Courtesy: Wauchope Gazette


Lewis keen to return to Brazil

by Peter Daniels

15 Jul, 2010

WAUCHOPE'S Jack Lewis says he is keen to return to Brazil after touring the South American country with the Australian Vikings Under 16s representative futsal side.

Lewis has just returned after a 20 day tour with the side but the process for selection in the 2011 touring squad begins in earnest in September this year.

"I really want to get selected again for the Brazil tour," the young soccer player said.

"The selection trials begin on the Gold Coast in September where I will be playing with the Northern NSW side. The 2011 tour will return to Brazil and the following year the squad will tour China.

"Playing overseas against other countries helps you develop your skills during the two hour a day training sessions and the eight games in total we played.

"While we lost six games we still came away from the tour with two wins ... I was lucky enough to play in all eight games. So I was really happy with that."

While the tour was heavily weighted in favour of training and playing, Lewis said he was still able to do some sightseeing and also catch a soccer game between Brazilian heavyweights and arch-rivals Sao Paulo and Cruzeiro.

"It was really a highlight ... there was singing and dancing and chanting ... it was great. The away team (Cruzeiro) won though so the Sao Paulo supporters near us weren't very happy," Lewis said.

"The tour guides were fantastic to, because they helped us overcome the language barrier which helped us really enjoy the tour.

"It was a bit of a shock for me, Brazil is a third world country with people selling oranges on the side of the road just to make a living."

The other shock for the youngster was the 32 hour travel time which included stop overs in Chile and Sao Paulo before a six hour bus ride to their home base.

The final day included a game of beach soccer and beach volleyball on Rio de Janeiro's main beach.

The young soccer player said he wants to concentrate on futsal but will continue to play the outdoor version of the game with the Wauchope Club after spending consecutive seasons in the tough Newcastle age competition winning a grand final and reaching the semi finals before being eliminated.


Posted by Luca Ranocchiari --> luca.ranocchiari@futsalplanet.com