When it came to using his feet, it would be unfair to say that Tiago Santos, better known as Bobo, was one of the worst players around on the dunes of his hometown of Tutoia, in northern Brazil.
The Brazil goalkeeper, who has just picked up the adidas Golden Glove at the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup UAE 2024 Dubai™, is the first to admit, however, that keeping the ball up and generally looking after it with his feet were not his strongest suits.
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Instead, those attributes include his superb shot-stopping. Aside from keeping out a crucial penalty in the group-phase win against Portugal, Bobo pulled off a number of outstanding reflex saves throughout the tournament to keep favourites Brazil on track.
And yet, another reason why that accolade came his way and why Brazil secured their sixth world title was his ability to use his feet to great effect and build play, so much so that only two players served up more assists than he did during the course of the tournament.
Tied with him were two more goalkeepers, Japan’s Yusuke Kawai and Portugal’s Pedro Mano, while yet another keeper, IR Iran’s Hamid Behzadpour was second on the list with five assists.
“It’s not been easy at all, but ball control and the quality of my passing is something I’ve been working on for a long time,” the 32-year-old Bobo told FIFA.com “When the game developed and started to demand more from keepers, I saw that I might get left behind.
“So, I started working on it at home and really applied myself at training too. I’ve put a lot of work into it and my passing is up there with the best now. I’m a good finisher too.”
A chip off the old block
Bobo was born to be a beach soccer player, with sand and dunes all around him. Home to many urban beaches lapped by the warm waters of the Atlantic, Tutoia is the gateway to the sandy expanses and lagoons of the Lenções Maranhenses National Park, one of Brazil’s most popular tourist attractions.
“It’s a wonderful city,” he said. “I grew up on the sand and I’ve been playing since I was a kid. I never had the makings of a great player. There were no beach soccer or football academies at the time, but with God’s help and thanks to playing barefoot in the dunes with my friends, I’ve been able to make it.”
Given Bobo’s surroundings, beach soccer was an obvious choice. Also influential in his career path was his father, who played for the city’s representative team and was so agile between the posts that he was nicknamed Mão de Onça (Jaguar Hands).
“I’ve always played in goal,” explained Brazil’s No1. “My father used to take me to his training sessions, and I’d watch him play and make all these saves. He’s the reason why I’m here.”
That was the first step, though it took a while for Bobo to realise the potential he had and that a professional career was an option for him, the main reason for that being that he lived so far away from Brazil’s major football cities.
“I began to understand that beach soccer would be a turning point in my life when I saw players start to leave Tutoia and play in other states,” he said. “I began to take an interest in them and follow what they were doing.”
Bobo, who plays his club beach soccer for Sampaio Correa, has come a long way in the last decade or so and can now call himself a world champion. He has had the time of his life in Dubai, where he has finally excelled on the World Cup stage, having made the squad at the 2021 tournament but failed to get any playing time.
The Brazilian was a nominee for Beach Soccer Worldwide’s Goalkeeper of the Year award in 2023 but was beaten to it by Italy’s Leandro Casapieri, who kept Brazil at bay in Sunday’s final before being sent off. And, as Bobo showed in Dubai, he is only getting better and better.
“Unfortunately, I didn’t get to play a single game in 2021, though I took a lot away from it. I gained a lot of experience and now, thanks to God, here I am representing Brazil,” he said. “I’m very happy and it’s great to be with such a fantastic team. I’m convinced we’re going to achieve more big things in the future.”
