Wonderkid Nani believes his skill at avoiding punches, kicks and
headbutts helped make him a star.
Manchester Uniteds Portuguese midfielder, 20, was a keen martial
arts exponent and it taught him how to defend himself.
It is also why he can flip like an Olympic gymnast when he
scores.
Nani said: The discipline I followed, La Capoeira, is not well
known in England but its something I not only admire and miss but
it formed a crucial part of my life when I was 15 and 16.
Obviously, becoming a well-paid professional footballer means you
have to quit that but I admire the guys who practice it and when
Im at home I often go to watch them.
"Now I only allow myself a somersault or two when I score but I
learned some death-defying flips when I practised Capoeira.
Capoeira derives from a kind of dancing-fighting sport developed by
African slaves in Brazil and, at its fiercest, includes kicks,
sweeps, elbows, head-butts and punches.
But the elegance of the evasive tactics are what fascinated Nani as
a kid while at the same time he was learning his football skills
on the cobbled streets of Lisbon, trying to copy the emerging
genius of countryman Cristiano Ronaldo.
Nani scored a stunner against Middlesbrough last week and he is
gunning for Arsenal today.
He added: I basically honed my skills playing street football
which is a school of hard knocks.
