They relax on thrones in the sanctuary of sporting gods. One is venerated for his mega-revolution topspin forehands and preposterous drop shots; the other for his supersonic step-overs, klipspringer’s leap and thunderous right boot. Yet Rafa Nadal and Cristiano Ronaldo most indebt their immortality to something else: an insane worth ethic.

A girl who grew up in a southern-Brazilian city renowned for its grapes, and now calls home a southern-Italian town esteemed for its olives, regards the Spanish clay czar and the Portuguese grass great as role models. She attributes her success to heeding their labour lead.

There’s been a lot of it. Since moving to Europe almost a decade ago, Renata has astonishingly averaged over a goal a game in every single season, managing a ratio of 1.71 in back-to-back campaigns and 1.90 in 2022/23. She has finished third, fourth and fifth in the running for FutsalPlanet’s prestigious Best Women’s Player award. The indefatigable pivot has vacuumed leading markswomen prizes, propelled her clubs to trophies galore, and helped Bitonto finished runners-up for the European crown last December.

Renata is now fixated on another continental competition in March. The 31-year-old was outstanding as Italy emphatically won their group to reach the elite round of UEFA qualifying for the maiden FIFA Futsal Women’s World Cup™. Two from Portugal, Italy, Hungary and Sweden will make it to the Philippines. The Caxias do Sul native took time out from her intense training regime to chat to FIFA.

FIFA: You turned down the opportunity to represent Brazil at 11-a-side at youth level, right?
Renata Adamatti: I was called up for the U-16 and U-18 football national teams. But I’d always trained futsal since I was little, so I put more emphasis on that. Futsal was my big target. It’s always been my passion. I watch football but I don’t think it’s as dynamic. You’re on the ball much less, so for me it’s not as exciting as futsal.

Can you tell us about your admiration for Rafa Nadal and Cristiano Ronaldo?
I see them as exemplary athletes – not just on the pitch or the court, but off it too. I always try to take inspiration from them. For me, work doesn’t just begin when a match kicks off, but when you train or go to the gym. Cristiano Ronaldo and Rafa Nadal both have incredible talent, but they work as hard as they possibly can and reap the rewards that they plant. I try to follow the same path.

You’re goal ratio since moving to Italy, over 1.5 per game, is astonishing. How have you managed to maintain this?
I train really hard. Not just to score goals, but to help the team win games. I also demand a lot from myself. Even in training, I demand a lot from myself. I never want to miss a chance or lose. When I do, I’m never satisfied. Having this competitiveness in training helps me in games. I always want to win and to score.

Is there anyone in the world better at dinking the ball over the goalkeeper to score?
(Laughs) I think it’s a characteristic of mine, but I don’t know. I think many other players are good at scoring dinks. I always feel inspired when I see these pulled off in futsal and in football, and always try to improve upon doing this.

You’d played for Brazil. Can you tell us how your call-up to the Italian national team came about in 2019?
I’d played many times for the Brazilian national team, but after I moved to Italy, I stopped getting called up. They came and asked me if I was interested in representing Italy. I saw it as a great opportunity because things are much better organised here, the squads get together much more often, they have set targets. That was a big reason for me deciding to play for Italy.

How did you feel when the first FIFA Futsal Women’s World Cup was announced?
It was a fantastic feeling. I was emotional because this is what we’d always dreamed of, fought for. Since we were little, we’ve watched the World Cup on TV and dreamed of playing in it. Thank God our time arrived. It’s really exciting for the whole sport. Obviously Italy have another phase to get through, but we’ll do everything we can to fulfil this dream of playing at the first World Cup. We’ll go down in history if we realise this objective.

Italy were the favourites to win their main-round group, but to score 27 goals and concede zero must have left you pleased?
Without doubt. We imagined the round would be a little easier because of the teams that were there. We did our part, but we know that the next phase will be completely different, much harder. We’ll be up against much better teams, so we’ll have to prepare even better. We know we won’t enjoy the same results as we did in the main round.

Portugal, Hungary and Sweden… what did you think of the draw?
They are three very capable teams. We’ll have to study them well. They are teams that are strong physically. We’ll have to prepare really well, because all three games will be finals. We have to win all our games to qualify and not depend on other results.

Many feel the World Cup will be a three-team fight between Brazil, Portugal and Spain. Italy are on a 12-game winning run. Do you think Italy can win the title?
I think in games, everyone has a chance, regardless of who’s the favourite. We know that we are improving slowly, step by step, but we’ve already had results. We managed to draw with Portugal for the first time, draw with Spain for the first time, which shows we are reaping the rewards of our work. There will be a different atmosphere at the World Cup and we would never rule out the possibility of winning it. It’s five against five. It’s down to who’s better prepared and who’s on their game on the day. Perhaps one of the favourites has an off day and we can take advantage. But we’ve got our feet on the ground. We’re going to work hard, give it our best and that way, whatever happens, we’ll be happy.

Did you watch much of Uzbekistan 2024 and, if so, did you think, ‘This could be me next year’?
Yes, I watched all the games. I really enjoy following games. It was really cool to see all the publicity, how much futsal was valued, how much it has grown. The atmosphere in the arenas looked incredible. And yes, I did think about how amazing it would be to be there and experience all of that. I really hope us girls can make it.

Brazil v Argentina | Final | FIFA Futsal World Cup Uzbekistan 2024™ | Highlights
Watch the highlights from the match between Brazil and Argentina played at Humo Arena, Tashkent on Sunday, 06 October 2024 at 20:00 (local time).
You’ve come third, fourth and fifth in the running for the Best Women’s Player award. Is winning it a personal target?
Firstly, just being on that shortlist is a great achievement. Every time I have been on it, I’ve been really pleased. I always try to improve, I always want to get better, but that’s because I want to help my team as much as possible and not because I want to compete against other players for individual awards. If it happens, it would be a dream come true, but if not I will keep training, keep fighting.

Amandinha won it eight times in a row. What do you think of her?
I think she’s a very intelligent player. She also has incredible quality. She’s a player who makes the difference. Amandinha has grown futsal so much, given it more visibility. We’re all grateful to her.

Excluding yourself, who do you regard as the best players in the world right now?
That’s a tough question. For me, Bianca Castagnaro from Stein is the best goalkeeper in the world. I’d say Tati Crocetta and Diana Santos are the best fixas. There are a lot of great wingers: Fifo, Janice, Peque, Emilly. A pivot I rate very highly is Lucileia, who is my team-mate. She scores a lot of goals. She’s always in the right place at the right time.

Atletico, Benfica, Bitonto, Burela, Stein… who do you think is the best team in the world?
It’s difficult to compare because I think the standards are different. I think the standard in Italy and Spain is higher than it is in Brazil. In Brazil, I think you have two or three high-quality teams. Stein have a very strong team and end up winning everything, along with Taboao, who are also really good. I think Benfica are the best team in the world right now, the most complete. After Benfica, I think we’re up there along with Burela, Atletico Madrid.

Finally, you play alongside Alessia Grieco and Nicoletta Mansueto for club and country. What do you think of these two players?
I’ve played alongside Nicoletta for a lot of years, so we have a good understanding. She’s grown a lot and is a very good player. I always admired Alessia a lot when she played for other clubs. She’s very intelligent. She makes a big difference. She’s also a great person. If anyone has a problem, she’s always there to help.