Falcão: World's best futsal player
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Arguable as the world's finest futsal player, Alessandro Rosa Vieira, also known as Falcão, is trying to grab the one title missing from his glittering collection of honours.
The one title that still eludes him is the FIFA Futsal World Cup. The Brazilian star has come close twice to world glory, only to see his dreams dashed on both occasions by the same team.
Amazingly, the Seleção suffered virtually the same fate at Chinese Taipei 2004. He scored 13 goals but saw the Spanish dash his team's hopes again, this time in a penalty shoot-out in the semi-final.
But this time, they will fight harder for the title as the tournament is held in their home soil.
At the 2008 FIFA Futsal World Cup, Falcão and Co. have won their first two group matches over Iran and Italy, and they are practically through to the last four.
And as the Seleção prepare for their bid to win back futsal's biggest trophy, Falcão is ready to sacrifice all his dazzling tricks just to get his hands on the trophy again.
He told FIFA.com: "Brazilian futsal is entertaining and exciting, and no one's going to change that. But our main objective here is to win. We know there will be times during this World Cup when 1-0 is enough."
The 31-year-old is known for his flashy and impressive dribbling skills and a powerful and accurate left foot.
The 2004 FIFA Best Futsal Player has fulfilled one of his ambitions by switching to the conventional 11-a-side game and joining one of the Brazilian giants São Paulo.
On a brief spell with São Paulo in 2005, he won the Paulista Championship and the Libertadores Cup before returned to futsal with Malwee / Jaraguá.
Full name: Alessandro Rosa Vieira
Date of birth: June 8, 1977
Place of birth: São Paulo, Brazil
Height: 1.77 m
Weight: 74 kg
Position: Forward
Club: Malwee / Jaraguá
Also see:
The one title that still eludes him is the FIFA Futsal World Cup. The Brazilian star has come close twice to world glory, only to see his dreams dashed on both occasions by the same team.
His first near-miss came at Guatemala 2000, where he bagged 6 goals but failed to score in the final as Brazil lost 4-3 to Spain.
Amazingly, the Seleção suffered virtually the same fate at Chinese Taipei 2004. He scored 13 goals but saw the Spanish dash his team's hopes again, this time in a penalty shoot-out in the semi-final.
But this time, they will fight harder for the title as the tournament is held in their home soil.
And as the Seleção prepare for their bid to win back futsal's biggest trophy, Falcão is ready to sacrifice all his dazzling tricks just to get his hands on the trophy again.
He told FIFA.com: "Brazilian futsal is entertaining and exciting, and no one's going to change that. But our main objective here is to win. We know there will be times during this World Cup when 1-0 is enough."
The 31-year-old is known for his flashy and impressive dribbling skills and a powerful and accurate left foot.
The 2004 FIFA Best Futsal Player has fulfilled one of his ambitions by switching to the conventional 11-a-side game and joining one of the Brazilian giants São Paulo.
On a brief spell with São Paulo in 2005, he won the Paulista Championship and the Libertadores Cup before returned to futsal with Malwee / Jaraguá.
Full name: Alessandro Rosa Vieira
Date of birth: June 8, 1977
Place of birth: São Paulo, Brazil
Height: 1.77 m
Weight: 74 kg
Position: Forward
Club: Malwee / Jaraguá
Also see:
