Brazilian Soccer Schools (BSS) has been featured in Placar, Brazil's biggest-selling sport magazine, after reporter Elton Bacci Fernandes visisted BSS Leeds to attend a coaching session and meet with Simon Clifford.

The magazine, which predominantly features football from within Brazil itself, was keen to visit Leeds to see first-hand a BSS session after hearing that the organisation's syllabus was based on the game of Futebol de Salao. Pele, Zico, Ronaldo, Ronaldinho and Pato all put their success down to playing the small-sided game, which uses a size two weighted football in place of the conventional size five, as youngsters.

The full article has been translated below:

Robinho's Factory

by Elton Bacci Fernandes in Placar, April 2008

Englishman uses Futebol de Salao to teach England play like the Brazilians

During BSS training, the ball stays on the floor at all times and they use the heavier Futebol de Salao ball. The players are constantly reminded to keep passing and dribbling the ball. The instructor will ask for a ‘Rivelino’ and you can see a player doing the famous ‘elastico’. “Give me a ‘Ronaldo’!” says the instructor, and the boys will circle the ball with their feet, the popular ‘pedalada’.

Clifford says that at present 27 players (aged 15-21) have gone through BSS and now they play in various clubs around the UK, some in professional level. Micah Richards is the most famous example, aged 19, he plays for Manchester City and the England national team. In the club he is a right-back and at the national team he plays either that position or in the centre. His Dad, Lincoln, has a BSS franchise in Ethiopia.

Simon Clifford, 36, was introduced to the FDS by Juninho Paulista. They became friends during the time Juninho played for Middlesbrough, in the 90’s. From the start, Clifford was convinced that FDS was the secret to Brazil’s talents.

In 1996, Clifford started to teach FDS to the children at the primary school he taught at at the time in Leeds, north of England. Eleven years later, he owns a franchise scheme with over 600 schools – Brazilian Soccer Schools (BSS) – that trains over 600,000 children and teenagers through 75 franchises in many countries – Australia, Hong Kong, Scotland, USA, Singapore, Nigeria, Ethiopia, among many others.

Clifford also bought Garforth Town in 2002, a Leeds-based football club which currently plays at Unibond League level. He believes that the club is a crucial asset to develop the more advanced BSS players.

Mark Piper, 18, is one of the BSS players who currently plays for Garforth Town. “It’s great to make new contacts through the club and Simon, as well as develop further as a player focusing on my abilities”, Piper says. Clifford took 3 years to develop the BSS scheme, but he doesn’t believe he will ever open a franchise in Brazil. “Opening a BSS school in Brazil would be like selling ice to the Eskimos”, Simon tells us with a smile on his face.

 Click here to view the original article (Brazilian Portuguese).