Courtesy: The Northern Star


Workers star reveals plans

by Joshua Spasaro

7th April 2011

THROUGH his futsal nous, Lismore Workers' Brazilian recruit Vinicius De Carvahlo Leite is helping to change the way soccer is played locally.

De Carvahlo Leite came to Australia midway through last year to take up a job as director of coaching and junior development for Futsal Far North Coast.

The elusive Brazilian star believes spreading the gospel of the indoor game will greatly assist Far North Coast premier league soccer players.

“I grew up in Brazil where everyone plays futsal,” De Carvahlo Leite said.

“It's a great game for soccer players because you play on a smaller area indoors so you need to play and react to things a lot quicker.

“Lots of international stars played futsal including Ronaldo and Ronaldinho before they played for Brazil.”

De Carvahlo Leite won a National League title in futsal with Atletico Mineiro in 2001 as well as four State titles in his homeland.

And in his top-grade debut for Workers on Saturday against Pottsville, De Carvahlo Leite made a strong impression as a Premier League player.

The Workers attacking ace scored from a diving header to put his side up 4-0 during the Lismore club's dominant 6-0 win.

De Carvahlo's flair delighted coach Scott Collis.

“It was a great moment for the club when he scored and all the guys crowded around him to celebrate it,” Collis said.

“I have a lot of respect for Vinnie and he was impressive for us ... it was a sign of things to come.”

Collis said having De Carvahlo at Workers had been a massive boost for the club.

“Vinnie has a great relationship with our younger players and wants to develop them as futsal players,” he said.

“We'll start seeing the benefits of this on the field soon.

“Vinnie's very fast, gets a lot of touches on the ball and because of his futsal background he knows a lot of nice little tricks and flicks.”

De Carvahlo Leite has enjoyed his time teaching futsal basics to an estimated 2000 aspiring players in northern NSW towns including Lismore, Tamworth and Glen Innes but he is far from finished.

“It's been a challenge for me because in Brazil everyone knows futsal,” he said.

“Here, a lot of kids haven't heard of the game so I've had to show them the rules.

“Hopefully soon there will be over 5000 futsal players through northern NSW.”


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