Joan speaks to uefa.com
Sunday 3 March 2002

Spanish international Joan was one of the stars of the first UEFA Futsal Cup for winners Playas de Castellon F.S. Uefa.com caught up with the 27-year-old, who finished the Lisbon tournament as top scorer with eleven goals, to find out more about the fast and furious sport and its growing appeal.

uefa.com:
How Important is a UEFA club competition for Futsal?

Joan:
It's important for me and for Futsal as a whole. We have waited many years for this moment. Finally we have an official competition. It's very important for the growth of Futsal in Europe. We hope that soon countries like England, Germany and France will also take part and in time we will have something comparable to the [UEFA] Champions League. That would be great for the sport.

uefa.com:
Did you see much of Lisbon, the host city for the first UEFA Futsal Cup?

Joan:
A little. We went to the de Fama, Belen, its very beautiful. It was a city I didn't know but I really liked it. It's an interesting place and there is a lot of history and we visited the three or four most important places in the time we had, but I have good memories of the city.

uefa.com:
How is Futsal received in Spain?

Joan:
It's a sport which has really grown here in the last few years. The national team won the [2000] World Championship [in Guatemala] and [2001] UEFA European [Futsal] Championship [in Moscow} and the clubs have had success in the European Cup. The result of that has been a huge growth of Futsal in terms of number of supporters and more clubs turning professional. But it still needs more. A lot of progress has been made but we are still growing.

uefa.com:
What was the 2000 FIFA World Futsal
Championship like in Guatemala?

Joan:
Unforgettable. I also had the experience of playing in the previous world championship in Spain in 1996 where we lost the final to Brazil in my city, Barcelona. We all wanted to go one step further. It was quite impressive in Guatemala. When we arrived there we didn't know what to expect, a country with little pedigree in Futsal. But it was wonderful. The population of around 8,000 Spaniards there really got behind us. The fans treated us brilliantly and we responded on the pitch. We played the hypothetical final against Brazil and won. We'd been away from home for three weeks and achieved what we failed to do in Spain. To win the world championship in this sport was a great feeling.

uefa.com:
Why Futsal and not football?

Joan:
In my case I just tried it. I was having trials at [FC] Barcelona for eleven a side football. But I was unsuccessful, they didn't contract me, so decided to dedicate myself to Futsal. And it's the same for most players. They play eleven a side football then realise that they prefer Futsal and are better suited to it and that's when we focus on Futsal.

uefa.com:
What is it like being a professional Futsal
player?
Joan:
We are very professional. We train eight times a week, twice a day. You have to really dedicate yourself professionally. You have some time free to finish your studies or work in something if it doesn't tire you out too much. But in truth it involves a lot of dedication, particularly in the lead up to the matches.

uefa.com:
What are the differences between eleven-a-side and Futsal?

Joan:
There are a lot of differences because the playing area is obviously a lot smaller. So it's more tactical than football. Technically the way you kick the ball is different as the ball is smaller. Within a smaller area the moves are a lot faster. The way I see it is that Futsal is more technical and precise than football.

uefa.com:
What is the secret of your goalscoring success?

Joan:
That's my style of play. I am a goalscorer. I play up front and try to make the most of all my chances. Sometimes I'm more fortunate than other times and score more goals. I've been topscorer in the league twice and I've taken part in the European Cup three times and each time I was topscorer.

uefa.com:
What are you ambitions?

Joan:
Well I can tell you that apart from the Spanish Cup, I have won everything. I still keep trying to win more, and personally I've won many awards, best player, best left winger, topscorer for example. I've won many titles but it's a short career, over by the age of 31, 32 or 33. I am trying to make the most of my achievements. I dedicate nearly my whole life to Futsal.