s already been on the ATP [Tour]. He\u2019s only 20. And Giovane is a professional beach tennis player. He played futsal, he trained with me. Returning a shot is kind of like saving a shot.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Franklin D. Roosevelt did more for American defence than any US president throughout history. He combatted the Great Depression with the curative New Deal and helped end the deadliest war in history. Fundamental to the latter was a telephone call between Roosevelt and British prime minister Winston Churchill \u2013 one enabled by a labyrinth system […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":886438,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20966],"tags":[9648,27535,26798],"class_list":["post-886412","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fifa-news","tag-fifa","tag-franklin","tag-ipna"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/91varzeshi.ir\/portal\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/886412","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/91varzeshi.ir\/portal\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/91varzeshi.ir\/portal\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/91varzeshi.ir\/portal\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/91varzeshi.ir\/portal\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=886412"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/91varzeshi.ir\/portal\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/886412\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/91varzeshi.ir\/portal\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/886438"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/91varzeshi.ir\/portal\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=886412"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/91varzeshi.ir\/portal\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=886412"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/91varzeshi.ir\/portal\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=886412"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
(laughs)<\/em> What happened was madness. I\u2019d already been first-choice goalkeeper at the World Cup. Tiago hadn\u2019t. At your first World Cup you simply don\u2019t sleep. Not that I slept really well, because we\u2019d lost the last two World Cups to Spain, but I was less anxious than Tiago. We weren\u2019t allowed mobile phones and the telephones in our rooms were all disconnected because PC wanted us to be 100 per cent concentrated. I was rooming with Tiago. Our phone hadn\u2019t rung the whole time, but suddenly it rang. We both looked at it, puzzled, and I said, \u2018Please answer it\u2019. He did and said, \u2018Franklin, it\u2019s for you\u2019. People don\u2019t know about this, but PC was annoyed with me because I hadn\u2019t gone to play for his team Ulbras. He wouldn\u2019t even speak to me at training sessions \u2013 only when it was absolutely necessary on the court. It was a guy called Wagner who, when I played in Italy, I\u2019d spoken to over messenger. He\u2019d found out what hotel we were staying in and, I have no idea how, but managed to get through to the room. He said, \u2018I\u2019m really sorry to bother you, but there\u2019s a woman here who wants to speak to you\u2019. I thought it was really strange that he\u2019d been able to get through, so I said, \u2018Ok, no problem\u2019. It was a woman who did voluntary work in the favela. She said, \u2018Look, I don\u2019t know you, I don\u2019t anything about the sport you play, but I\u2019ve dreamt about you the last two nights. I dreamt that tomorrow you will be used by God.\u2019 I said, \u2018But I won\u2019t even play \u2013 Tiago will be in goal\u2019. She insisted, \u2018Tomorrow you will be used by God\u2019. As soon as I got off the phone, Tiago turned to me and said, \u2018Franklin, in training I\u2019ve seen how well you\u2019re doing stopping penalties. If it goes to penalties, do you not want to go in goal?\u2019 My immediate thought was that I wouldn\u2019t be warmed up, that I wouldn\u2019t be in the rhythm of stopping shots. But because of what the woman had told me, I said, \u2018Ok, I\u2019ll do it\u2019. Then I thought, \u2018Damn, how will I tell PC this? He\u2019s already angry with me\u2019.<\/p>\n Usually, when you\u2019re a reserve goalkeeper, you\u2019re relaxed on the bench. But because the woman had told me I would be used by God, I stayed full concentrated. I really didn\u2019t want to go on, I was desperate for us to win without me, but I believed that in some way I would end up going on. I was dreading having to tell PC, but when Spain equalised, I got up, summoned the courage and told him, \u2018If it goes to penalties I\u2019m going on\u2019. He stared at me, shocked and angry, and said, \u2018Ah, yeah?\u2019 He called me every swear word possible! (laughs). He didn\u2019t stop me, though. It would have been easy to stop me. I was in the squad because PC rated me, trusted me. As soon as the final whistle sounded, Tiago ran up to me for me to go on. I could still hear PC swearing at me! I said, \u2018Thiago, have a few shots at me, I need to feel the ball\u2019. He did and I ran on.<\/p>\n I\u2019ll be totally honest with you: if it was just Franklin, given everything you just said and the fact my family were all there, I don\u2019t think I\u2019d have been up to it. But because of what that woman had told me, I knew God was with me. When I saved the penalty from Torras, I thought, \u2018Thank God we\u2019re going to be world champions\u2019. Ari was our best penalty taker \u2013 that\u2019s why he was on the last one. When Ari missed, I walked back into the goal, opened my arms and said, \u2018God, make the ball hit me\u2019. And something crazy: she helped Brazil win the World Cup, but I\u2019ve never met the woman who called me. Maybe if she reads this she will get in touch.<\/p>\n I have goosebumps now just thinking about it. Wow. It\u2019s hard to even put into words. Coming from where I\u2019m from, becoming a world champion is highly improbable. It was a feeling of great relief \u2013 Brazil hadn\u2019t won the World Cup for 12 years and we were playing in front of our people, we desperately didn\u2019t want to let them down \u2013 an indescribable joy. It was a heavenly moment.<\/p>\n First \u2013 I\u2019ll never forget this \u2013 as soon as we went into the dressing room, PC gathered us together. He said, \u2018We\u2019ve dedicated ourselves and trained as hard as possible. We watched thousands of videos. We\u2019ve sweat beyond the realms of possibility. Despite all of this, we only managed to beat Spain on penalties. If we want to beat Spain again, we\u2019ll have to do even more\u2019. I think it was fundamental to us winning the next World Cup. PC was a genius. After that the celebrations were unforgettable. We went to a restaurant. There was us players, the coaching staff, our families, the TV crews and Ronaldo Fen\u00f4meno! Ronaldo Fen\u00f4meno, who is an icon for all of us, was thrilled. Can you imagine how that made us feel? I walked in the restaurant with my wife, he came\u00a0 over, gave me a big hug and said, \u2018Franklin, I need to get a photo with you\u2019. I said, \u2018You\u2019re joking me!? It\u2019s me who needs to get a photo with you!\u2019 He\u2019s such a humble guy and was really cool with all of us.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n He was on a different level. He did things that no other players from all over the world could pull off. He had ability that was off the chart. He had phenomenal talent. When he was playing for the team, you needed two, three players to match him. Falcao prepared, focused and playing for the team \u2013 added to his phenomenal talent \u2013 was unstoppable. I\u2019m very grateful I got to play alongside Falcao.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I think futsal has changed. I think before we had stars who were on a completely different level to the rest: Manoel Tobias, Falcao, Kike. I think nowadays it\u2019s more balanced. So many teams have lots of quality players. I\u2019ve been impressed with how Brazil have grown in recent years. I believe we can win the title, but it\u2019s also extremely difficult these days. In the past you had Argentina, Portugal always hitting the post [coming close to lifting trophies], but now they are winning titles. Iran are another team who have always had fantastic players and have the potential to win it.<\/p>\n Guitta. He\u2019s not only an excellent goalkeeper, but he also has something that I didn\u2019t: he\u2019s great with his feet.<\/p>\n I think they both got into sport because of futsal, because of my story. I think it\u2019s in their DNA. Matheus is a professional tennis player, he\u2019s already been on the ATP [Tour]. He\u2019s only 20. And Giovane is a professional beach tennis player. He played futsal, he trained with me. Returning a shot is kind of like saving a shot.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Franklin D. Roosevelt did more for American defence than any US president throughout history. He combatted the Great Depression with the curative New Deal and helped end the deadliest war in history. Fundamental to the latter was a telephone call between Roosevelt and British prime minister Winston Churchill \u2013 one enabled by a labyrinth system […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":886438,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20966],"tags":[9648,27535,26798],"class_list":["post-886412","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fifa-news","tag-fifa","tag-franklin","tag-ipna"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/91varzeshi.ir\/portal\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/886412","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/91varzeshi.ir\/portal\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/91varzeshi.ir\/portal\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/91varzeshi.ir\/portal\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/91varzeshi.ir\/portal\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=886412"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/91varzeshi.ir\/portal\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/886412\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/91varzeshi.ir\/portal\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/886438"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/91varzeshi.ir\/portal\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=886412"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/91varzeshi.ir\/portal\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=886412"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/91varzeshi.ir\/portal\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=886412"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}How did you feel during the game?<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/h4>\n<\/div>\n
Brazil had lost the last two World Cups to Spain, the Maracanazinho was packed with futsal-impassioned Brazilians, you\u2019d risked the wrath of PC\u2026 you must have felt the weight of the world on your shoulders?<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/h4>\n<\/div>\n
How did it feel to become a world champion?<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/h4>\n<\/div>\n
What were the celebrations like afterwards?<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/h4>\n<\/div>\n
<\/p>\nWhat did you think of Falcao as a player?<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/h4>\n<\/div>\n
<\/p>\nAre you confident Brazil can regain the FIFA Futsal World Cup title next year?<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/h4>\n<\/div>\n
Who do you think if the best goalkeeper in the world right now?<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/h4>\n<\/div>\n
Finally, both your sons have become pro athletes. Do you think futsal has helped them with this?<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/h4>\n<\/div>\n
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