Kids get a kick out of Brazilian footballers

Article published: September 23, 2008 6:00 PM

Four-year-old Ander Say got some extra lessons from Magno, one of the Brazilian soccer players visiting Penticton. The Corintians afternoon youth soccer clinic went into overtime as the players were having too much fun with the kids to stop.

Atletico Clube Corintians from Brazil arrived to Penticton and were embraced by enthusiastic soccer fans on Saturday.

The Okanagan was the final stop for the third division team based in Caico, in the state of Rio Grande do Norte, following stays in Burnaby and Victoria where the Corintians played the B.C. All-Stars and Gorge FC.

The Saturday of soccer began with a 90-minute clinic at Kings Park at 1 p.m. which attracted 150 players and led to the Corintians being dragged off the field as they enjoyed their time with the youths. Then at 7 p.m., up to 600 fans packed Kings Park to watch the Corintians take on SOYSA’s U17 squad.

Inácio Teodoro da Silva, editor of The Soccer Paper and spokesperson for A.C. Corintians, said the stop in Penticton was the “highlight of the trip.”

“It was wonderful,” said Teodoro da Silva. “We were impressed with the talent and enthusiasm of the players. It was a great time.”

“They could see how talented the players are,” said Teodoro da Silva on the Brazilian players. “It was a very good group of players.”

Teodoro da Silva added that the clinic was fun and said the younger players were quite enthusiastic and he hoped the Penticton group was happy.

“The kids love it,” said Manual Borba, director of the Penticton Soccer Club. “They showed the kids tricks.”

While the Corintians won 5-0, Borba said the group of teens performed well against the third-level professionals from Brazil. They also had a bit of help from goalie Diego Aparecido Ferreira Oliveira, who was signed by the Vancouver Whitecaps.

“They hung in there and everything was good until the lights went off,” said Borba of the unexpected power outage during the second half. “It kind of ruined the evening.” The city said the incident happened because of an unknown breaker malfunction.

“The future in Penticton is good,” added Teodoro da Silva. “As a soccer paper that meets with several administrators, the people in Penticton were on the ball with interacting with the visiting team and the community interacting with the players. It was incredible. We thank them for that.”

Teodoro da Silva said they hope a group from Penticton will make the journey to Brazil as they discussed how to make it happen. Caico is a city with a population of 69,000 and the A.C. Corintians are celebrating their 40th anniversary. The Corinitans came to Canada to particpate in an international tournament featuring local Vancouver teams so their players could gain more visibility, but also /to attract players to train and learn to play the sport in Caico.

More at http://www.bclocalnews.com/okanagan_similkameen/pentictonwesternnews/sports/29651374.html