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Brazil’s Moreno prepares for World Championships with club experience

Date: March 30, 2018

Category: Goalball

By Brazilian Paralympic Committee

The Sporting Club of Portugal is riding high after winning the European Super Goalball League in February. 

The title, after beating German side Rostock, came with the help of Brazilian reinforcements. Leomon Mora scored 23 goals, helping Sporting reach the top of the table.

Whilst Moreno’s spot on the team is not confirmed in the long term, he will still play a further three games for Sporting this season.

Meanwhile he also is part of the Brazilian squad for the Malmo Intercup in Malmo, Sweden, and is preparing for the World Championship, which takes place in June in the same place.

From Brasilia, Moreno started playing goalball when he was 12 years old. Today he also plays for the Santos FC team. 

For the national team he was the top scorer at the last World Championships in Espoo, Finland, in 2014, when Brazil won gold. The team also claimed bronze at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.

His performance in both competitions drew the attention of Sporting, who soon invited him to join them in this year’s Super League.

"The European Super League is like a Champions League goalball. There are four phases. I participated in one, the third, which was when we became champions, because in the fourth, the other teams could not reach us anymore,” Moreno said. 

This exchange of athletes, according to Moreno, is important so that the sport gains greater visibility and the competitions reach a higher level:

"I really care about the growth of our sport and this attitude of clubs hiring athletes from outside helps a lot and gives more strength to our work," he said. 

The participation of players from different countries in the same team also contributes to an exchange of experiences and techniques, despite language barriers, the Brazilian explained. 

"I was playing with an athlete from Lithuania and Portugal, so our communication was basically in English. But as I do not speak very well, it was totally in the goalball language: only 'right', 'left' and a few key words for us to understand each other." 

Brazil are currently competing in the Malmo Intercup which runs until Sunday (1 April). They will then compete at the 2018 IBSA Goalball World Championships between 3-8 June.
 

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