Courtesy: The FA.com

Dell calls on ex-pros

By Jamie Bradbury

Thursday, 28 December 2006

England Futsal Coach Graeme Dell is calling on former professional footballers to join the Futsal revolution in England and help the Three Lions become a force in the world game.

Dell has been in charge of the National Team since their first game three years ago, but wants England to catch up with some of the stronger countries who have been playing the game for many years, with professional leagues dotted around the globe.

With a national Futsal league a priority in the medium term for the ambitious Dell, a UEFA A Licence Coach, he would love to bring some flair into his England team still awaiting their first win.

His team is made up of solid non-league footballers, but with Futsal being a very specialist game quite unlike the eleven-a-side format, he'd like to unearth some talent who could provide the team with the subtle tricks and skills required to compete with the best and thinks that ex-professional players could provide the answer.

"We've got some very good players in the team, but we have no players who have that something extra, something that's a little bit different - when a player gets the ball he can do something with it," Dell told TheFA.com.

"We've got to get to the point where the next generation of Futsal players coming through have that little bit of match-winning flair, the players like Falcao, Deco, Luis Figo, who have grown up playing this game and know what is needed to have the edge over your opponent.

"'Calling all ex-pros' is the message I think. If you're still playing five-a-side to keep fit, we want to hear from you."

It wouldn't be the first time a former professional has been called up into his country's Futsal side. Umit Davala, the former AC Milan and Galatasaray midfielder, was a key figure in Turkey's third-place finish at the 2002 World Cup. Earlier this month he captained the Turkish Futsal team in their first-ever match.

Meanwhile France, who England met in a double-header last week, are trying to tempt Zinedine Zidane onto the five-a-side court.

"Turkey have called in Davala and France have also been keen to get Zidane involved in their side. Henri Emile, who was part of the French delegation who played us in Sheffield last week, was part of the coaching set-up when France won the World Cup in 1998," said Dell.

"Zidane's a fan of the game, he knows what it's about and is promoting Futsal jointly with Algeria and France," said Dell. "From my point of view, if there are ex-pros out there who think they could do it then great. They've got to still be physiologically strong, but if that's the case, let's have them."

He added: "We need to promote Futsal as a game and as a development tool to the younger players, whether they are at a professional club or playing at grassroots. The more players you get who understand the intricacies of Futsal and the tricks that are needed then the richer the eleven-a-side game will be for it.

"In Futsal, the best nations try to get players into the forward pivot position, that's the area where matches can be won by a trick or a flick, but without a player that can do that we can't play to those tactics. But it's our job to find these players, and I'm sure they are out there, but that's the challenge."

Dell also highlighted his plans over the next few years and hopes that the national league will kick off sooner rather than later.

"My own vision is, within the next three years, a number of brand new clubs set up with a structure like very good non-league clubs or professional clubs who look to develop and train their own futsal players every day or on a part time basis," he explained.

"We've got to get working on this now, as we're many years behind other countries. The benefits are all-round and it will hopefully produce more knowledgeable players aware of different styles of play as a team and as an individual. That can only help football in England."



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