Madjer facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Madjer

Personal information
Full name	João Victor Saraiva
Date of birth	(1977-01-22) 22 January 1977 (age 47)
Place of birth	Luanda, Angola
Height	1.94 m (6 ft 4+1⁄2 in)
Playing position	Forward
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2002–2007	Cavalieri del Mare
2003	Pernambuco
2008	Milano Beach Soccer
2008	Rio de Janeiro
2009	Cavalieri del Mare
2010–2012	Sporting CP
2010	São Paulo
2010	AS Roma
2010	Torres Novas
2010	Lokomotiv Moscow
2011	Alanya Team
2011	Al-Ahli Dubai
2012	Botafogo
2012–2013	Beşiktaş
2013–2014	Lokomotiv Moscow
2014–2019	Sporting CP
National team‡
1998–2019	Portugal	573	(1077)
Honours Representing  Portugal Men's Beach Soccer European Games Gold 2019 Minsk Bronze 2015 Baku FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Silver 1999 Brazil Gold 2001 Brazil Silver 2002 Brazil Bronze 2003 Brazil Bronze 2004 Brazil Silver 2005 Brazil Bronze 2008 France Bronze 2009 UAE Bronze 2011 Italy Gold 2015 Portugal Gold 2019 Paraguay Euro Beach Soccer League Bronze 1998 Bronze 1999 Silver 2000 Silver 2001 Gold 2002 Bronze 2003 Silver 2004 Silver 2005 Silver 2006 Gold 2007 Gold 2008 Silver 2009 Gold 2010 Bronze 2011 Silver 2013 Bronze 2014 Gold 2015 Euro Beach Soccer Cup Gold 1998 Silver 1999 Gold 2001 Gold 2002 Gold 2003 Gold 2004 Bronze 2005 Gold 2006 Bronze 2007 Bronze 2009 Silver 2010 Silver 2012
Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 21 July 2015. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 24 December 2019

João Victor Saraiva (born 22 January 1977), better known as Madjer, is a Portuguese retired beach soccer player. He played in the forward position, and has won numerous awards at the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cups for his goalscoring abilities. He took the nickname Madjer because his idol is the former Algerian player Rabah Madjer. He has often been hailed as the best-ever beach soccer player. He became the first player to score 1000 international beach soccer career goals in an 8–1 win against England in September 2016.

In 2019, he was considered, by the prestigious magazine France Football, to be the best beach soccer player of all time.

International career

Madjer has an extraordinary agility and dribbling talent in contrast to his height (194 cm). Besides, he is very capable in acrobatic finishes such as volleys, over-head kicks and bicycle kicks. His skills provide a vital contribution for his team while competing in EBSL, Mundialito, and above all the Beach Soccer World Championship.

At the 2005, 2006, and 2008 World Cups Madjer won the golden boot for most goals scored in the tournament, and, he also was the MVP of EBSL last season in 1999, 2006, 2008 and 2009.

He retired from the sport after winning the 2019 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup in a victory over Italy.

Statistics

Honours

Club

Cavalieri del Mare Beach Soccer

• Scudetto: 2005

Sporting Clube de Portugal

• Circuito Nacional de Futebol de Praia: 2010, 2016

FC Lokomotiv Moscow

• Russian National Beach Soccer Championship: 2011;
• Euro Winners Cup: 2013

Alanya

• Turkish National Beach Soccer Championship: 2011

Al-Ahli Club

• UAE National Beach Soccer Championship: 2012, 2013, 2014
• UAE President's Cup: 2014
• UAE Supercup: 2014

Beşiktaş J.K.

• Turkish National Beach Soccer Championship: 2013

Country

• FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup (3): 2001, 2015, 2019
• Euro Beach Soccer League (6): 2002, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2015, 2019
• Euro Beach Soccer Cup (6): 1998, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006
• European Games (Gold Medal): 2019
• BSWW Mundialito (4): 2003, 2008, 2009, 2012
• Copa Latina (1): 2000

Individual

• FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Golden Ball (2): 2005, 2006
• FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Silver Ball (2): 2007, 2009
• FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Bronze Ball (1): 2015
• Beach Soccer World Championships Top Scorer (2): 2002, 2004
• FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Golden Shoe (3): 2005, 2006, 2008
• FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Silver Shoe (3): 2009, 2011, 2015
• Beach Soccer MVP (3): 2003, 2005, 2006
• Beach Soccer Best Player of the Year (2): 2015, 2016
• Beach Soccer Goal of the Year (1): 2015
• Beach Soccer Team of the Year (2): 2015, 2016
• Euro Beach Soccer League MVP (5): 1999, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010
• Euro Beach Soccer League Top Scorer (6): 2001, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2009
• Euro Beach Soccer League Fair Play Award (1): 2005
• Euro Beach Soccer League Portuguese Event Top Scorer (1): 2007
• Euro Beach Soccer League French Event Top Scorer (1): 2007
• Euro Beach Soccer League Spanish Event Top Scorer (1): 2004
• Euro Beach Soccer Cup Top Scorer (4): 2004, 2009, 2010, 2012
• FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup qualification (UEFA) Top Scorer (1): 2011
• Mundialito MVP (6): 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012
• Mundialito Top Scorer (5): 2004, 2005, 2008, 2010, 2012
• Copa Latina MVP (2): 1999, 2000
• Capocannoniere Serie A (2): 2008, 2009
• Capocannoniere Coppa Italia (1): 2008
• Russian National Beach Soccer Championship MVP (1): 2011
• Turkish National Beach Soccer Championship MVP (2): 2012, 2013
• UAE National Beach Soccer Championship Top Scorer (1): 2012
• Mundialito de Clubes Top Scorer (1): 2012

See also

In Spanish: Madjer para niños