Mão

Jenílson Brito Rodrigues (born 6 December 1978), better known as Mão, is a Brazilian beach soccer player who plays as a goalkeeper. He is a record five-time winner of the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup (2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2017) and won the Golden Glove (best goalkeeper) award at Dubai 2009. Additionally, he holds the record for most appearances at the World Cup (54) and is the most capped-Brazilian player ever.

For the Chinese dictator, see Mao Zedong.
For other uses, see Mao (disambiguation).
Mão
Mão at the 2019 South American Beach Games.
Personal information
Full name Jenílson Brito Rodrigues
Date of birth (1978-12-06) 6 December 1978
Place of birth Serra, Brazil
Height 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s) Goalkeeper
International career‡
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2004– Brazil 391 (26)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 21 July 2023

Career
Mão in 2008.

Mão has stated his desire was always to be a goalkeeper.[1] He came from a poor background and therefore had to borrow a friend's bicycle to attend training whilst also sourcing second hand gloves and boots. Ultimately, he couldn't afford proper training sessions for association football and thus switched to futsal.[2][3]

He ultimately entered professional beach soccer in 2000, aged 21, in his home state of Espírito Santo.[1] Due to a higher standard of professionalism in Rio de Janeiro, Mão sought out a move to the city's beach soccer team in 2003, coached by Alexandre Soares.[4] He was first called up to the Brazil national team in 2004, aged 25.[5][6] At first, he was subordinate to the incumbent first choice goalkeepers, Robertinho and Pierre;[1][7] included in Brazil's 15-man shortlist for the 2004 World Championships, Mão was ultimately one of three players left out of the final squad, with the aforementioned preferred over him.[8] In the summer of 2005, Alexandre Soares became Brazil's new manager and made major changes to the squad, shunning longstanding squad members such as Robertinho, with Soares favouring Mão instead.[9] He subsequently attended his first World Cup in 2006, a tournament Brazil won,[6] and has been Brazil's first choice goalkeeper ever since, winning another three back-to-back World Cups in 2007, 2008 and 2009.[1]

At the latter World Cup in Dubai, Mão made his 100th appearance for Brazil in the group stage versus Bahrain[10] and was ultimately voted as the best goalkeeper of the tournament, winning the coveted Golden Glove award.[11] Mão then reached 150 caps in August 2011 against Chile at the South American World Cup qualifiers.[4] In December, at the South American Beach Games, he fractured a finger on his right hand, forcing him to be unable to represent Brazil for the first time in over five years.[12] 200 games for Brazil was achieved in an 8–3 victory against Senegal at the 2013 World Cup.[13]

In 2014, Mão claimed he was a victim of verbal racist abuse by a unnamed Uruguayan player in a 9–3 win at the South American Beach Games, the first time he experienced such abuse in his career.[14]

Mão's 250th appearance for Brazil was realised in January 2016 at the Copa Sudamericana.[6] In May 2017, Mão became a world champion for a record fifth time, as Brazil won the 2017 World Cup in the Bahamas;[15] he was the only surviving squad member from Brazil's last World Cup triumph eight years prior. Later that year, in November, he became just the third Brazilian player to reach 300 caps, when playing against Iran in the semi-finals of the 2017 Intercontinental Cup,[16] and was named as part of the world team of the year just days later at the Beach Soccer Stars awards ceremony.[17]

Mão has since gone on to make more appearances for Brazil than any other player, surpassing Benjamin's previous record of 339,[7] reaching 350 caps in a 9–7 victory against Portugal at the 2019 World Cup for which he received a commemorative shirt.[18] Days later, he became the first player to reach the milestone of 50 appearances at the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup in the quarter-finals against Russia, a game in which he scored but Brazil ultimately lost.[19] That year, Mão also stated his intention to continue playing until 2023.[7]

Style of play

Mão has been described as being an on-field perfectionist and thus having a "grumpy" persona during matches.[7] His daughter has highlighted his lack of positive emotion and has encouraged him to "smile more" during games.[1]

Personal life

Rodrigues says his nickname, Mão, is commonly misconceived to have been bestowed upon him due to his status as a goalkeeper (mão meaning "hand" in Portuguese). In reality, as a child, he struggled with pronouncing "irmão" (meaning "brother" in Portuguese) when referring to his older sibling, instead only being capable of enunciating the latter half, "mão". This led to Rodrigues himself being labelled "Mão", a nickname which has remained with him ever since.[5][6]

As a teenager, he discovered his father, an alcoholic, dead in a makeshift rubbish dump near his home. He claims this experience cemented in his mind the importance of pursuing his dream of becoming a footballer. He decided to tell his mother of his ambition who was unimpressed and proceeded to beat him.[1][2]

Mão has a degree in physical education[6][7] and has three children.[2] In 2019, he was a university professor in sports and was also studying a post-graduate degree in teaching.[7]

He describes his life as "... church, home and training. I don't go clubbing, I don't drink, I don't smoke, and I'm very family [orientated]. I ask God every day to help me."[1]

He has also worked on multiple social projects with young people, with the aim of "promot[ing] social transformations through sport".[3][7]

Politics

Mão has twice run as a candidate to become a councillor in his hometown of Serra under the guise of "Goalkeeper Mão"; firstly in the 2016 municipal elections as a member of the Brazilian Social Democracy Party, and secondly in the 2020 municipal elections as a member of the Solidariedade party. He was unelected on both occasions. In 2016 he received 429 votes and in 2020, 750 votes.[20][21]

Statistics
CompetitionYearAppsGoalsRef.
FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Brazil 200660
Brazil 200760
France 200860
United Arab Emirates 200960
Italy 201160
French Polynesia 201360
Portugal 201541
The Bahamas 201761
Paraguay 201941
Russia 202140
Total543—

Honours

As of May 2022

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

References
  1. "Cariacica encara semifinal do beach soccer: conheça mais o goleiro Mão" (in Portuguese). Prefeitura Municipal de Cariacica. 26 April 2013. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
  2. DE - GOLEIRO MÃO,SELEÇÃO DE FUTEBOL DE AREIA - COMPLETO (Motion picture). Brazil: DoctumTV. 6 July 2017.
  3. "Duda e Mão promovem solidariedade e aliam esporte e educação nas areias" (in Portuguese). O Globo. 7 July 2011. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
  4. "Mão desabafa na véspera de marca pessoal, e diz que é vítima de racismo" (in Portuguese). O Globo. 2 August 2011. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
  5. "Ídolo da seleção, goleiro Mão mira marca histórica de 50 jogos em Mundiais: "Deixei uma semente"" (in Portuguese). O Globo. 22 November 2019. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
  6. "Prestes a completar 250 pela seleção, goleiro Mão revela sonho com a amarelinha" (in Portuguese). A Gazeta. 9 January 2016. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
  7. "Aos 40 anos, Mão busca vaga para o seu 10º Mundial e se aproxima de recorde pela seleção" (in Portuguese). O Globo. 28 April 2019. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
  8. "SELEÇÃO BRASILEIRA TEM TRÊS JOGADORES CORTADOS" (in Portuguese). beachsoccerbrasil.com.br. 22 February 2004. Archived from the original on 2004-04-27. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
  9. "Brasil goleia e é campeão do Mundialito de futebol de areia pela 8ª vez" (in Portuguese). Universo Online. 18 August 2005. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  10. "Mão completa 100 jogos pelo Brasil na Copa do Mundo de Beach Soccer" (in Portuguese). Rede Bandeirantes. 17 November 2009. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
  11. "Stankovic, Mao take top honours". FIFA. 22 November 2009. Archived from the original on May 12, 2021. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
  12. "Pela 'primeira vez' sem Mão, Brasil vai de Marquinhos e Willian no gol". O Globo. 14 December 2011. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
  13. "Júnior Negão alerta para brasileiro naturalizado do Japão no Mundial de beach soccer" (in Portuguese). O Globo. 24 September 2013. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
  14. "Goleiro Mão é chamado de "macaco" por uruguaio e lamenta: "Muito triste"" (in Portuguese). O Globo. 22 May 2014. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  15. "Brasil goleia o Taiti e conquista o pentacampeonato invicto da Copa do Mundo FIFA" (in Portuguese). CBSB - Confederação de Beach Soccer do Brasil. 7 May 2017. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
  16. "Capixabas concorrem ao prêmio de melhor jogador de futebol de areia" (in Portuguese). SiteBarra. 4 November 2017. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
  17. "Beach Soccer Stars 2017: List of winners". beachsoccer.com. 4 November 2017. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  18. "No maior clássico das areias, Brasil vence Portugal em dia de homenagem a Mão" (in Portuguese). CBSB - Confederação de Beach Soccer do Brasil. 25 November 2019. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
  19. "Four remain as holders pack their bags". FIFA. 29 November 2019. Archived from the original on November 29, 2019. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
  20. "Candidatos a Vereador em Serra-ES – Eleições 2016 – Goleiro Mão" (in Portuguese). Diário Cidade. 2016. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
  21. "Candidatos a Vereador em Serra-ES – Eleições 2020 – Goleiro Mão" (in Portuguese). Diário Cidade. 2020. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
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