Foot-volley – or, as it’s known here, fut-volei – was born in Brazil as a reaction to a law that actually made soccer illegal in the early ‘60s. It has developed into an international sport that is played throughout the Americas (Uruguay are the current champions).

The best place to watch fut-volei is on the sport’s ‘home-beaches’ of Ipanema and Copacabana. And the best time to watch it...? Any day when Josy Souza is playing.  As I keep reminding my 7 year-old daughter, there’s something cool about a girl who can kick a soccer-ball with style. When she looks as good doing it as Brazilian fut-volei champ Josy Souza...well, there’s not much that’s cooler. Even in Rio.

Josy had recently returned from a six-week tour of West Coast US when I signed up for one of her foot-volley courses. With Josy you learn fast. She’s a fairly unforgiving teacher and, although I was happy with how my rusty football skills started to come back, she rarely lets mistakes in posture slip by. Controlling the ball barefoot is more difficult than it would be with boots but a fut-volei ball is also considerably lighter and less inflated than a soccer ball.

A group of four talented players makes for an impressive spectacle and quickly attracts large groups of spectators and, often, bettors. Although big–money matches are rare these day there is still talk of legendary matches where as much as 20,000reais changed hands.

According to the newspapers, Josy’s talents did not go unnoticed in the upper echelons of the soccer world. She denies the newspaper rumours that she was Ronaldinho’s girlfriend though. “We were just friends,” she told me as we as we tucked into energy-bomb fruit juices. Like most serious athletes Josy rarely touches alcohol. Even caipirinhas.

She’s still cool though.