Michael Jordan drove his hulking frame east then, with the agility and balance of a ballerina, suddenly shifted west. His bodyguard Bryon Russell \u2013 wrong-footed \u2013 fell back helplessly. The Brooklynite duly dispatched, with 5.2 seconds on the clock, the jumper that snatched the Chicago Bulls a stunning 87-86 victory over the Utah Jazz and an historic three-peat.<\/p>\n
It is arguably the most esteemed play in NBA history, the \u2018The Last Shot\u2019 of \u2018The Last Dance\u2019, the final act of Jordan\u2019s immortal career in the red of the Bulls.<\/p>\n
Innumerable awestruck kids grew up watching the six-time NBA MVP\u2019s legendary ankle-breakers. One recently pulled a couple of his own to considerable fanfare. He was, however, a long way from \u2018The House that Jordan Built\u2019 and on a different type of court.<\/p>\n
Arthur executed supersonic step-overs rather than entrancing cross-overs to leave not one but two opponents on their backsides during the recent Futsal Copa America. And like Jordan, his contribution was far from limited to crowd-thrilling. The 29-year-old chipped in with assists, finished as its joint-top scorer, was lauded by coach Marquinhos Xavier for his magnificent defensive contribution, and inspired Brazil to end their drought against arch-enemies Argentina and win the title.<\/p>\n
If the man from Uberlandia \u2013 the birthplace of Neto, scorer of the sensational goal that snatched Brazil FIFA Futsal World Cup\u2122 glory in 2012 \u2013 was a frightening prospect at Lithuania 2021, he will head to Uzbekistan 2024 as one of the sport\u2019s most devastating performers.<\/p>\n
How was your first experience at the FIFA Futsal World Cup in 2021?
\nArthur: Unique, wonderful. I had never experienced anything like it. So many Brazilians would have loved to be there. I was really grateful and honoured to have the opportunity. I was a little bit nervous going into the World Cup, but it was unforgettable. To be there, to hear the national anthem, to represent your country is a source of great pride. Personally and professionally, it was an incredible experience.<\/p>\n
Do you follow basketball and how did it feel to pull off two ankle-breakers at the Copa America?
\n(laughs) Yes, I follow basketball. I was a big Michael Jordan fan. As for my ankle-breakers, it’s my style of play! I\u2019ve always had a knack for step-overs. I like to dribble, go at opponents. The step-overs are a weapon of mine and, at the Copa America, they came off to good effect.<\/p>\n
Two hat-tricks for Benfica this season, another at the Copa America. You\u2019ve become somewhat of a treble specialist\u2026
\nI\u2019m just trying to do my job. I never go out thinking about scoring a hat-trick. I always try to create chances for others and, when the opportunities come, try to take advantage of them. This season it\u2019s obviously been nice though. If my hat-tricks help my club and my country, then I hope I can continue to score them!<\/p>\n
Brazil had lost three straight games against Argentina. How important was it to beat them twice at the Copa America?
\nIt was, without doubt, really important. The Sele\u00e7\u00e3o are obliged to win every game. As you said, we\u2019d lost to Argentina three times running: in the World Cup, the Copa America and the [World Cup] qualifiers. For Brazil, it\u2019s bad enough to lose three times running to anyone, but Brazil against Argentina is a derby, a huge game globally, it carries extra weight. We felt that extra pressure on us in the group stage. Fortunately we played well and won, and we beat Argentina again in the final. Argentina are one of the very best teams in the world. They were definitely two huge victories for us.<\/p>\n
You\u2019ve always been one of the most creative players around, but now you\u2019re scoring even more prolifically and have improved a lot defensively. Do you think you\u2019re in the best form of your career?
\nYes. I think I\u2019m come on so much since the last World Cup \u2013 on and off the court. I think I\u2019m a lot better mentally, defensively and on the ball. I\u2019ve worked hard on improving my understanding and reading of the game. I\u2019m creating goals, scoring goals, helping my teams. I think I\u2019m in the most fruitful phase of my career.<\/p>\n
Portugal have dominated futsal in recent years. Who do you regard as the better team right now: Portugal or Brazil?
\nI can\u2019t argue that Portugal have dominated futsal in recent years, but if I had to pick who is the best team right now, I\u2019d say Brazil. Portugal have outstanding players and a great side, and so do we. The last twice we\u2019ve played them, we\u2019ve won, so I\u2019d go with Brazil and hopefully we can prove this at the World Cup.<\/p>\n
Do you believe this will be Brazil\u2019s year?
\nI believe so. I think we had what it takes to win the last World Cup. Unfortunately, we lost a very close game and that was it. That\u2019s futsal. But I think the Sele\u00e7\u00e3o are better now than we were three years ago. I think a lot of our key players are even better. We have a great coach, great players in all positions, and in terms of pivots we have an embarrassment of riches.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Michael Jordan drove his hulking frame east then, with the agility and balance of a ballerina, suddenly shifted west. His bodyguard Bryon Russell \u2013 wrong-footed \u2013 fell back helplessly. The Brooklynite duly dispatched, with 5.2 seconds on the clock, the jumper that snatched the Chicago Bulls a stunning 87-86 victory over the Utah Jazz and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":956652,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20966],"tags":[9648,27192],"class_list":["post-956651","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\/956651","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=956651"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/91varzeshi.ir\/portal\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/956651\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/91varzeshi.ir\/portal\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/956652"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/91varzeshi.ir\/portal\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=956651"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/91varzeshi.ir\/portal\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=956651"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/91varzeshi.ir\/portal\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=956651"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}