Mão and Bruno Xavier bid farewell to Brazil beach soccer team
Mão and Bruno Xavier bid farewell to Brazil beach soccer team Those who love beach soccer have grown used to spending Sunday mornings filled with excitement and beautiful goals. And this Sunday (29), the crowd that packed the arena set up on Meaípe beach, in Guarapari, Espírito Santo, got to relive that feeling. The match between the Brazilian National Team and the Espírito Santo State Team marked the farewell of two true legends of the sport: defender Bruno Xavier, a two-time world champion, and goalkeeper Mão, a five-time world champion as a player and once as a coordinator.
The game took place in front of a packed arena full of fans from across Espírito Santo who came to pay tribute to two great idols of the local sport. It was not the first time they had played before a large crowd, but the emotion was unique. Mão and his children during a tribute at the farewell match Credits: Gabriel Badaró “To imagine that a boy who lived on the streets could reach where I did, see the world, support his family through beach soccer, is very emotional.
It was 21 years defending this shirt with great pride and great honor. Today I experienced a different kind of emotion, in front of my children and my family. It will stay in my heart forever.
I’m deeply grateful to everyone on the coaching staff, to this group of players, with whom I played for many years, and to the CBF leadership, to the beach soccer director Mauro Carmélio, and manager Lavoisier Freire, for allowing me to have the privilege of officially ending my cycle with the National Team in my homeland,” said Mão, who wore jersey number 395, in reference to the number of matches he played for Brazil, where he scored 26 goals. Getting to share the field for the first time with his nephew Breno Xavier on the Brazilian National Team, after Breno was called up by coach Chicão Castelo Branco, idol Bruno Xavier wore jersey number 157 in honor of his number of appearances for the Seleção, and could not hold back his emotion when speaking about his farewell. Bruno Xavier celebrates his farewell goal for the National Team Credits: André Serrão / Click do Lance “I had to know how to separate what my heart wanted from what I needed to do.
Obviously I wanted to continue; I still have two years left on my contract with a club abroad, so I’ll keep playing. But I understood that my time with the national team had come to an end. Now it’s time to let these young talents shine.
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