The history of beach soccer

27 Jul 2016

Building on the growth of beach soccer in various parts of the world, the inaugural FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup was held in 2005, with Copacabana Beach providing an exotic backdrop to a tournament in which 11 sides lined up with hosts Brazil. A Verdeamarela set the tone for what would be a goal-filled competition on the sands of Rio, dispatching Thailand 9-2 in the opening match.

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27 Jul 2016

The inaugural beach soccer world finals threw up not one but two surprises, the first of them coming when Brazil lost on penalties to Portugal in the semi-finals. Immediately installed as favourites to win the trophy, the Portuguese were then on the wrong end of the second upset of the tournament, as France beat them in a shootout in the final on 15 May to become the maiden winners of the competition.

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27 Jul 2016

An adidas Golden Ball and adidas Golden Scorer winner at Rio de Janeiro 2005, Portugal’s Madjer repeated the feat a year later, at a tournament extended to 16 teams. The scorer of 21 goals at Rio de Janeiro 2006, the Portuguese star once again showed the world that he was in a class of his own on the sand. Even so, the No7’s outstanding talent was not enough to see his side past Brazil in the semis for a second year in a row, with Madjer and his team-mates having to settle for fourth after losing to the French in the match for third place.

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27 Jul 2016

Brazil dominated proceedings at the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Rio de Janeiro 2006 from start to finish. The scorers of 52 goals in their six matches, the hosts secured a string of big wins, including a 12-1 demolition of Canada in the quarter-finals. Facing Uruguay in the final on 12 November, they cruised to a 4-1 victory to embark on a four-year reign as world champions.

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27 Jul 2016

With Brazil in cruise control once more, the only question was who would step forward to challenge them in the final. The answer was not Madjer’s Portugal or Amarelle’s Spain but Mexico, a revelation on their tournament debut. Second in Group A behind the all-conquering hosts, El Tri stunned the Spanish in the last eight and then eased past Uruguay 5-2 in the semis. The Mexicans ran out of fuel in the final, however, falling to an 8-2 defeat to the defending champions.

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27 Jul 2016

A Verdeamarela demonstrated that their failure to win the inaugural tournament was a mere slip-up, showing that the Copacabana belonged to them and no-one else. Awarded the adidas Golden Ball and adidas Golden Scorer for his deeds, Buru was the spearhead of a dazzling Brazil side that made it two title wins in a row as the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup took its leave of Rio.

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27 Jul 2016

Well-drilled, committed and focused resolutely on their objectives, a strong Italy team showed the same virtues on the sand that the national 11-a-side team has always shown on grass. Giancarlo Magrini’s combative side gave as good as they got in the final against Brazil, only for the holders to show they had what it took to win the title on foreign shores.

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27 Jul 2016

Not for the first time, the paths of Portugal and Brazil crossed in the semi-finals, with the Portuguese once again coming off second best. Despite that defeat, they showcased the individual skills that have made them habitual contenders for beach soccer honours. One of their star men was Belchior, pictured here. FIFA.com users voted his first strike against El Salvador the goal of the tournament.

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27 Jul 2016

Inspired by the exploits of their young compatriots in winning the FIFA U-17 World Cup Nigeria 2009, Beach Soccer World Cup debutants Switzerland stormed through to the final, where they came up short in their bid to end Brazil’s domination. Providing the sharpest of cutting edges for the Swiss was Dejan Stankovic, whose 16-goal haul earned him the adidas Golden Ball and adidas Golden Scorer awards. The most stunning example of his considerable talent came when he conjured up two bicycle-kicks in a matter of seconds against Russia in the quarter-finals. When the first came back off a post, a team-mate played the rebound back towards the waiting Stankovic, who made no mistake with his second attempt.

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27 Jul 2016

“We have a gift. And in Brazil there are a lot of talented young players who can pull on the Seleçao shirt and do just as good a job. We’ve achieved this success, this fourth title – which is reward for a lot of hard work – thanks to the togetherness, respect and love that there is in this dressing room.” Brazil captain Benjamin, the oldest of all the players on duty in Dubai, shares his thoughts with FIFA.com after the tournament.

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27 Jul 2016

For 11 whole days El Salvador captivated everyone who saw them. Winless in their previous appearances in the competitions, the Central Americans, led by Frank Velasquez, finally found some form to send the likes of Argentina and hosts Italy out on their run to the semis. Beaten there by eventual champions Russia, El Salvador went down to an honourable 3-2 defeat to Portugal in the match for third place.

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27 Jul 2016

There was no arguing with the result. Russia scored 12 and Brazil eight as the Italian city of Ravenna witnessed a changing of the guard, with the Brazilians relinquishing their crown after four consecutive FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup wins. Unbeaten in six years and 30 matches, the Verdeamarela machine was finally brought to a halt by a superbly drilled Russia team.

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27 Jul 2016

Russia had no difficulty in retaining their title, cruising to a 5-1 win over Spain in the final, while their leading marksman Dmitrii Shishin also made off with individual honours, winning the adidas Golden Scorer award. Tied on ten goals with Brazil’s Bruno Xavier in the battle for the accolade, Shishin made sure it was his by firing home his side’s fifth in the closing seconds of the final.

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27 Jul 2016

Much to the delight of the home fans, there was more than just high-quality beach soccer on view in Tahiti. They also witnessed a historic feat by their side, who became the only current OFC team to reach the semi-finals of a FIFA competition.

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27 Jul 2016

Ever presents in the competition and always ranked among the favourites to win it, Portugal finally did just that after ten long years of trying, making the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup trophy theirs after a hard-fought win on home sand over the upwardly mobile Tahiti.

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27 Jul 2016

“The Portuguese fans are fantastic and they’ve proved that again at this World Cup,” said 40-year-old Portugal star Alan, dedicating his side’s long-awaited triumph to their supporters. “They came here early in the morning to get their seats in the stadium and they spent hours and hours queuing up to cheer us on. Fortunately, everything worked out well. This title is for them more than it is for us.”

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