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After seven years with the UAE, the Brazilian coach takes the reins of the Nippon national side
Marcelo Mendes will become the new coach of the Japanese national beach soccer team, after the agreement was reached with the Japanese National Association and the Dubai Sports Council. After seven years as head of the UAE national Beach Soccer team, the carioca will start a new professional venture with the Nippon.
Marcelo Mendes has a tough challenge in front of him: Not only is he replacing one of the most emblematic and charismatic coaches in the whole Beach Soccer World, but it is his fellow countryman Rui Ramos, who has been steering the Japanese National side since March 2005. In that same year, Ramos lead the Samurai Blue to the semifinals of the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup, earning a historic fourth place finish.
The challenge is huge, but Mendes boasts the experience, the expertise and the beach soccer knowledge to accomplish it and attempt to improve the Nippon records. After a long career that has taken him to the benches of Brazil, Uruguay, Thailand, Portugal, Seattle Sounders, Al Ahli and UAE, among others, Marcelo Mendes is widely considered as one of the best coaches in the World, with several honours both at a national and international level, including two Asian championships and a gold medal in the 2010 Asian Beach Games.
The first objective for Mendes appears completely clear: get the Asian crown back after Iran snatched the continental throne from them in the last FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup 2013 Asian Qualifier, held at Doha.
