In recording a thrilling 8-4 win over Japan, Brazil chalked up their 400th goal at the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup\u2122. A legend of the sport, Bruno Malias scored almost 10 per cent of these goals \u2013 \u06f3\u06f9 of them to be exact \u2013 making him the Sele\u00e7\u00e3o\u2019s leading marksman in the competition.<\/p>\n
In an interview with FIFA, the four-time champions was both surprised and proud when that statistic was revealed to him.<\/p>\n
\u201cWow, that\u2019s amazing,\u201d he said. \u201cIt does make me feel proud and it brings back memories of all the big moments, the great teams I played in and the World Cups we contested and won. It\u2019s all very nostalgic and there are some lovely and very positive memories there too. I gave my all to the game and I\u2019m delighted that I made that contribution to my country.\u201d<\/p>\n
Turning his attention to Brazil\u2019s class of 2024, one packed with individual talent and goalscoring potential, Bruno expressed belief in the collective strength of a side containing several friends of his and which is vying for the country\u2019s sixth FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup win.<\/p>\n
Citing Edson Hulk, Rodrigo, Alisson, Catarino, Filipe, Mauricinho and Bruno Xavier as Brazil\u2019s main goal threats, he said: \u201cWe have some excellent forwards. You have to remember also that beach soccer has a dynamic all of its own and that defenders can pop up in attack and score goals too.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve got Bobo and Teleco as well, two goalkeepers who are good with the ball at their feet. We\u2019re bringing all the latest developments into our game, and I think the fact we\u2019re a team and we\u2019re united is where Brazil\u2019s strength lies. At the end of the day, though, it\u2019s the forwards who are responsible for getting the goals, and they\u2019re doing their bit in that respect.\u201d<\/p>\n
While he is no clairvoyant, Bruno is thrilled to see the Sele\u00e7\u00e3o on song and believes they are edging closer to a coveted sixth crown, which would go some way to making up for the failure of their footballing counterparts to win a sixth FIFA World Cup\u2122 in Qatar.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt would be great and I believe they can do it,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m a big believer in this generation. I think the time has come to make it six and to push for even more development of the sport in Brazil. That would allow us to continue with the process and have more beach soccer being played and more players. If we did that, we\u2019d have greater diversity in the squad, with players from all over country featuring in it. That\u2019s my dream.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sending a message full of pride to Brazil\u2019s current crop, Bruno said: \u201cBelieve it, guys! Keep showing the winning spirit we\u2019ve seen at this World Cup. Keep showing the same intent in defence and attack.<\/p>\n
\u201cKeep believing and fighting to the end, because there\u2019s glory in that, in fighting hard. You don\u2019t know if you\u2019re going to win or lose, but the things you can control are how much you fight and your commitment and attitude.\u201d<\/p>\n
If Brazil are to continue their trophy bid, they must overcome IR Iran in the semi-finals. The task will not be easy against a side that has just knocked out hosts United Arab Emirates.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s going to be a very difficult game, very tight,\u201d Bruno said. \u201cIran are a really strong team with a couple of excellent goalkeepers, and that gives them an edge in terms of numbers.\u201d<\/p>\n
In advancing to the semis, Brazil have improved on their last two World Cup campaigns, in 2019 and 2021, when they went out in the quarter-finals. Though a born winner, Bruno knows that sometimes the best lessons in life are learned in defeat.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a generation that has learned a lot in losing,\u201d he explained. \u201cThey\u2019re winners but the Sele\u00e7\u00e3o has been on a losing streak in the last few years and that\u2019s made them better able to deal with adversity. When you look at how the sport has developed outside Brazil in the last few years, it\u2019s something we need to recognise.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou win and lose in both sport and life, right? The same goes for beach soccer. You win or you lose (laughs). What matters is knowing what to do when you lose and to learn from it. It\u2019s easier to learn when you win, of course, but when you lose it teaches you a lot too. And we\u2019ve managed to learn and are now back among the contenders again.\u201d<\/p>\n
The sport has changed greatly since Brazil won their first Beach Soccer World Cup, in 2006, and while that has created problems for them, Bruno believes it has only added to the appeal of the game: \u201cMatches are more closely contested now. There\u2019s more intensity, and it\u2019s a better spectacle and more acrobatic.\u201d<\/p>\n
While the defeat to IR Iran brought frowns to the faces of United Arab Emirates fans, Bruno, who was their assistant coach in 2019, had nothing but praise for a side that reached the knockout phase for the first time and is staging the tournament for the second time, 15 years after the first.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re continuing to support beach soccer,\u201d he said. \u201cI experienced what those boys have and I believe Dubai and the UAE have more to give to the game, like setting up a league, which is the next step.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I have to congratulate them all the same, and I\u2019m very happy for them. Congratulations to the head coach, Victor [Vasques]. And congratulations also to the captain, Walid [Mohammad], who\u2019s an ambassador for beach soccer.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have some great memories of the time I spent in Dubai. I built up a wonderful family there and being able to see the world in a different way was really important for my personal growth. I worked hard to make sure things were a bit quieter behind the scenes so that the boys could go about their work and play in a calmer environment. I hope their performance here provides a boost for the sport across the Arab world.\u201d<\/p>\n
In his capacity as an assistant coach, Bruno played a part in the impressive development of Emirati beach soccer. \u201cI\u2019m glad they\u2019ve grasped it and they\u2019re keeping the faith to the end, fighting, giving their all and doing it with self-belief,\u201d he said with pride in his voice. \u201cI think we drummed that mindset into them and they\u2019ve put it into practice. We left a legacy there.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In recording a thrilling 8-4 win over Japan, Brazil chalked up their 400th goal at the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup\u2122. A legend of the sport, Bruno Malias scored almost 10 per cent of these goals \u2013 \u06f3\u06f9 of them to be exact \u2013 making him the Sele\u00e7\u00e3o\u2019s leading marksman in the competition. In an […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":947011,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20966],"tags":[9648,27192],"class_list":["post-947009","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fifa-news","tag-fifa","tag-fifa-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/91varzeshi.ir\/portal\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/947009","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\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/91varzeshi.ir\/portal\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=947009"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/91varzeshi.ir\/portal\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/947009\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/91varzeshi.ir\/portal\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/947011"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/91varzeshi.ir\/portal\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=947009"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/91varzeshi.ir\/portal\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=947009"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/91varzeshi.ir\/portal\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=947009"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}