Iowa Demon Hawk Raphael Nascimento played pro ball in Brazil before studying at Marshalltown Community College and Grand View University.
Writer: Emmett McMenamy
Photos: Duane Tinkey
A fast-paced and high-scoring version of soccer has caught on in Des Moines. It’s called arena soccer and it’s played in a tight indoor space, where teams frequently score in double digits. It’s popular in Brazil, but the Iowa Demon Hawks have embraced it, bringing international soccer and even a national championship to the capital city.
The team began in 2017 under the guidance of Darwin Salas, an immigrant from Mexico who’s managed music venues and radio stations across the Midwest. He didn’t know much about arena soccer until he met Raphael Nascimento, a professional player who had recently moved to Des Moines from Florida and encouraged him to plant a team here in Iowa. Salas quickly fell in love with the game and took charge of the project.
The team bounced between leagues and cities before joining the Major Arena Soccer League 2 in the 2022-2023 season and officially adopted its current name. (The “Demon” sounds like Des Moines; the “Hawks” nod to the Hawkeyes.)
To get off the ground, the team played one season entirely on the road and another in Cedar Rapids. For the 2023-2024 season, the team moved to Buccaneer Arena in Urbandale.
That season, Salas also recruited a new coach named Tiago Coutinho, who had led Brazil’s national minifootball (soccer) team. “When I got into the Zoom call, there was that energy building between me and him,” Salas said. “We looked straight in the eyes through Zoom, and he was able to see my excitement and drive, and I was able to see his hunger to come and make a difference.”
It was a big opportunity for Coutinho, who had to leave his country, family and job to come to Iowa.
“God opened up the doors for bigger things,” Coutinho said through an interpreter. “When I came (to Des Moines), I knew I wanted to be a champion.”
That dream came true in 2024 with the Demon Hawks’ 15-0 record and championship season — thanks in part to Coutinho’s expertise and his emotional pregame pep talks — but the team is just getting started. Salas wants to reach the top Major Arena Soccer League, and Coutinho strives to build an arena-soccer culture in Des Moines.
The city hosted several exhibition games last year with national indoor soccer teams from Brazil, Mexico and the United States. Salas has led the charge, especially since he serves as the international affairs director for Brazil’s national team.
That exposure can boost a local fan base and help the Demon Hawks recruit and develop better players. Coutinho thinks Des Moines could become a hot spot for new soccer talent, the way a small suburb of Rio de Janeiro called Saquarema is famous for producing volleyball players.
“The whole United States could know us,” he said. “The entire world could know us as well. Because we could be bringing and developing new, future soccer players.”
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