A lifetime on field and sand action has been spent by Portugal national team goalkeeper, Elinton Andrade.

At the age of 44 (he was born on 30 March 1979 in Rio, Brazil) and shortly before the… just before calling it a career, he is in Crete, defending the Portuguese team at the 3rd Mediterranean Beach Games “Heraklion 2023”.

In his prolific career, a “road” of a total of 29 years (21 years in football and the last eight in beach soccer), he has had great achievements, highlighted by his four Champions League appearances for French Marseille (2009-12)!

“I feel blessed with what I have experienced in football over the years. I have achieved everything I dreamed of and I thank God for that. I have enjoyed accolades and unique moments. I have played in the Champions League and I feel blessed. It’s something fantastic,” emphasized the visibly excited experienced goalkeeper.

Andrade is the only player out of the 84 participating in the “Heraklion 2023” tournament, who has played football and beach soccer and can draw a comparison between the two sports:

“I played for many years at a high level in football on grass, before moving to sand and beach soccer. The goalkeeper position is just as lonely whether you play on grass or sand or indoor. In beach soccer we play faster and the action is constantly changing, so it requires the goalkeeper to always stay alert,” he commented and then he revealed:

“I like what I’m doing now, but I also like what I was doing before 2015, when I stopped playing football. But at the 2024 Beach Soccer World Cup in Dubai in 2024, I have decided to put an end in my career. The time has come!”

Regarding the organization of the games and Crete, Andrande commented: ‘Crete is beautiful! It reminds me of Cyprus, where I played beach soccer last year (2022) in Paphos and in 2013 for Ermis Aradippou. The facilities in Karteros are beautiful and the hospitality is excellent! The matches are of a high standard and we all enjoy them. Hopefully they will be combined with a medal for Portugal.”