We publish this interesting article coming from Milwakee, where the former Malwee/Jaraguà's young flank Márcio Rodrigo Santos Leite, known as Marcio Sergipano during his experience in the Catarinense club (in order not to be mistaken with one of the Malwee's stars Marcio [Francisco Márcio Menezes de Souza]) has signed a contract with the professional MISL (Indoor Soccer, played 6vs6, with boards) club Milwakee Wave coached by the US Futsal National team trainer Keith Tozer.




Courtesy: Milwakee Journal Sentinel


Playing the beautiful game

Wave excited about Brazilian forward

By CHARLES F. GARDNER
cgardner@journalsentinel.com

Dec. 27, 2006

He's Brazilian, he's 22 years old and he does amazing things with a soccer ball.

And Marcio Leite just might be the next big thing for the Milwaukee Wave.

"He's got all the tools to be a very good player," Wave coach Keith Tozer said, "and if he continues to work and learn, he can be an all-star player. Then it's really up to him to determine how far he wants to go.

"I love watching him play. He's got flair, and that's what this league needs."

Leite's speed and technical skills are eye-popping, indeed, and he is adjusting quickly in his first year in the United States and as a Major Indoor Soccer League player.

Opposing teams have caught on, too, and are pushing, grabbing and doing whatever they can to make it uncomfortable for the 6-foot, 180-pound forward.

"He's learning the physical part of the game," Tozer said. "He can take a hit; he just needs to know when it's going to come. In futsal there's no tackling and pounding."

Leite grew up playing futsal, the five-a-side game played on a basketball-style court that is deeply ingrained in the Brazilian culture. He started playing at age 6 in his hometown of Aracaju, the capital city of Brazil's smallest state, Sergipe.

By the age of 16, Leite was playing for an adult team, and he eventually joined Malwee, one of the top futsal clubs in Brazil and the 2004 South American champion.

Former Wave player Vava, who had seen Leite play, strongly recommended him to Tozer. And Vava, an assistant to Tozer with the U.S. national futsal team, encouraged the young player to give the North American indoor game a try.

"Vava said, 'You you need to come here; you can be very good in this game,' " Leite recalled. "He said, 'You have much skill and you can adjust yourself quickly, so he convinced me. But my first day when I saw all those big guys, I said, 'Oh my gosh, they will kill me.' "

Leite has a respectable total of four goals and five assists (13 points) over the Wave's first nine games, and he scored a hat trick in an exhibition victory over a St. Louis team last week. But the true test will come in the final two-thirds of the season.

He is taking a regular shift in the second forward rotation, alternating with league scoring leader Greg Howes and former Brookfield East star and second-year pro Brett Wiesner. The Wave will be back in action on Sunday in the annual New Year's Eve game, meeting the Philadelphia Kixx at 4 p.m. at the U.S. Cellular Arena.

"Marcio is great on the ball," Wiesner said. "He didn't play a lot of outdoor (soccer), but that futsal background is beneficial. He's used to playing in tight spaces, and he very rarely loses the ball."

The Wave has had other Brazilian players on its roster in recent years, including Ricardinho and Hewerton, both still in the league and playing with the Detroit Ignition.

Stardom is not assured in the MISL simply because a player comes from Brazil. A difficult adjustment must be made to the physical style of play, the boards and a different set of rules.

But Tozer is impressed enough with Leite and another Brazilian on his team, midfielder Marcelo Santos, to think of signing more players from the futbol-crazed nation. And Leite said he knows of "10 or 20" players who could do the same things he is doing.

"We're going down there in May with the national (futsal) team and again in July for the Pan American Games," Tozer said. "I might open a bureau. I asked Marcio if his brother played, and he said no, but he said his sister does.

"This kid is also a very smart soccer player. The Brazilians play all the time, on the beach, in the streets, they play pickup games. If you go to Sao Paulo or Rio de Janiero, instead of basketball courts everywhere, it's futsal courts.

"They're just so comfortable with the ball. When a youth player is growing up in America, we're telling him to get rid of the ball quick, to pass and knock it downfield. They let players play out of trouble."

Leite said he is glad to have the 26-year-old Santos as a mentor and a roommate. Santos played with an outdoor team in Canada and has spent time in the U.S.

"If I'm going good, it's because of him," Leite said. "He's teaching me everything about another country and another culture. When we are at home, we are talking about the game. He's more experienced and can teach me a lot."

Leite said his father asked him not to play outdoor soccer but to concentrate on futsal, which left the talented player more time for his engineering studies. But Leite said his father supported his American venture.

"There are some moves I can bring, some stuff from futsal I can use," Leite said. "I think I am going good but still can do better."

Tozer had not seen Leite play prior to training camp, but the veteran Wave coach found Vava's scouting report to be accurate.

"He can take you on in the dribble, at speed, and that's what makes him really dangerous," Tozer said.

"Maybe he will be our staff coach for dribbling at soccer camps. He's just got a flair where he makes it up as it goes. Some players have one or two moves, but with him, it just comes."




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