Betão keeps cool as heat rises

In his second season with Interviú Madrid, Brazil international forward Betão is preparing for another UEFA Futsal Cup final with the Spanish Liga side. Ahead of Sunday's showpiece encounter with SL Benfica at the Pavilhão Atlántico, the 31-year-old sat down with UEFA.com to talk about his first steps in the sport and what his latest team will need to do to win a fourth Futsal Cup.

UEFA.com: You are now one of the most recognised players on the futsal scene yet how did it all begin for you?

Betão: I started playing futsal at a very young age in the suburbs of Sao Paulo in Brazil; maybe I was eight or nine. In terms of my professional career, the real explosion came in 1997 when I signed for General Motors which is considered a big team in my home city. There I quickly grew physically and mentally.

UEFA.com: Of the titles you have won which do you remember with particular fondness?

Betão: Without doubt last year's UEFA Futsal Cup which I won with Interviú was something very special. The other medal I keep well guarded is the one I was awarded after winning the Spanish Cup while playing with Autos Lobelle Santiago. As a team who nobody expected much of we managed to beat Interviú in the final.

UEFA.com: Was there extra motivation to do well here having not enjoyed your best season on the domestic front?

Betão: In the opening half of the Liga we didn't lose a game. But we're Interviú and so when we started to lose a few people said we weren't the same team. We didn't do particularly well against Araz Naxçivan on Friday but our morale is high and we'll raise our level for the final.

UEFA.com: How would you evaluate SL Benfica, your opponents in the final?

Betão: We saw some of their semi-final against Luparense C/5 in which they countered with real pace. We can't let them do that on Sunday. We know it's going to be hard especially with them playing at home in front of a set of fans that I have to admit are incredible. The pressure will be on Benfica though; we're used to playing finals. We'll look to open out from a strong defence in order to achieve victory.