Considered by many to be the greatest futsal player ever, Alessandro Rosa Vieira, better known as Falcão, wore Brazil's number 12 in five of the ten CONMEBOL Copa América de Futsal won by his national team.
Falcão is the Brazilian with the most outings for the national futsal team, more than 250 games played, and an impressive 400 goals scored with the yellow jersey.
The first CONMEBOL Copa América Futsal won by the Brazilian winger was in 1998, Brazil's fifth continental title. Falcão repeated the feat the following year, in 1999, and in the 2000 edition, which earned him three consecutive titles, a golden era for the Brazilian national team.
He lifted his fourth continental trophy at the 2008 CONMEBOL Copa América de Futsal in Uruguay. His fifth title – and ninth for the "Canarinho" team – came in Argentina, in 2011.
The great futsal hero also helped his country win two Futsal World Cups, in 2008 and 2012. In addition, he became the tournament’s greatest scorer, with a total 48 goals, and the athlete with the most games played (34).
His club career leaves nothing to be desired compared to the one he had with the national team. He won a large number of state, national and international titles with several different clubs in his country.
The player from São Paulo became an eight-time CONMEBOL Libertadores Futsal champion. The first accolade came with Esporte Clube Banespa, in 2001, and then with Malawee/Jaraguá, in 2004.
In 2005, he made a brief foray into field football with São Paulo FC, where he played in the state championship and in the CONMEBOL Libertadores, which the club won with Falcão on the roster.
In 2006, he returned to futsal and won the CONMEBOL Libertadores Futsal four times in a roll with Malawee/Jaraguá, from 2006 to 2009. He had to wait another four years to lift the continental trophy again in 2013, this time with Intelli/Orlândia.
Two years later, with Sorocaba Brasil, he returned to the top of the continent in 2015, also winning the Intercontinental Futsal Cup in 2016 and 2018.
Falcão has an undisputable track record, with a 25-year career of dazzling the futsal world and lifting as many titles as humanly possible, to become one of the sport's greatest legends.
