The Statue of Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro is one of the most recognizable structures in the world. The Irish had the good fortune of visiting this impress sculpture, which looks out over the city, during their two-week trip to Brazil in May.

Sun, Sand, Soccer and Sights in Brazil

Oct. 6, 2006

By Sean Carroll

The members of the Notre Dame men’s soccer team had quite a run during the 2005-06 season. In the fall, the Fighting Irish made the program’s third trip to the NCAA Tournament’s round of 16. The momentum continued into a successful spring season, which saw the Irish defeat the Mexico Under-17 National Team 5-0. So once final exams wrapped up in May, many would assume rest and relaxation would have been in order for the student-athletes before gearing it up for another campaign in 2006-07. However, more practice and tests, however, replaced summer vacation.

No one should feel too bad for the Irish players, their next challenge awaited them in the sun and sand of Brazil. Although, their first introduction to the country was not as picturesque as one might think.

“When we got there our first training session was actually on the beach, in the rain,” senior co-captain Greg Dalby says. “It wasn’t exactly the most beautiful picture.”

Conditions would improve as the Notre Dame team thoroughly enjoyed its stay in the soccer hotbed that is Brazil. The journey provided the Irish with a tremendous chance to showcase and enhance their skills in a place where soccer is a way of life. Names like Pele, Ronaldo and Ronaldinho are known world wide for their ability on the pitch.

“The great thing about going to Brazil is that it’s possibly the most soccer-mad country in the world,” Notre Dame head coach Bobby Clark says. “It’s the premier soccer country in the world because they’ve produced so many players. To go into that environment was special and to do it just before the World Cup, when there was a certain amount of hysteria, was a special time to be in Brazil.”

The Fighting Irish soaked up everything in Brazil, from going to the beach, to sightseeing at places like the Corcovado and Sugar Loaf Mountains, to training in world-class facilities. Classes may have been completed back on campus, but new tests awaited the Irish in the form of six Brazilian professional teams. Notre Dame squared off with some elite teams and the Irish more than held their own versus the opposition by posting a 4-2 mark during the trek.

“I was very pleased with our results,” remarks Clark. “I really didn’t know what to expect because it’s very difficult to know what to expect. To only lose two games out of six when we were playing against some very good teams was good for us. In the two games we lost, one was to Santos, a world-renowned team where Pele started.”

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The Notre Dame traveling party poses for a photo while holding up the Brazilian national flag.

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The Notre Dame squad treated the adventure as they would a normal preseason camp. When most athletes were home on summer vacation, the Irish had the opportunity to play in some of the nicest facilities in the world. Clark and his crew trained at Santa Filomena in Sao Paulo, which serves as the training center for nearly every professional team in Brazil. The Brazilian national team has also used the facility on several occasions.

“Sometimes when we were training, you’d look around and there’d be mountains in the background and the fields were unbelievable and we realized how fortunate we were to be there,” senior co-captain Dale Rellas says.

Not only were the Irish playing in matches, they were also attending contests in some of the world’s most famous soccer stadiums. The 26-person traveling party attended three professional games, including one in the Maracana Stadium, which at one time held 200,000 spectators.

Despite being in a foreign country, the game of soccer can bring people together that may not have a common link such as language. The fact that you only need a ball, a couple goals and some open space to play makes it a game that can be competed nearly anywhere. No matter where you are from, the passion is universal. The excitement was brought to an ever higher level this year as the Irish visited the land of the 2006 World Cup favorite less than a month before the soccer tournament kicked off in Germany.

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One of the advantages of venturing to Brazil is the opportunity to play `sand soccer’, which the Irish took full advantage of during their time there.

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“It was awesome to be there during the summer of the World Cup,” Dalby says. “The country was just so excited for soccer and I think it’s like that all of the time. Just to be exposed to a soccer-only culture was awesome for us to be able to experience.”

Brazil did not come through as the favorite in the World Cup, yet they will always be a force on the world’s stage. That is where the Americans hope to be in the near future. The language of soccer may have needed an interpreter in America in the past, but the United States is emerging and people are taking notice.

“Soccer is truly an international language,” Clark says. “When you go down there and play, you immediately make friends. I think the Brazilians think that soccer is their game and when they see Americans that can play and actually play well, they take notice. It’s one of the things we have going for us now. I don’t think people outside of America realize how well we play now.”

As important as it was to further develop their soccer games, a trip to Brazil would not be complete without some sightseeing and fun. Following a nine-day stay in Sao Paulo, the Irish ventured to Rio de Janeiro.

“The second part of the trip is when we went to Rio. Even though we still had two games to play once we got to Rio, we kind of let the guys relax a bit,” Clark says. “We did more of the beach and the tourist things. It’s important to do those kind of things. You don’t go to Rio and not see the Corcovado and the Sugar Loaf.”

Clark is no stranger to foreign trips and the impact they can have on a team. During his coaching and playing career he has taken teams to different parts of the world.

“I can remember my first trip to Brazil with the Scottish national team back in 1972. I still remember going to the beach and the guys I went with. I just remember the experience. It’s such a different country and it’s so different from the U.S. or from Europe so I think the boys will remember this trip all of their lives.”

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Head coach Bobby Clark gazes over Rio de Janeiro from Corcovado Mountain, where The Statue of Christ the Redeemer resides.

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A fun day at the beach for the Irish turned out to be a little more eventful than planned. Clark warned his squad that the waves might be a little more treacherous than they appeared so he instructed members of his club to adopt the ‘buddy system’ and stay close to another one of their fellow teammates. That did not quite work out as planned for a couple individuals.

“We weren’t into our swim very long when a very excited lifeguard appeared and was wildly blowing his whistle,” Clark says. “He had spotted Ian (Etherington) and Alex (Yoshinaga), our California surf kings, seemingly miles away in the surf. It was an exciting 20 minutes as two more lifeguards appeared and were soon out in the sea working the two bold heroes back to land. They both gave it the ‘big one’ of no fear but on subsequent swims seemed very content to join the rest of us in the waist-high surf.” Not only did the Irish literally keep their heads above water, they proved they could do the same on the soccer field against some top-notch athletes. An experience like this is something that no one takes for granted. The opportunity to make the adventure to Brazil was made possible by donations from alumni and friends of the Notre Dame program.

“It was a fun experience and being in a different country makes us realize we are fortunate that a trip like this was funded for us,” says Dalby. “Anytime a bunch of young kids can be in a different country together and playing is something we all love to do.”

The Fighting Irish hope that the experiences learned in Brazil will carry over into their play this year and in the years to come.

“I think we’re just overall closer as a group because of the trip,” Rellas says. “We treated it like it was a preseason camp. It was just an advantage for us to go down there and play together and it was a jump start on this year.”