Fred At Home In Belo Horizonte

[Folami David]

The mind of Brazil striker Fred will probably be busy with thoughts and memories as he looks forward to Wednesday's Confederations Cup semifinal against Uruguay in Belo Horizonte, the capital of his home state of Minas Gerais.
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"I'm a 'mineiro.' Those are my people, so it's going to be very special, because that is my home. I've scored several goals at the Mineirao, so I am very eager for that game," he told ESPN Brazil with a broad smile this weekend.
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"I hope it inspires me to score more goals and to help the 'selecao,'" he told the local daily Hoje Em Dia.
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At 29, Fred looks older to many football fans, but that is only because he has had a long career that continues to be highly successful at the Rio de Janeiro club Fluminense.
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That career, during which he also played four years at Olympique Lyon, started in Belo Horizonte.
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A native of Teofilo Otoni, a city in Minas Gerais less than 500 kilometres north of the state capital, Fred rose through the youth ranks of Belo Horizonte club America Mineiro, and it was also with them that he became a professional in 2002.
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In 2004, he changed teams but not cities as he moved to Cruzeiro, one of Brazil's most popular clubs who play their home matches at the Mineirao Stadium, where the Confed Cup semifinal is to be played.
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"I started at America, then I moved to Cruzeiro, I am a mineiro from Teofilo Otoni, I lived in Belo Horizonte for eight years, my family currently live there, I have a daughter who lives there," Fred said to explain his close ties to the city.
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Belo Horizonte is a pleasant city of 2.5 million people that is in the centre of Brazil's third-largest metropolitan area, with close to 5.5 million people.
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An inland city, it cannot boast the beaches that are a trademark of Brazil, but it is immersed in beautiful hilly countryside and features several modernist buildings of note.