Courtesy: UEFA.com

Skövde straddle twin codes

Wednesday 8 August 2007

by Jan Juhlin

from Gothenburg

By summer they are a lower-division football side. But come the winter Skövde AIK are transformed into Sweden's leading futsal outfit and next week they embark on their second European campaign.

Parallel successes
Skövde's young eleven-a-side team under charismatic coach Gumundur 'Gummi' Magnusson have marched up the divisions in recent years, in four seasons moving from the sixth tier to the third level of Swedish football. And those same players and coach now moonlight in the small-sided game, easily clinching their second straight Swedish title in February with a 7-1 win against IF Brommapojkarna. That entitled the team from the city between Sweden's large Vanern and Vattern lakes to return to the UEFA Futsal Cup, where, as the first team to represent their nation in the competition, last season they defeated KF Tirana, FC Mladost and Hibernians FC to top their Preliminary round group. They then beat Athina '90 Athens 5-2 to begin their Main round campaign before falling to the experienced MNK Split and Araz Naxçivan.

Against the odds
Magnusson admits he is surprised by his charges' aptitude for futsal. "It's very impressive and I can't really put my finger on it," he said. "We've got a lot of players in the side that are very technical and very pacy, two of the main attributes required for a futsal player. Then of course we are a winning side; the whole club is in a positive mood so it makes things so much easier. The truth is, though, that the club has neither the finances nor the resources needed to do this, but we do it anyway. In order for us to improve we must sort out the finances and increase the turnover. That will help us keep our talents, because there are many talents that leave Skövde and the region too soon."

Injury risk
On Friday week they start their second continental outing, facing Bosnia-Herzegovnian champions MNK Kaskada Gracanica and Malta's Jeepers Handyman on home territory. Magnusson, thinking of his football responsibilities, is wary. "We are in the middle of our season, so in a way it's risky with players running the risk of getting injured," he said. "It's hard to switch from one surface to another but on the other hand it's football and we'll benefit from it in terms of players getting better from the games."



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