Courtesy: FIFA.com

U.S. Futsal: From the parking lot to Taipei

A member of the last U.S. squad to line up at a FIFA Futsal World Championship eight years ago in Spain, current captain Sean Bowers is heading back to the big show with high hopes of global glory. FIFA.com recently caught up with the 37-year-old fullback for a look at the oft-times rocky state of futsal in the States.
A veteran of the American futsal program since 1995, Bowers knows full well the difficulties facing the development of the game in the U.S. From virtually non-existent funding to a profound lack of anything resembling a developed futsal culture, the U.S. squad were even reduced to conducting training sessions in parking lots not a decade ago. But with a resounding run to the CONCACAF title this summer, the States are hoping for better things this November in Chinese Taipei.

Not the same game

"We have always had problems getting together as a team to play," Bowers said. "In Brazil and Spain you have organised leagues with players playing futsal year round. That is something we need here in the States."

One major impediment to the development of a classic futsal culture is the fact that the indoor game most often played competitively in the United States differs fundamentally from traditional futsal. With dasher boards to keep the ball in play, penalty boxes and rapid-fire, frenetic action, the peculiarly American hybrid of 'indoor soccer' is a far more physical breed than the typically hyper-technical five-a-side born in Uruguay and perfected in Brazil. Each member of the U.S. futsal team makes his living, at least partially, playing in the Major Indoor Soccer League. The ten-team league predates the outdoor venture Major League Soccer by 18 years and enjoys a wide fan base in various parts of the country.

"Our version is so different, it's more physical and tactical," said Bowers, who leads the rearguard for his hometown MISL outfit the San Diego Sockers. "You can use your body and find ways to compensate for lack of technique."

"We can go a long way in Taipei"

"Here it's a lot about fitness," Bowers added from his home in Southern California, where he also coaches a women's university team. "But great futsal is all about finesse. You have to create space where there is none, and that's the real challenge."
Despite the obvious infrastructural handicaps, the U.S. team, led by head coach Keith Tozer, are heading to Taipei with stars in their eyes after missing out on the last FIFA Futsal World Championship in Guatemala. And in order for the Americans to surpass their best-ever second-place finish at Hong Kong 1992, Bowers sees strong defence as the most crucial element.

"Our goal is to win in Taipei," said the player who spent four years with MLS' Kansas City Wizards. "We have a tough group and the first order of business is to find our way out of it."

Leading from the back

"Defence is our main strength," he remarked. "We have two of the best goalkeepers in the world, and our forwards even help get back behind the ball too. They don't just sit there, score goals, and think that's all it takes. We will always score goals, but as long as we defend the way we are capable of, we can go a long way in Taipei."

And a watertight run of form on their way to the continental championship in Costa Rica back in July proved the States rock-solid defensive reputation was no myth.

Over nearly a decade with the U.S. futsal program, Bowers has seen the game consistently occupy the low end of the U.S. Soccer Federation's totem pole. But if the team follow head coach Tozer's tactical plans and finish strong in Taipei, he believes futsal's future might just get a little sunnier in the States.

A long road to hoe

"I was on the team that played in Spain in 96, and we didn't put in the best performance," he said of the U.S. that went out in the first round. "Most of the guys had never even heard of futsal back then. The team was made up of some indoor players, some outdoor players. But the ins and outs of proper futsal were completely foreign concepts."

"Sometimes we couldn't get a court to play on and John (Kowalski, then head coach) would throw down the ball in a parking lot and say 'ok today we are practicing right here.' And that's what we did," he added.

But despite all the obstacles, futsal has come a long way in the States. Having qualified for four of the five FIFA Futsal World Championships, Bowers points to a selfless dedication as one of the most important factors.

"We have a tremendous sense of what it means to be a team," he said. "We all play for the love of the game. We don't get big bonuses; we just love to play. When we were all down in Costa Rica we got a hundred dollars each - that's not what it's about for us.

"We're a close-knit group, there are no egos, no stars," he added. "It's a grass roots thing, and we all love it. What we really want to do is go to Taipei and win - then maybe we will get a little more respect."

The fourteen-man U.S. team is currently on an eight-day training trip in Brazil, honing their skills ahead of the World Championships in Chinese Taipei.