Heading into Thursday’s kick-off to this year’s FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup in Paraguay, Super Sand Eagles of Nigeria captain, Abu Azeez has disclosed that he gets a lot of inspiration to play the game from watching some of Brazil’s best players in the sector, megasporrtsarena.com reports.
With the Sand Eagles set to confront the globe’s best once again at this year’s championship over the next week, Azeez admits he and his colleagues are up for tough outings on the sands of Asuncion, but he believes they have learnt a lot from previous outings at this level.
The competition is scheduled to run from November 21 to December 1, and Azeez, who first took to the sands at the inaugural edition of 2009 in Dubai, recalls that he felt like he was in a dream, as he was just 15-years-old then and had played beach soccer for the very first time.
Ten years later, he is back on the global level, with 100 goals to his name with Nigeria’s squad and in a vastly different phase of his progress in the game on sand, as he prepares for action on the beach in Paraguay, where he is the second-oldest player in the Nigerian squad.
At the last World Cup, Nigeria failed to get out of their group but Azeez, who is already now a Beach Soccer Worldwide Ambassador, says he is encouraged that the current Eagles’ squad can consolidate on their second place finish at this year’s Copa Lagos, where they defeated Brazil and England en route to their runners-up spot behind African champions, Senegal.
He, however, admits he is still a student of the game, and he regularly watches live streams of other tournaments around the world, from which he sends clips to his team-mates to watch and study, then instruct them on specific tactical points of those games.
Azeez, who is the first Nigerian to score 100 goals for the beach soccer national team, is getting ready to lead the Sand Eagles out against Portugal, Oman and holders Brazil in Group D of this year’s competition, ahead of which the veteran player, who started out as a point man, but now plays from deep positions, says he will put into play what he has learnt from the Samba Boys.
Azeez told FIFA.com: “I’ve learned all about positioning from the Brazilians like Benjamin, Bruno Malias and Buru—they don’t have a specific position, but they attack and defend; that’s the best way to play beach soccer.
“I used to look up to senior players and veterans but now 95 per cent of the team are looking up to me and hoping to learn from me. I have so many responsibilities now—it’s a big difference than ten years ago.”