 Simon and Juninho in 1996 Simon recently talked with former Middlesbrough and Brazil midfielders Juninho and Emerson. The three are dear friends, and while the idea for Brazilian Soccer Schools (BSS) was very much Simon's own, both players were instrumental in getting this whole thing moving in the early days. Neither Juninho nor Emerson gave any interviews to journalists from television stations during their first season in England, yet each of the two did for Simon as help for the BBC documentaries - filmed in 1997 and 1998 - that detailed the beginnings of the International Confederation of Futebol de Salao's (ICFDS) mission to change the way football was both coached and played. Simon was able to assist Juninho in getting international clearance for Juninho to play for the club that he now owns, 'Clube Futebol Ituano'. This was done in a day as Simon promised Juninho he could play for the side, whereas clearance usually takes up to thirty days.
An astonished Juninho was not aware that this was possible and was overjoyed to make his first appearance back at the club where he began at the age of 19, that very same day. Ituano achieved a very creditable 0 - 0 draw with Rio giant's Botofogo. Simon was especially grateful to Chris Hall at the English Football Association (FA) who was absolutely fantastic in helping Simon and his Brazilian friend. Simon has recently discussed and is now putting into action a plan for Juninho to head up BSS in Brazil, and he is determined that Emerson will play a role in that too. |
