Facing the country of your birth in a World Cup competition might be considered the highlight of your career for a number of sportspeople.
But for Fernando De Moraes, recently appointed Assistant Coach of the Futsalroos, the chance to pit his wits against his former countrymen pales into insignificance when compared to being selected for Australia.
Fernando, who represented Australia at the 2012 FIFA Futsal World Cup in Thailand as a court player, will head to Colombia as part of the backroom team, a vital cog and a repository of knowledge on which the current squad can draw.
Futsalroos squad announced for World Cup
And whilst thoughts of facing Brazil in the second group match are never far away from the minds of all involved, for Fernando it’s not as big as when he pulled on the jersey of his adopted country.
“This will be the first time that I will be coaching against Brazil and I look forward to it. It’s a massive challenge,” Fernando said.
“I played against Brazil as a player and playing against those players and the nation that you know and love and were born in, it’s a different feeling. Obviously I represent Australia and, that’s a better feeling.
“It’s more important as it’s the country that embraced me and gave me the opportunity to be here, do what I do and do what I love. I think it will be big, but nothing is bigger than representing Australia.”
Fernando was approached to be part of the touring party to bring his wealth of knowledge of the game to a squad that may be shy on experience in handling the enormity of a place on the global stage.
“I couldn’t be part of the team as a player due to injuries and when the idea came around to be part of the squad I thought I had a lot of things to offer,” he said. “I was pretty happy to be offered the role and accepted it straight away. It’s a challenge and I love challenging myself.
“My experience as a player could be important. I have played the game for thirty years now and will try to bring that experience to the players and show them a different way to do things.
“Obviously when you play its different, you don’t have that much time on your hands to share with the players but when you are a coach players are looking to you for advice and that is what I am trying to do. Having a bit of knowledge of the game helps.”
Having experienced everything that the FIFA World Cup can offer, Fernando knows what to expect come September when the World Cup jamboree kicks-off and the Futsalroos take to the court in Bucaramanga.
“It’s an amazing tournament and an amazing atmosphere,” he enthused. “The players who don’t have much experience of this type of thing may get a little bit of a shock, but we expect that.
“We just need those players to focus on what we have to do and to perform at the highest level, which is very hard, especially playing the best of the best.
“We have to reach our first goal, which is to beat Mozambique. For us, and for the coaching staff, it’s the most important game. If you do well in the first game it sets yourself up for the next two matches.
“But you have to enjoy every second and it’s something that goes fast and when you blink it is gone, the World Cup is finished and your experience is over. But they have to enjoy every second of it and transport that to the court.”
The Futsalroos depart for the FIFA Futsal World Cup, to be held in Colombia, in late August.