The famous Ipanema Beach in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro was all bikinis and ball skills last weekend for the all-girl beach soccer event Red Bull Roda de Bola.
The Grammy-winning song Girl from Ipanema has showed up in everything from The Simpsons and Monty Python’s Flying Circus to House MD and The West Wing. Frank Sinatra is just one of the famous names to sing “Tall and tan and young and lovely, the girl from Ipanema goes walking.”
What Old Blue Eyes failed to include in his version of the song was that the Girl from Ipanema was probably kicking a football as she went by. How else can you explain the result from last weekend’s Red Bull Roda de Bola on Ipanema Beach?
For the first Roda de Bola (Wheel Ball) Championships, 32 of the most skilful beach soccer players were invited to Rio de Janeiro to show off their talents. In a twist on the traditions of Brazilian beach soccer, all of the participants were female.
The 32 were divided into eight teams of four and given the name of one of Rio’s best beaches. At the start of the tournament. we had Team Copacabana and seven other quartets lining up to become the new queens of beach soccer.
For each round, the teams performed a six-minute spell of passing skill with points given for style, creativity and technique. The most important thing to remember in Roda de Bola is keeping the ball off the ground.
'Some like to give the ball a good thump, while others prefer my tactic of a more controlled approach' – Josi Alves
In an effort to keep the ball in the air, all of the teams displayed a cushion touch with both feet, some swift knee work, outrageous use of their shoulders as well as some acrobatic headers to keep the move flowing.
Once the competition reached the final we were down to just two teams, Team Ipanema and Team Leme. It was Team Ipanema, made-up of Karina Vela, Fabrina Vinhaes, Josi Alves and Jimena Leon, who were fancied to win after imposing themselves on the competition from the first round.
The hosts did not disappoint as they put on a staggering display of close control and audacious skill to beat Team Leme in a tight contest which finished 29.2 to 29.0.
Team Ipanema’s talisman Karina Vela is fast developing into a star name on the Brazil beach soccer circuit and was pleased with how her team adapted to the conditions.
“In the beginning of the tournament, we tried some overly ambitious combinations, but we soon realised the best tactic was to relax. After that, we just concentrated on doing what we do best, keeping the ball off the ground. It’s great to get the win.”
On hand to coach Team Ipanema at Red Bull Roda de Bola was beach football legend Josi Alves.
'To see their strength and talent with the ball was awesome' – Bernardo 'Rasta' Braga
“Some like to give the ball a good thump and get it in the air, while others prefer my tactic of a more controlled approach. All the different styles in our team combined to bring home a great victory.”
Special recognition must also go to Renata Bustamante, Polyanna Formozinho, Raissa Spinelli and Fabíola Bras, who represented Team Leme, and also Renata Dannemann of Team Leblon who won the tournament’s MVP prize.
Sitting on the judges’ panel for Red Bull Roda de Bola at Ipanema Beach were a trio of well known Brazilian celebrities. Giving points for style was television presenter Dani Miller, surfer Carlos Burle rated creativity, while Thai boxer Bernardo ‘Rasta’ Braga assessed each team’s technique.
After getting a good look at the talent on display, Braga was mightily impressed with what he saw on his trip to the beach.
“I’m shocked by the performance of these girls. At first, it was just their beauty which got me excited, but then to see their strength and talent with the ball was awesome.”
When Charlie Miller brought the first football to Brazil in 1888, he could hardly have imagined something so pleasing to the eye would be happening over a hundred years later…
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Fabio Piva/Red Bull Photofiles
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