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| 2010 Footvolley World Cup on Hollywood Beach: Paraguay on Top! |
May 9, 2010
Hollywood Beach, FL
Paraguay is a landlocked country in South America which has just been catapulted itself to beach stardom: World Champions in Footvolley! Yes - that means Brazil didn't win!
In three days of intense competition, Nelson Segovia aka 'Canela' and Victor Martinez both of Cuidad del Este in the State of Alto Parana went undefeated and into footvolley history. Congratulations!
Finals
Canela and Victor destroyed the Portuguese duo of Papel & Junior 18-8 in a quick business like fashion to capture the Footvolley World Cup on Hollywood Beach.
In the first semi-final, Portugal's Papel/Jr. beat the defending 2009 Hollywood Beach Open champs, from Brazil, Eduardo Fiuza & Miguel Habib. The match was not without drama as the Portuguese won 25-24 in a highly emotional match.
In the second semi-finals, the Paraguayans dispatched the US squad of Sergio Menezes & Igor Martins (both of Miami) in relative ease.
Successful Event
Despite the intense heat (89 degrees), the stadium was full for the finals Sunday afternoon albeit on Mother's Day. The heat did play a factor; however, on Saturday, during group play as teams struggled with four to five matches in the same day.
The tournament format was 4 Groups with the top 4 teams advancing to the Round of 16.
Group Play
Piki Volley to Footvolley!
The most amazing fact about the Paraguayans winning the footvolley tournament is that they don't ordinarily play on sand courts.
'We play Piki Volley in Paraguay. Essentially, its footvolley but on a dirt pitch with cleats. This is an extremely popular sport in Paraguay. It's essentially a faster version of footvolley. We get more touches on the ball and that improves our technique. Adjusting to the sand is a challenge; but technique wins sometimes ... like in this case.' - Victor Martinez of winning Paraguayan side
Winning Paraguayans (Martinez on the left with Canela)
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