Beach Soccer

After a few half-hearted kick arounds with kids on the beach, it was time for us to get involved in a proper game. Signing up for an inter-hostel match, we headed down to Copacabana for the match of the decade, Mellow Yellow v. Che Legarto.



We found a decent floodlit pitch with nets down on the beach and kicked off a thrilling 6-a-side match. Just two minutes in, I set up our big Irish striker, Rob, for an early lead, then tapped in myself to make it 2-0. This was going to be a walkover.



But after 10 minutes of running around in heavy sand, we were all sweating and panting heavily. How do the Brazilians play on this stuff?! One of the Aussie lads decided he´d had enough and wandered off back to the hostel. Che Legarto quickly came back into it, scoring 4 goals in quick succession as we struggled with a man down.

Doug was forced to come off the bench, where he was kicking back taking photos, and for a while it looked as though we would recover when he scored twice. Unfortunately, his goals were matched by Che Legarto, and the game finished 6-4. A disappointing first game, but at least we´d be fitter and more used to the sand for next time!