European-Baby joy brings beach inspiration to Portugal's Fonseca

By Justin Palmer BAKU, June 24 (Reuters) - Portugal's beach soccer forward Jose Maria Fonseca faced a personal dilemma -- heed his wife's wishes, stay at home and witness the birth of his first child or play in the inaugural European Games in Azerbaijan. After much soul-searching, Baku won and on Monday along came baby Alfonso. "I was very happy and very sad at the same time," he said of being a long way from home. But thanks to the wonders of Facetime (video conferencing), he did not miss the birth, watching live pictures after a tiring wait. "She (his wife Anna) called me at 1am on June 21 so I stayed awake almost all night waiting for news. He was born at 3.30pm," the 32-year-old forward said. "I was crying all the time, just like a girl. But it was perfect. It will be more amazing when I have him in my arms." Still overjoyed and needing to catch up on sleep, Fonseca ignored fatigue and scored twice as Portugal, ranked fourth in the world, beat Switzerland, one place higher, 6-5 in their Group A opener on Wednesday. "In the game every emotion came out," he said. "I had an extra force here to run when I am tired. "It wasn't easy (opting for Baku). First she (Anna) asked me to stay at home and I understand that. But it's very important for me to represent my nation and I thought it's important for my son to understand we have to run after our dreams. And this is a dream for me." Fonseca will only have a short time to bond with his new son. He will have three days at home after the beach soccer tournament ends on Sunday before the Portugal squad meet up again to prepare for next month's World Cup on home soil. "My wife asked me two times to stay at home," he joked, adding that he would have to return home with a gold medal for his son "to show him when he grows up". The opening day of the beach soccer, featuring eight teams, brought spectacular goals, acrobatic flicks and stunning volleys on the sand next to the Caspian Sea. With an ever-present backdrop of pumping dance music, Russia, the world's top-ranked side and winners of back-to-back World Cups, beat Hungary 5-3 in Group B. Spain beat Italy in a penalty shootout after a 1-1 draw while Azerbaijan were taking on Ukraine in the last game of the day. (Editing by Ken Ferris)