Andre Akkari is a very proud Brazilian. He bleeds gold and green. So when the Global Poker League came calling for him to be the manager of the only Brazilian team – the Sao Paulo Metropolitans – in their inaugural season, Akkari was more than happy to answer.

“I loved the idea since the first moment and I was looking for a way to be involved on this,” said Akkari.

It was almost a year ago that Akkari first got wind of the GPL. Founder Alex Dreyfus was in Monaco for the European Poker Tour Grand Final and was gauging interest of players.

Now, Akkari, who ranks third on Brazil’s all-time earnings list, is readying himself for the first season and knows the key to a great team starts with the GPL Draft this Thursday.

“The draft is a really big moment. I have a lot of pressure in Brazil, so it will probably be impossible for me to please everyone,” said Akkari. “I am focused on drafting the best I can, whether I have Brazilians or not. I want the Sao Paolo Mets to be the first GPL champions.”

The Brazilian poker scene is full of great tournament players and Akkari could easily draft just for nationalistic pride, but before he looks at passports, Akkari has some other requirements for what he’s looking for to make up his initial roster.

“First of all I am looking for a great heads-up player. I have to think about the way that we are going to compete and a great heads-up player is really important,” said Akkari. “Then I am looking for a great six-max player. There are a lot of players that can take this position.”

Filling his roster with skilled players is important, but thanks to the unique GPL team concept, Akkari recognizes he’ll need to make sure he’s got people willing to do more than just be a great individual player.

“I want to try to get great players, but also get some great people. We will be a team, we will have to create relationships, talk strategies every day, share the energy and the game plan,” said Akkari. “It’s not easy to build it, but I think I can do that.”

Since the list of 203 draft eligible players was released last week, Akkari has been in contact with some of them to see if they’d be interested in joining the Metropolitans. Spending a good chunk of his calendar year playing tournaments around the world, Akkari has been using recent trips, including EPT Dublin, to get some valuable face time with potential teammates.

“Some people might be surprised because they don’t know a lot of Latin American players and maybe if I draft one or two of them, they will think that it’s because of where they’re from, but its not,” said Akkari. “We have some amazing players, online players, heads-up players, but obviously the names at the top of the Global Poker Index are the most valuable players right now.”

While he’s been busy doing his draft homework, Akkari can’t get over the fact that he gets to be a part of something of new and represent his native Brazil in the process. In his mind, the GPL is set to take the game of poker to an entirely new level.

“I truly believe that poker is a mind sport. After several years, we brought this concept to the Brazilian community and GPL is completely related with this spirit, the energy of the competition,” said Akkari. That energy and passion for poker is something that Akkari thinks will be an advantage for the Sao Paulo squad no matter who is on the team.

“I am a genuine ‘Paulista,’ so it’s a blessing to be representing the city. The Brazilians are so excited for the draft and to support the SP Mets,” said Akkari. “And everybody that plays poker knows that when the Brazilians supporters are involved, it’s trouble time for our opponents.”

Akkari picks sixth overall on Thursday.