Following is an article written by Luis Paes de Barros Santos FC Football Coach (Brazil) that was posted on Futsal Focus Facebook page.
Enjoy.
Transition from Futsal to Football
I would like to thank Futsal Focus for giving me this opportunity to write about training methodologies and shared experiences. Now, Futsal Focus is one of the leading Futsal channels around the world.
I have been working and studying Futsal for many years. I have had the opportunity to work at all levels of Futsal from youth/school teams, University teams, professional teams to national teams. I have never stopped studying the tactical, technical and physical aspects of the game. Besides that, I am always studying youth development and the different training methodologies from various countries and it is on this last “point” that brings me to the reason that I wrote this article for Futsal Focus.
For the last four months I have been involved in a new challenge and a complete change of direction in my career. I have been working as the U11s youth football coach for Santos F.C. I believe that Santos F.C. doesn’t need any introduction as it is the club where Pelé, the greatest football player ever played and Neymar now at FC Barcelona also came from Santos alongside many other Futsal stars that started their development at Santos FC.
I was invited to work on young player transition from Futsal to Football and also work on the technical development of these young players without forgetting about the decision making processes they learn through Futsal. First, I would like to say that in our point of view, technical development is not just the analytical exercises but also the game situation exercises such as 2v1 and 3v2 on different pitch sizes and rules.
During the first sessions with the players we give great attention to the technical exercises and always finish the sessions with mini-games or scrimmage. It is also important to say that the young players don’t stop playing Futsal especially the under-10s. We believe that it is important for them that we integrate Futsal therefore we try to work closely with the Futsal department , working together to build a unique program.
I have been listening to different directors of coaching from around the world argue that playing Futsal and Football together can have a negative impact on a players technical development which I strongly disagree with. You only have to look at players who have benefited from Futsal such as Ronaldo Fenômeno (former Brazilian National Team, FC Barcelona, Real Madrid and Inter Milan), Deco (former Portugal National team, FC Barcelona and Chelsea FC), Ronaldo Gaúcho (fomer Brazilian National Team and FC Barcelona), Juninho Pernanbucano (former Brazil National Team and Lyon FC ), Neymar (Brazilian National team, Santos FC and FC Barcelona) plus Philippe Coutinho (currently playing for Liverpool FC but played for Vasco Da Gama and Internazionale) among many others who all played Futsal when they were younger. I really do not see any technical problems with them. Again as I have already written in other opportunities, in a regular football training session (or games) some players touch the ball every 5 minutes. On a typical Futsal exercise or game, they touch the ball every 20 seconds.
So, during the transition process from Futsal to Football we keep working on some Futsal game situations. As they get older and stronger, we start working more on larger size exercises, Football transitions but still working on their technique.
We, the coaching staff have seen, and now I can say undoubtedly that on the field, players that had the opportunity to play Futsal before football understand better the defence positions, covering movements, how to play without the ball and they also play as if they are always part of the game, they do not stop moving and helping the others to move with and without the ball. Another important aspect is that they “make themselves available for the ball” better than the other players, they “check for the ball” all the time, and the players that didn’t come from a Futsal background are use to staying, waiting for the pass rather than creating the situation to receive a pass.
We are working hard on the technique (analytical and game situation) and also working hard on ball possessions. We want to “build” confident players that can wait and choose the best options even if they are under pressure. On the other hand, we want to “produce” players that can understand that they are always part of the game even if they are far from the ball; they should always be moving and giving their teammates options during the match. This is why we are bringing the Futsal expertise to the big field and working on a smooth transition.
In my opinion that transition can last two or three years and then the player will have to decide if they will try to be a professional footballer or prefer to be a Futsal player. Usually in our experience it is natural for 90% of the players to try football, but only a few will make it. So, as they played Futsal before Football they still have an option to play professional Futsal later should they change their minds and this alternative pathway option is great for the game and for the player.
As I wrote in my last article for Futsal Focus, it is all about methodology and that is what we are trying to build at Santos F.C. Just playing Futsal doesn’t guarantee that they will be better Football players especially for the coaches that are still teaching Futsal as small sided football. For sure, I am not the first to come from Futsal to Football, at Santos we have other coaches that are former Futsal coaches but what we are trying to do is keep the Futsal spirit especially in the beginning and keep developing the players for the larger field, without forgetting what they have learned through Futsal to benefit their game.
Santos will still keep working with Futsal and Football, we want to provide a better transition for the younger players. It is important to say that there is no fight between Futsal and Football. We believe that Futsal can be an important tool for Football, without taking the beauty and importance away from Futsal. Futsal is and will forever be a great sport; it just needs more attention from the local Federations, Confederations and FIFA. Futsal developments are happening every year in Brazil and around the world however as gymnastics lose athletes to diving or synchronized swimming, Futsal will always lose some players to football but it doesn’t make the sport smaller. Again we just need better political support.