Courtesy: UEFA


Eintracht eager for Germany

Sunday, 3 July 2005

By Andreas Alf

Eintracht Frankfurt are leading the charge to establish Futsal in Germany after becoming the first Bundesliga club to adopt the sport.

Élite nations
While England and France have long since joined élite nations Italy and Spain in embracing Futsal, Germany is the one footballing powerhouse that is still getting to know the game. However, German involvement is essential if Futsal is to continue its meteoric rise, having already reached a point where 33 nations will compete in the 2005/06 UEFA Futsal Cup.

Pioneering step
Eintracht are out to do just that. The club, which has just won promotion back to football's Bundesliga, have established their own Futsal side and are hoping to act on the words of Netherlands coach Vic Hermans. A respected figure within the European game, the Dutchman has predicted: "Germany will only need three or four years to reach world-class level."

Keen to try
Despite such confidence from abroad, Eintracht know it will not be an easy task to place the country on the same footing as those in southern and eastern Europe where top-level Futsal attracts professional players and huge crowds, and millions of part-time enthusiasts.

Challenges ahead
Speaking to uefa.com, Eintracht's head of amateur football Stephan Winterling said: "We know we face a lot of challenges and it will be quite difficult until the moment we can get organised Futsal in Germany. But we wanted to be the first ones to take the risk."

Coach appointed
Winterling had the idea to turn Eintracht towards Futsal while watching a game on television two years ago. Since then he has appointed 38-year-old Horst Schumacher as the club's coach and is on the lookout for players to participate in the Springtime Cup, Germany's unofficial national championship, in 2006.

Different game
"Our major problem is that Futsal is not even being played in an organised league in our country," explained Schumacher. "Many Germans have not understood yet that this sport is quite different from indoor football. It is about tactics just like basketball. A gifted footballer will not necessarily be a successful Futsal player. Our major task is to let our nation know about this."

'We need support'
Presently, only around 3,000 players take part in Futsal in the country that has won three FIFA World Cup titles in football. MSC Strandkaiser Krefeld are the team to beat having lifted the last two Springtime Cups but will not be involved in the forthcoming UEFA Futsal Cup. Schumacher said: "We have already become much more than just an option to knock the ball around under a roof. But we need more support."

National help
Eintracht's participation could lead to more assistance from the German Football Association, with Schumacher claiming that the DFB "plans to send a team to the UEFA Futsal Cup in 2007 and form a national team by 2009".

European glory?
As with football, the grassroots are everything. Schumacher concluded: "We simply need more Futsal coaches with good knowledge about the game. Our hope is that regional leagues will get established and an official German championship will take place in the future on a regular basis. It would be wonderful if Eintracht are the first club to represent our nation in European Futsal."