Brazil won the Nokia soccer tournament but that was not the goal of the championship The Egyptian team Black Horse was defeated 7-5 by Brazil in the final of the Nokia Defend your Street mini-football tournament but the score was relatively unimportant, reports Ghada Abdel-Kader. "The main motivation of the participants was their love for football and having a chance to play against a Brazilian team. In the end it urges young players to play football," Eddy Rizk, Nokia country manager of North Africa, said. "The performance of the Egyptian players was very good and promising," Rizk added. "It is the second year of the championship in Egypt. This year's advertising campaign was bigger and this year we also chose youth centres in Gezira, Shoubra, Zeinhoum and Nasr City. The Brazilian team played against Nigeria, South Africa and Morocco before coming to Egypt, after which they will to travel to Iran, Saudi Arabia, the Emirates and Jordan. Defend your Street is a worldwide concept. Registration in Egypt was unprecedented with more than 600 teams, 480 players and 300 matches to the final. The final, in Gezira youth centre, was preceded by an elimination game between two Egyptian teams, Black Horse from Nasr City and Bulaq Stars from Shoubra. Black Horse won 5-4. Black Horse consisted of Mahmoud Salah, Ahmed Hussein, Mustafa Abdel-Wahab, Mohamed Ramadan, Ahmed Magdi, Ahmed Abdel-Muti, Abdullah Mohsen and Islam Omar. The Brazilians were Paulo Junior, Rafael dos Santos, Felipe Imperatiz and Douglas Soares. The five-a-side matches were 15 minutes a half, played on a basketball-size court. The ball is lighter than usual. Each team consists of eight players; five players on the main team and three substitutes. There is no goalkeeper but a player acting as a goalkeeper but cannot use his hands. There are two referees in the game. Its rules include no tackling from behind, no shirt pulling, no barging. The play it where it lays rule applies and if there is a serious foul either a drop ball is awarded or a free-kick. No handballs and if the ball goes past the goalkeeper's line, it's a corner or goal kick. "I've been playing football for more than 13 years," Islam Omar, the pseudo goalkeeper of Black Horse, said. "Our result today is not bad considering we're playing with the Brazilians. It is a dream come true. The main problem that faced me during the match was being unable to use my hands." Rizk added, "Of course, next year will be our third year. The motto will be the same, Defend your Street. This year the campaign was restricted to youth centres in Cairo. Next year, it will be different governorates." Yasser Abd-Rabbo one of the referees, said "The players have many talents and skills but they are still beginning. "The pitch reminds me of street football we used to play when we were children. "The Nokia campaign is connected with the history of Egypt. For many years street football was very important. Nokia is reviving it," Abd-Rabbo added. Wagih Ahmed, a former international referee and member of the tournament's committee, added, "The choice of the players depends mainly on his skills with the ball and headers." Husseini El-Sayed, coach of the Black Horse, has been coaching for nine years. "Most of the players on my team play in other clubs like the Egyptian Police Sports Federation, the Interior Club and the Arab Contractors Club but their start was in Nasr City Youth Centre. Last year, we also participated in the Nokia tournament but were out in the semi-final." "It is a great feeling coming to a country which is like home away from home and we were very well received," the team manager of the Brazilian team, Fabio Tambozi, said. "It was a very good football match for both teams. The Egyptian team was very solid, very well organised and surprised me in the final. "Our matches around the world were very tough. Every one wants to beat Brazil. Every place we go we have the crowd against us, the referees are against us. It is a learning experience and very valuable. It's also fun." On how the team was picked Tambozi said: "In Brazil, we held an open competition for 500 kids. We selected 60. We chose from them eight players. It was a three-week programme. It gives a good opportunity for the players to be part of it. "The day before any big match, we do a lot of things together as a team," the coach said. "The day of the final game was very low key. The players were well rested and getting mentally prepared for the match. We held a team meeting before we left the hotel." Seventeen-year-old Felipe Imperatiz (Double Trouble) said he was very happy "because the match was very good, very emotional. "I love football very much. It is in the blood. I like Egypt very much and I'm going to tell my father and my mother to come and visit." Rafael dos Santos (the Bullet), 22, added, "I and my team are very pleased to be in Egypt to connect with the youth of the nation as part of Nokia's initiative for us to share both football and cultural experiences with our peers in Egypt. "We came here to win. We trained for this day and won for our homeland." Dos Santos, who has eight years of experience playing, dedicated the final win "to my family, my country Brazil and the friendly Egyptian people." By Ghada Abdel-Kader
