There’s an official FIFA store in the fanzone here. Loads of kit you can buy anywhere in the world but also a few things that seem hard to find. Like balls. Picked out an inexpensive one so we’d have something to kick around on the beach and we finally got around to it yesterday.
It was busy down there as it was the weekend and there’d barely been a cloud all day. A sidewalk sign told us it was 31C. “Right. No running. Just keep ups in a circle or ill be gassed in 10 minutes.” I’d already been to the beach for an hour earlier in the day.
Found a patch of sand just in behind the incline leading down to the water. Nice, easy start but quickly into our full array of cliched heels, shoulders tricks.
Not five minutes, a guy from LA joins us with the introduction of “I’ve had too much to drink for this.” He wasn’t bad though and stayed another five minutes after his friends bailed. Next in was a guy from Venezuela. Said his name was Juan, spent some time in Toronto. Nuke goes, “Juan from Venezuela? Like the guy in the Bachelorette?” Gets looks from Colin and I. “My wife watches it!”
Turns out the guy on the show was his cousin.
We’re soon joined by three Brazilians. Two came as a pair and were full jink ninjas. One managed three bikes and, in the process, nailed more beach goers with the ball than the rest of us combined. He even pinged some guy’s phone out of his hand (was staring at it of course so didnt see the ball coming). They both had a laugh and handshake over that. Not sure it would’ve gone over as well at Kits Beach.
Now the other Brazilian was a bit older than the other two. Early 30’s, looked grizzled but super happy to join us. Built a bit like Maradona. This guy could play. The ball went to him and every touch was spot on. He was our Mr. Dependable. Ball rarely met sand when he was involved.
A German joined us and an American, fully decked in red, white and blue in advance of the USA v Portugal game. Another Brazilian and a few whose nationalities I never caught. It was pretty great. The ball really does unite.
We played for an hour or so with some coming and going. I checked out for a few minutes to cool down in the ocean. Colin and Nuke then did the same and decided to walk the beach after. That brought us down to five and Mr Dependable started with, “Jogo? Jogo?”, nodding his head. I thought we were winding down and a couple cold beers were in my very near future but the other Brazilians were already cobbling goals together with sticks and, wait for it, fallen coconuts. We used coconuts as goal posts in our 3v3 game on the beach in Brazil and this was the one time I left my phone back in the room so I couldn’t get any pictures.
They talked Chris, the American, into rejoining and it was game on. Besides Mr Dependable, I was twice the age of the others and naturally I managed to get the lazy Brazilian on my squad. I will say this though: I got a meg in. On a Brazilian. On his home beach. In 31 degrees. The quality of the meg is immaterial. Whether I actually got the ball on the other side is likewise inconsequential really. My long term memory has this down as: meg on Brazilian, entire beach watching and cheering me, people buying me drinks afterwards.
30 seconds after my wunder-meg, I was daggered. Subbed myself out and watched. It was a stunning setting to be playing in and it was a great day among many on this trip. I felt and feel very fortunate.
When the game wrapped up, it was handshakes and good byes. Nuke had managed to get back in time to participate despite still having a big red mark on his ankle from our previous beach soccer game in Salvador.
A regular day at the beach for the Brazilians, a very memorable one for us.
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