Boys from Brazil in action against the Shyambazar lads. Picture by Sanjoy Chattopadhyaya Support for the visitors. Picture by Sanjoy Chattopadhyaya

A quick huddle, a sign of the cross and then the magic flowed from Xande, Vaguinho, Marcelo and the rest. Five minutes later, they scored the first goal. By the final whistle, they had drubbed Mohammad Farid and his team 8-1.

That?s as close Calcutta got to world soccer on Saturday, when New Dey Paints from Shyambazar took on the Boys from Brazil in an exhibition match.

On Friday, Farid and company had emerged national champions of Defend Your Turf, mobile major Nokia?s street-football tournament, beating Bangalore?s Jogo Bonito, Mumbai?s The Rangers and New Delhi?s Legal Balls.

The game against the Brazilian street football (Futsal) stars at Rabindra Sarobar stadium was part of the champions? prize package. Next, they will train in Rio?s Maracana stadium and play with local stars there.

A little while after the win against New Dey Paints, the Boys from Brazil took on their seniors, the Bengal Tigers, led by Indian captain Bhaichung Bhutia. ?We have to show them what para football is all about in Calcutta,? Bhutia declared before kick-off.

But the line-up boasting the likes of Basudeb Mondol, Debjit Ghosh and Dibyendu Biswas could hardly tackle the samba any better, with the final scoreline reading 4-0 in favour of the visitors.

The Boys from Brazil represent some of the leading Futsal players picked by Rio de Janeiro?s premier football association.

Smart packaging may be the mantra for the team ? the players have nicknames like Bullet, The Iceberg, Little Assassin, Samba King and The Joker ? but they have their fair share of talent and experience, too.

?We?ve had a great experience so far in India and we hope to look around Calcutta,? said captain Xande, before handing out a consolation pat for the hosts. ?The level of play here is good. The passing skills of players are a lot like those back in Brazil,? observed the scorer of 118 goals in 25 games.

India is the fifth country visited by the boys as part of Defend Your Turf, after Malaysia, Singapore, Australia and Thailand.