True Futbol

The majority of the soccer games I played in Brazil weren't really soccer games. Most of the time my brother and I would find an open spot and start juggling a ball, like in the picture from my last post.

It was always a good time. We did little tricks and showed off for each other and sometimes made fun of each other. But this year we got the opportunity to play an actual soccer game on a turf field in the middle of the city. It was the night before we were heading home and some of the guys asked if we could come play. After some begging to our group leader, he allowed us to go. So we hopped in the car and went off. We pulled up to a complex I had seen all week. It was made up of a big building with two small soccer fields in front of it. 

The game was pretty simple, seven on a team and first to 2 wins. Our team was made up of 2 Americans and 5 Brazilians. One of the Brazilians even played semi-pro in Bauru. 

It was fun watching the new people come on the field and looking at my brother and me. We were big and tall strangers who could only speak a few words in Porteguese. Our teammates introduced us and we knew when they said where we were from because it always got a laugh. Again, the stereotype Americans suck at soccer. It didn't take long for them to realize we weren't the typical American. 

We played the most fun soccer game of our lives that night. 

It wasn't like American soccer. 

It was true futbol. It was smooth and elegant. Truly a beautiful game.