European 2022, From Ronaldo to Iniesta: the champions who passed from futsal

Unbelievable but true, the Phenomenon has started playing futsal … in goal. At the age of ten, in fact, Valqueire had the brilliant idea of ​​putting the young Luis Nazario from Lima between the goalposts. Clearly it did not last long, the time for some training, and everyone understood that the boy had to put the ball between his feet. First game: 4 goals against Vasco da Gama. Two years later, coach and talent scout Fernando Carvalho took him to Social Ramos, where his impact was nothing short of devastating: 166 goals this season. Then came 11-a-side football, the youth teams at San Cristovao, the explosion at Cruzeiro and the landing in Europe, and we know the rest of the story. But Ronaldo himself has always remembered how fundamental futsal was for his formation: “You need extremely good feet to play with them, because you have to beat your opponent in a small space. I loved playing on such a small pitch.”