You ready to salivate? Touros-RN, a captivating city on the Southern Atlantic coastline, stands along 180 kilometres of seraphic sand adjacent to turquoise, crystal-clear waters. Dune complexes and coral reefs beautify bliss. Relaxing as the sun sets on one of its breathtaking beaches is akin to doing it at Oia Castle in Santorini, the Atacama Desert or the Taj Majal.

Its seduction isn’t exclusively aesthetic. Touros is known as ‘Esquina do Brasil’ (Brazil’s Corner), the obtruding point from which one way is north and the other east. It’s the continent’s closest point to Africa. It homes the country’s oldest monument and Latin America’s second-biggest lighthouse. Its unique marine life – Conus tourosensis, a venomous, predatory sea snail endemic to its waters – seduces oceanographers. Its waves render it paradise for water-sport enthusiasts. Tiny Touros, like enormous Earth, even has its own complication of Seven Wonders.

One thing the municipality has never had, however, is celebrities. Growing up there in the noughties, there was no footballer, popstar or actor from the town to idolise. It’s the type of place you’re born in, grow up in, work in and retire in; a place where everyone knows everyone.

And everyone knew the Miranda boys. A ball to Emerson, Edson and Erick was like oxygen to others. All three brothers, despite historical and geographical handicap, pipe-dreamed of putting Touros on the map with a world football title.

When Edson was 13, he was afforded what he believed was a once-in-a-lifetime gateway to that opportunity: a trip to Portugal to try out for a professional football team. He returned home without the contract he had so craved. Yet he returned home having enjoyed “the best trip of my life” – one he still reminisces about today.

“Man, it was unbelievable: I got to meet Hulk! My big idol,” he recalled, as starry-eyed today as he was entering his teens. “I will never, ever forget that.

“You couldn’t believe how nice he was. He played for the Seleção but he was such a humble guy. I took a photo with him. I still have it.”

Soon, after Edson had switched from 11-a-side football to futsal, there would be two Hulks in the photo he would gaze at relentlessly.

“My friends starting calling me Hulk and the nickname stuck,” he said. “I loved it. I love it to this day.

“It was because we had similar characteristics. I had a potent shot and was a physical player. It’s in homage to the great Hulk.”

Edson had two dreams back then: to watch Hulk win the FIFA World Cup Brazil 2014™, and to catapult Touros into an overseas eye by winning the FIFA Futsal World Cup™. The former ended in a nation-devastating 7-1 defeat to Brazil; the latter did with another code-hop.

“Beach soccer was always my first love,” he said. “I loved playing it as a kid. Futsal and football have more opportunities. Erick became a professional footballer (he went on to play in the Brazilian second flight) and I became a futsal player.

“But beach soccer was always the sport I enjoyed playing the most. When the opportunity arose, it was a really easy decision to switch to beach soccer.”

Astonishingly, just two years after he swapped courts for sand, the striker was performing at the sport’s pinnacle: the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup™. There, Edson Hulk flickered his seldom talent, though he couldn’t prevent the Seleção suffering a 5-4 extra-time loss to Senegal in the quarter-finals. He described playing in the 2021 finals as “an indescribable sensation” but admitted he was “still adapting to the sport at the highest level”.

It’s safe to say that now he has not just acclimatised to it, but mastered it. Edson Hulk astonishingly scored 14 goals in six games – twice as many as any other player, despite Brazil’s considerable rotation – as they won the Beach Soccer Copa America in March, which served as CONMEBOL qualifying for UAE 2024.

“The most important targets were to qualify for the World Cup and to win the title,” he said. “My principal objective is always doing everything I can to help the team win. But of course I was very happy to finish as top scorer.”

Edson Hulk went on to seize the leading marksman and MVP prizes in the Circuito Brasil de Beach Soccer – the country’s most prestigious championship.

“I feel I’m better than I’ve ever been,” he said. “Brazil has so many great strikers, so if I’m not at my absolute best, I’ll lose my place.

“I’m constantly thinking about wearing the Seleção shirt at the World Cup in Dubai. I’m so dedicated, I’m always pushing myself. I give my in every training session and every game.”

The transformation of Edson Hulk from prospect to prince has hiked hope that ‘The Kings of the Beach’ can regain the global crown they last wore in 2017. The Marco Octavio-coached, Catarino-captained Brazil will discover their group-stage opponents on Friday, when the official draw for UAE 2024 takes place.

“We hope it’s a good draw for Brazil,” he said. “That said, we’re fully aware that every team that has qualified for the World Cup is top quality. There are no easy games any more.”

As Davids strive to underscore that in Dubai, Goliaths such as IR Iran, Italy, Japan, Portugal, Senegal, Spain and Switzerland all have their eyes on the prize. Edson Hulk, however, responded emphatically when asked if he considers Brazil the best team on the planet.

“Without doubt,” he said. “Look, maybe I’m biased. Maximum respect to the other national teams, but I really believe Brazil have the best team. Brazil has always had the best players. That doesn’t guarantee you victory, but I think it will be very hard to beat this Seleção. You better believe that Brazil will go into the World Cup in really strong shape.

“To be a world champion, representing your country is something you can’t even put a price on. Can you imagine having the honour of becoming Brazilian football’s first six-time world champions? It would be inexplicable joy. This is the dream of every one of us. First I will keep working as hard as possible to make Marco Octavio’s squad.”

Edson doesn’t just dream of lifting the trophy for himself and his family. It goes way beyond that.

“Touros-RN, I love my city,” he said. “I’m enormously proud to come from my city. I love the people of Touros. I know how much it would mean to them to win the World Cup. It would be an unprecedented achievement for the city. I want the whole world to know the name of Touros.”