Courtesy: UEFA


Heart and soul of Futsal

Friday, 17 February 2006

by Greg Demetriou

from Madrid


Spying an opportunity, the goalkeeper throws deep into opposition territory. A quick-thinking attacker races clear of the defence with only a team-mate and the on-rushing goalkeeper for company. An effortless drop of the shoulder and a roll of the ball under his sole later and the keeper is out of the equation, flat on the floor and helpless.

'Pass the ball'
The unmarked team-mate is screaming for the ball in the centre of the goal but the player chooses to shoot, despite the narrowness of the angle. The shot is hard and low but the ball fires into the side-netting. It is an opportunity missed. "Pass the ball," says the watching Javier Lozano. He shakes his head and looks to the heavens. The all-conquering coach of Spain is the king of world Futsal - the small-sided game that is spreading across Europe. On this occasion, Lozano is not watching his imperious and professional team of world champions but a group of talented local youngsters being put through their paces at the Ciudad del Fútbol in Madrid.

Rapid growth
Lozano is also the director of the vast Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) centre which opened a couple of years ago and boasts facilities regularly used by the likes of Raúl González and co before major matches. On this occasion the centre is home to the second UEFA Futsal Conference being staged by European football's governing body this week, an event designed to take Futsal forward after a decade of rapid growth. The 170-odd delegates representing all of UEFA's 52 associations are sitting inside the centre's impressive Futsal hall getting a first-hand demonstration. Lozano has a seat at the front as the children, aged between 12 and 14 but showing a skill level that would not shame players ten years their senior, are put through a number of drills.

'Motivating'
Lozano points out the coach, who is constantly cajoling and encouraging the kids. "Look how he is always talking through the exercises. They are new to this level of the game, he is always commenting, always motivating. It is important and this applies even at the top level." Lozano explains how these children work for 90 minutes, four times a week. He stresses the importance of a ten-minute warm-up, the need for a high tempo and, most importantly, variation. "Every exercise has a lot of variables, you can change the number of touches and number of players. It allows the coach to target any weaknesses." These drills can alter in difficulty and are the same used by his Spanish side that won the 2004 FIFA Futsal World Cup and the 2005 UEFA European Futsal Championship.

'Live Futsal'
In being introduced to the conference, Lozano was described as "someone who lives Futsal to the limit" and this is certainly the case when considering his achievements both in a sporting and social sense. He took over the Spain job in 1992, citing the support of RFEF president Angel María Villar Llona who "believed in me and told me to go ahead". Despite that backing, Lozano was uncertain. "I was 31 years old, asking myself in quite a frightened state of mind, ‘What have I got myself into?’ “ With a bulging trophy cabinet and lifetime of memories already, it is clear there was no need for consternation.

'Emotional current'
Lozano tells how there is hardly a village in Spain that does not have facilities for Futsal, and that 80 per cent of the usage of school halls is for children playing the sport. "In Spain, the schools are the foundation and Futsal is part and parcel of the school curriculum," he says. It may be that the child chooses to focus on football in later life, but the speed of thought, close control and precise passing learned in Futsal is never lost, underlining why Lozano feels there is an "emotional current" between both games. There are 6,000 qualified Futsal coaches and counting in Spain, and Lozano is keen that all understand the basics: the importance of a group culture over the individual, the need to embrace new ideas and the significance of image.

'Vision'
Lozano thinks coaches should focus on their own strengths. "We didn't want to be a carbon copy of Brazil because even the best copy will not have the same quality." That was in the early 90s. Instead he laid down the guidelines to help Spain find their own way to the top. To get the first level of certification a coach must take a 120-hour course, for the third level he will have as much as 350 hours of instruction. "The methodology is essential," Lozano says. His overall message is simple. "The first thing you need is a vision, a dream. Without that you don't have a guiding light." With Lozano at the helm, Spain's is shining brighter than ever.



Posted by Luca Ranocchiari --> luca.ranocchiari@futsalplanet.com