Courtesy: UEFA.com

Julio's fond farewell to futsal

by Pablo Vázquez de Parga

from Madrid

Not only will Boomerang Interviú be absent from the UEFA Futsal Cup this season for the first time since they sat out the inaugural campaign of 2001/02, but their long-standing captain Julio has decided to call it a day and step upstairs to an administrative position.

Honours
In 18 years at the top in the sport, Julio won five league titles, three Spanish Cups and the 2003/04 and 2005/06 UEFA Futsal Cups with Boomerang and was also capped 115 times by Spain, helping them to two FIFA Futsal World Cups and three UEFA European Futsal Championship titles. After such a career, it is hardly surprising that Julio can look back with pride.

'Very privileged'
"I have been very privileged because I've done what I had always wanted to do and that was to play," he told uefa.com. "It's been phenomenal, I've always played alongside the best players and I've always come up against the best throughout my career. What's more, the sport has given me my best friends."

Time to stop
However, it was time to stop. "I certainly think I could have extended my career for another year or two but maybe now is just the right occasion to leave," Julio mused. "I'd begun to hear: 'Hey old man, it's time you quit!' from the stands. I'd think: 'I want to retire you know but you all won't let me!' But now they'll have to let me!"

Professionalism
Futsal has certainly changed during his career, both in Spain and across Europe. "I have lived through the process of professionalisation of this sport," Julio said. "When I started with Interviú everything was amateur although we always took the sport just as seriously as it's taken now...Things are getting better all the time. There has been a radical change."

Disappointment
His time at Boomerang ended with a slight disappointment - the loss to MFK Dinamo Moskva in the UEFA Futsal Cup final and then defeat by ElPozo Murcia FS in the league play-off decider. But Julio does not believe there will be radical surgery in the squad ahead of 2007/08. He said: "The team will be concentrating on finding another player in my position but as for big changes there'll be almost none."

Memorable moments
But now he can look back, and chooses two moments that stand out in his career. "The time when they told me that I was going to play for the Boomerang first team was a crucial step. I was in exactly the right place at the right time because I can assure you there were many players better than me that could have been picked. What they were looking for at that time was a player in my position so I got in. The second moment was with the national team in 2000 when we won the World Cup in Guatemala."



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