Brazil's Davis Cup stars talk on their national passion --Football
Brazil's Davis Cup stars talk on their national passion --Football
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| Brazilian tennis player Thomaz Bellucci is an ardent fan of Kaka and Robinho. Pic/AFP |
On the eve of the Davis Cup World Group play-off tie with India what better way to get started then kicking around a mini football.
"It loosens up the players, and it's a good warm-up for the muscles before the start of a rigorous practice session," explained Davis Cup non-playing captain Joao Zwetsch.
A short while later Brazil No 1 Thomaz Bellucci ranked World No 27 had just gotten off the court and it was the turn of the doubles players to thump balls over the net.
Bellucci still dripping with sweat had very little to say, as he rushed off for a quick shower.
"It will be a tough match against Rohan Bopanna on Friday. He is riding high on confidence after his epic doubles performance at the US Open. I will have to play at my best and I will have to be wary of his booming serve," said the Brazilian.
When talk veered towards football he suddenly got excited. "It is a national passion. Everyone on the streets talk about football.
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We were extremely disappointed about our dismal performance in the World Cup. We have a good crop of youngsters and I am sure we will win the World Cup when it is played at home in 2014," he said. Bellucci is an ardent fan of Kaka and Robinho.
"The newcomer in the current team Paulo Henrique is a dazzling talent. He is a wonderful attacking midfielder," he revealed.
Reasons
Zwetsch felt that there were many reasons for Brazil's undercooked performance at the World Cup. "The primary reason was that our key player Kaka was totally offcolour. He was not in good physical shape coming into the event.
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Kaka and Robinho at their best would have been a handful for any team," said Zwetsch.
He is confident that the current crop of youngsters will come good in four years time. "We are playing at home and they will definitely give their best. I am sure they will win the Cup for a sixth time," he said.
The ebullient Brazilian lists Lionel Messi and Zinedine Zidane as one of his favourite footballers. In tennis, he loves the allcourt mastery of Roger Federer, admires the tenacity of Rafael Nadal, and the superb serve and volley skills of the legendary Pete Sampras.
"We are confident we will get past India. Leander (Paes) and Mahesh (Bhupathi) are tough nuts to crack in doubles. Somdev (Devvarman) and Rohan are excellent singles players," signed off the Sao Paolo native.
As the idiom goes the proof is in the pudding.
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