Interview: Marco and Flavio Paixao, footballers

Published on Saturday 5 December 2009 20:51

WHATEVER YOU do, don't call the Paixao twins Jedward. They don't like it. Which means, of course, that within the space of an hour, there have been half a dozen references to The X Factor duo by staff and colleagues at Hamilton. That's the nature of Scottish football banter.

They could argue that they had honed the high-hair look first, long before the Irish wannabes burst into the British consciousness, but they don't. Because they don't see any resemblance. "I think it's just because they are twins and we are twins. I don't think our hair is the same. That's why I don't want to talk about that, because I don't know why they call us that. To be honest, we don't really like it because we are Marco and Flavio and they are John and Edward. They are singers and they are not very good, but we are footballers and I think we are good. We just want to be ourselves."

It's the only time throughout the interview that the smile wanes slightly and the natural exuberance is quelled, which suggests it is time to move on. Especially as he has been happy to discuss the ribbing the Portuguese duo get for their dress sense, the teasing that accompanies their lengthy dressing room grooming sessions and even divulge the fact that they used to be models, camping it up for the camera and candidly admitting to sporting a worrying array of outfits. The X Factor is the only raw nerve. Marco has been a bundle of giggles and playfulness throughout and he says that is his natural state. He loves life. It's obvious. What's not to love? All their life, the twins, who grew up in Lisbon playing football on the street or five-a-side on the beach, have wanted to be footballers. They rebuffed their mother's pleas to maintain their studies and it has worked out for them.

"My father was a great supporter for us and since we were kids all that was in our heads was just football, football, football. My mother wanted us to study but we said 'no, no, no, we have to play football, that is our passion' and we are lucky because not many people have the life they want but I wanted to play football and I play football."

The duo arrived at Hamilton in the summer, not as a buy-one-get-one-free deal, insists Marco. Both just impressed in trials and earned two-year deals. They played for their local youth teams together and joined FC Porto together but when they moved on three years ago, one went to the north of Spain, the other to the south. So to be back together is a bonus. "We are very close and think alike, we can offer each other support and that is important because football is emotional." That means spirits rarely dip, leaving Hamilton twice the level of exuberance to manage.

Explain what mischief means to Marco and he responds straightaway. It is the perfect way to describe the twins' antics as they grew up. If some kind of prank was going down in the neighbourhood, they were the initial suspects. "We weren't naughty, we just liked to have fun. We have always wanted to laugh and joke. Because we looked exactly the same no one knew who to blame and we did lots of things. I went to his class and he went to my class and the teachers didn't know. It was good times but now we have responsibility and are men now. We are 25 and now know when to behave. But we are still always smiling. That's us smiling and enjoying life."

That kind of spirit has proved invaluable. Adapting to Scottish football has not been easy. Although they grew up watching British sides in Europe, learning about Scottish football by watching Jorge Cadete and idolising Mark Hughes and Manchester United, the SPL was still a shock.

"Playing football in Spain, you always have good players around you and you can do your skills and you can make a move and you know someone will see that and play it into your path but the game is a bit different (here]. It is not so much on the ball, and the centre-backs play the ball to the forwards and there are a lot of headers here but for us in Spain we always played with our feet and within 10 minutes you would have the ball three or four times, but here maybe in 10 minutes I don't have the ball once. That is difficult and we have had to adapt and concentrate more and not relax too much when we don't have the ball. Here you have to stay focused. And you have to run, run, run, because it is more physical."

But there is a pressure to deliver something extra. He feels it whenever he has the ball. Because of his background, people expect more skills or a bit of flair. "People want me to be able to do something different but if you want to be a top player, you have to live with pressure and if I want to make my name in Scotland, I have to do that."

He is not what you could ever describe as shy but the self-confidence, while overt, stops short of arrogance. The twins have grown up used to being the centre of attention. DNA saw to that. Identical twins (Marco is the oldest by a whole five minutes, he boasts), they were also dressed identically. "We have photos in our home and in every picture we both have the same shoes, pants, shirt, same hair and it's so funny. We are exactly the same. And if I have twins I will do the same because people always love the fact you are twins. People always comment. You get lots of attention. We know that."

The football and the modelling were a natural extension of that. They love them both but football remains the priority. This afternoon, Marco hopes to take centre stage. In the previous meeting between Hamilton and Hearts this season, Paixao was one of the star performers at Tynecastle, and although the visitors left without a fair share of the points, it was a pivotal match for him.

"That game was the point for me when I felt I had arrived in the SPL. That game changed everything for me here because Billy (Reid, Hamilton manager] played me on the left side and I really did a great job and since that day I have played on the left side and scored goals. Until then I always played up front but here there are big guys at your back and there are so many balls played high and you have to play with your head. Billy knew my qualities and said it was better for me to play on the left because I can show more skills, I can run with the ball, I can shoot more at goal and that game truly was the turning point."

This afternoon could be another one. With both teams struggling at the wrong end of the table, both will be craving three points. There is little to separate the teams but in Marco Paixao, Hamilton are hoping they have the necessary X factor.