On the weekend, he conducted clinics in Hobart, while next weekend he will be Devonport and Burnie.

Fred, as he is known, comes from Belo Horizonte, the capital city of the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. The city has two and half million inhabitants.

He is a university-educated conditioning coach and also deals with sports other than Futsal and football, including swimming.

Fred said Futsal was important for the development of football skills and for understanding the concepts of football.

He said that Futsal in Australia tended to have limited tactical formations and systems, whereas in Brazil, there were multiple formations.

He and other Brazilian Futsal coaches had come to Australia for two weeks to try and develop the game here by demonstrating the variations that were possible in the game.

Many top Brazilian footballers, he said, had cut their teeth on Futsal and that the game developed close control and skills applicable to the outside game.

Fred is being hosted by Romeo Frediani, who is in charge of the Tasmanian operations of the Australian Futsal Association.

Fred also attended Saturday’s Victory League pre-season friendly between Tilford Zebras and Glenorchy Knights.

He is confident that Brazil can win the 2014 World Cup, which is being hosted by his country.