Alessandro Rosa Vieira (born 8 June 1977), known as Falcão, is a Brazilian retired professional futsal player. Often regarded as the greatest futsal player of all time, he is known for his flashy and potent dribbling skills and a powerful and accurate left foot.^[1][2] He is also the world's all-time leading goalscorer in men's international matches. He was named as the Best Futsal Player in the World four times (2004, 2006, 2011 and 2012)^[3] and won the FIFA Futsal World Cup Golden Shoe in 2004^[4] and the Golden Ball twice, in 2004 and 2008.^[4] Today he is a YouTuber^[5] teaching futsal tricks and showing different things about futsal culture. His YouTube channel already has more than 1 million of subscribers^[6][7]

This biography of a living person relies too much on references to primary sources. (October 2010)

Quick Facts Personal information, Full name ...

Falcão

Falcão in 2007
Personal information
Full name	Alessandro Rosa Vieira
Date of birth	(1977-06-08) 8 June 1977 (age 46)
Place of birth	Santa Cruz do Rio Pardo, Brazil
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s)	Winger
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1989–1991	Guarapira	47	(50)
1992–1996	Corinthians	132	(189)
1997–1998	GM-Chevrolet	38	(45)
1999	Atlético Mineiro	30	(38)
1999	Rio de Janeiro	29	(38)
2000	São Paulo	32	(39)
2000–2002	Banespa	51	(70)
2003–2005	Malwee/Jaraguá	62	(97)
2005	São Paulo (football)	2	(0)
2005–2010	Malwee/Jaraguá	168	(220)
2011	Cortiana/Santos	28	(36)
2012–2014	Intelli	48	(66)
2014	Madureira
2015	Magnus Futsal
2015	Vasco da Gama (futsal)
2016	Chennai 5s	4	(5)
2020	Grêmio Futebol 7	1	(3)
Total		701	(1005)
International career‡
1998–2018	Brazil	258	(401)
Medal record Representing  Brazil Men's Futsal FIFA Futsal World Cup 2008 Brazil 2012 Thailand 2000 Guatemala 2004 Chinese Taipei Copa América – FIFA Futsal 2000 Brazil 2008 Uruguay 2011 Argentina 2003 Paraguay Futsal at the Pan American Games 2007 Rio de Janeiro
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 15 March 2011 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 1 November 2018

Close

Falcão joined the Guarapira futsal club in the northern zone of the city at the age of 13. He joined Corinthians in 1993 and became professional in 1993. He debuted in the senior team in 1994. In 1997, he joined GM-Chevrolet, owned by the General Motors company. After leaving in 1999, he switched teams frequently until 2003, when he ended up in Jaraguá. After changing clubs again from 2011 to 2012, he joined Sorocaba in 2013, where he played until 2018.

In 2004, 2006, 2011 and 2012, he was recognised as the Best Futsal Player in the World. On 26 June 2015, Falcão joined Nottingham Forest's futsal team for a tournament in Kuwait.^[8] He also played in the inaugural season of the Asian Premier Futsal Championship for Indian side Chennai 5s, scoring five goals in the tournament.

He also had a brief spell playing 11-a-side football with São Paulo Futebol Clube during the first half of 2005, including in the 2005 Copa Libertadores, but returned to futsal soon after.

Internationally, Falcão scored 401 goals in 258 appearances for the Brazil national futsal team. At the 2004 and 2008 FIFA Futsal World Cups, the latter on home soil, he was recognised by FIFA as the Best Player of the tournaments. In 2008 and 2012, he helped Brazil win their 4th and 5th title in the FIFA Futsal World Cup. On 22 September 2016, Falcão retired from the national team after they were eliminated by Iran in the round of 16 at the 2016 World Cup. Despite the early exit, he managed to score 10 goals, winning the Bronze Shoe and ultimately becoming the all-time top goalscorer in FIFA Futsal World Cup history, having scored 48 times. Falcão is considered by many football experts and players the greatest player in futsal history.^[9]

Besides being one of the greatest players in the sport's history,^[10] Falcão also participated on two of the most viewed futsal matches in history.^[11]