Bruno da Silva Xavier, better known simply as Bruno Xavier (born 15 August 1984, Vitória,

Espírito Santo Espírito Santo (, , ; ) is a state in southeastern Brazil. Its capital is Vitória, and its largest city is Serra. With an extensive coastline, the state hosts some of the country's main ports, and its beaches are significant tourist attra ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

) is a Brazilian beach soccer player who plays as a defender.BRUNO XAVIER
cbsb.com.br He is the captain of the Brazil national team and lead the team to the 2017 World Cup title. During the 2010s, Xavier was considered one of the world's best players, having been bestowed the title of ''Best Player'' at the 2014

Beach Soccer Stars Beach Soccer Stars is an annual award ceremony in beach soccer organised by the sport's developmental body, Beach Soccer Worldwide (BSWW). The first edition was held on 7 November 2014 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The ceremony has continued t ...

awards ceremony, and as one of the major icons of the game. He is currently the 9th highest scorer of all time for the Brazilian national team, the highest ranked of any active player.

Career

International

Before he began his beach soccer career, Xavier originally played

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

as a

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

. Xavier asked to train with the

Brazil national beach soccer team The Brazil national beach soccer team represents Brazil in international beach soccer competitions and is controlled by the CBF, the governing body for football in Brazil. Portugal, Russia, Spain and Senegal are the only squads to have eliminat ...

and when fellow international goalkeeper Mao saw his talent, he invited Xavier to train with him.Bruno Xavier e Mão: de rivais debaixo da trave a parceiros de seleção brasileira
globoesporte.globo.com Xavier was subsequently called up to the beach soccer national team but the competition for the spot of first team goalkeeper was intense. Xavier was considered as the team's third goalkeeper and did not get an opportunity to play. Brazil's then manager, Duda, believed he was good with the ball at his feet and had potential to be a good outfield player but he would have to train as such for a year before he could play in the national team. In 2008, aged 24, Xavier finally made his debut for Brazil, now transformed into an outfield player.
gazetaonline.com.br He was subsequently included in Brazil's provisional squad for the 2011 World Cup, however then coach Alexandre Soares did not pick him for the final 12-man group, an extreme disappointment for Xavier.Bruno Xavier: I love this game
FIFA.com His dream of playing at the World Cup was ultimately fulfilled by Brazil's successor coach, Junior Negao, who included Xavier (now aged 29) in his final squad for the 2013 World Cup also giving him the number 8 shirt, previously worn by Negao himself. The tournament proved to be highly successful for Xavier as an individual as he claimed the Golden Boot (Highest scorer) and Silver Ball (2nd best player) awards, cementing his importance to the Brazilian national team. In May 2014, Xavier scored a goal against

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

in a

BSWW Tour The BSWW Tour is a series of international events in beach soccer. It is organised by Beach Soccer Worldwide (BSWW), an organization responsible for promotion and development of beach soccer sport. BSWW Tour is an international exhibition tour in ...

event in

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

considered to be one of the greatest beach soccer goals ever, with calls for a FIFA Puskas Award nomination. At the inaugural

awards in November 2014, Xavier was crowned the world's best player as voted for by fellow players and managers confirming his status as world beach soccer icon and not just to Brazil.Stars shine bright in Dubai
Beach Soccer Worldwide He has subsequently been in the top three nominees for the best player award in 2015, 2017 and 2018; he was voted as part of the team of the year every year since the awards began until 2019, the only player to be so. Under a new coach (Gilberto Costa) and as captain, Xavier went on to lead Brazil to their first World Cup title in eight years in 2017.Xavier making waves on the sands
gulfnews.com In the September, Xavier earned his 100th cap for Brazil; these achievements were part of a 66 match winning streak under his leadership which ended with a loss to Russia in November 2018 in which Xavier was controversially

sent off In sports, an ejection (also known as dismissal, sending-off, disqualification, or early shower) is the removal of a participant from a contest due to a violation of the sport's rules. The exact violations that lead to an ejection vary depending ...

in. Xavier scored his 200th goal for Brazil in a 10–1 win over Uruguay at the South American World Cup qualifiers in May 2019. In a huge surprise, Xavier was left out of Brazil's squad for the 2021 World Cup in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

. In an Instagram video, Xavier shied away from stating exactly why he had been left out of the team, but nevertheless did mention being unable to attend the World Cup qualifiers due to playing in Europe at the time, and the effects of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

on travel, and the introduction of younger players to the squad (considering Xavier was 37 at the time of the tournament).

Club

As is typical for top beach soccer players, Xavier has played for many club sides in numerous countries. They include Vasco da Gama,

Corinthians The First Epistle to the Corinthians ( grc, Α΄ ᾽Επιστολὴ πρὸς Κορινθίους) is one of the Pauline epistles, part of the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The epistle is attributed to Paul the Apostle and a co-aut ...

, Espírito Santo FC and Sampaio Corrêa domestically as well as Catanzaro (

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

), Terracina (Italy), Strogino (

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

), Kristall (Russia), Alanyaspor (

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

(

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

Sporting CP Sporting Clube de Portugal, founded Sporting Club de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP, often known abroad as Sporting Lisbon , is a Portuguese professional sports club based in Lisbon. It is best known for the professional foot ...

(

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

Braga Braga ( , ; cel-x-proto, Bracara) is a city and a municipality, capital of the northwestern Portuguese district of Braga and of the historical and cultural Minho Province. Braga Municipality has a resident population of 193,333 inhabitants (in ...

(Portugal) and Falfala Kfar Qassem (

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

) in European leagues and international competitions.Bruno Xavier
zerozero.pt

Personal life

Xavier is married to Mariângela Antunes who also plays beach soccer having been introduced to the sport through her husband; the couple wed in March 2009 and have two children, Luna and Cauã.Mulher de Bruno Xavier é destaque no Metropolitano de Futebol de Areia
tribunaonline.com.br In his home state of

, in Anchieta, Xavier has set up and owns the "Mission Training Center" which he established in order to "integrate young people into society through sport" as well as develop the next generation of Brazilian beach soccer players.Bruno Xavier muda a "geografia" do futebol de areia do Espírito Santo
gazetaonline.com.br The centre also has a focus on developing women's beach soccer. The centre has proved successful in nurturing players such as Gean Pietro and Raphael Silva who have gone on to represent the Brazilian national under-20 beach soccer team in winning the

2017 South American Under-20 Beach Soccer Championship The 2017 CONMEBOL South American Under-20 Beach Soccer Championship was the first edition of the '' South American Under-20 Beach Soccer Championship'' (known natively in Spanish as the ''Sudamericano Sub-20 Futbol Playa''), an international youth ...

. Junior Negao and Juninho are his idols.

Honours

The following is a selection, not an exhaustive list, of the major honours Xavier has won:

Country

* FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup (1):

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...

* Beach Soccer Intercontinental Cup (3):

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

* CONMEBOL qualifiers for the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup (2): 2015,

* CONMBEOL Copa América de Beach Soccer (1):

South American Beach Soccer League The CONMEBOL South American Beach Soccer League, named natively in Spanish as the ''CONMEBOL Liga Sudamericana de Fútbol Playa'', is a continental league competition for South American men's national beach soccer teams. The competition is orga ...

(2):

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the Unit ...

**North zone regular season event (2): 2017, 2018 * Mundialito (2):

* South American Beach Games (2): 2011, 2014

Club

* Mundialito de Clubes (5): 2011,

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

, 2015,

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...

Euro Winners Cup The Euro Winners Cup (EWC) is an annual, continental beach soccer club competition contested between top-division European teams; the clubs that are their country's national league/cup champions (and, for some nations, one or more runners-up) fro ...

(4):

, 2015,

*Copa Brasil (3): 2012, 2016, 2018 *Italian Serie A (2): 2011, 2012 * Russian Championships (3): 2013, 2015, 2016 * Portuguese League (2): 2016, 2018 * Israel League (1):

Individual

* FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup ** Golden Ball:

** Silver Shoe:

** World's best player: 2014 ** World dream team: 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 * Intercontinental Cup **Top scorer: 2014, 2016 **Best player: 2016 * CONMEBOL qualifiers **Top scorer: 2013 * CONMEBOL Copa América **Best player: 2016 * South American Beach Games **Top scorer: 2011 *

**Best player: 2014 *Serie A: **Best player: 2010

Statistics

;Country ;Club

References

External links

Bruno da Silva Xavier
profile at

Beach Soccer Worldwide Beach Soccer Worldwide (BSWW) is the organisation responsible for the founding and growth of association football's derivative sport of beach soccer. The founding partners of BSWW codified the rules of beach soccer in 1992, with BSWW as it is know ...

Bruno Xavier
profile at Brazil Beach Soccer Confederation, CBSB (in Portuguese)
Bruno da Silva Xavier
profile at Beach Soccer Russia (in Russian)
Bruno Xavier
profile at zerozero.pt (in Portuguese) {{DEFAULTSORT:Xavier, Bruno 1984 births Living people Brazilian footballers Brazilian beach soccer players Association football defenders