OnTheCourt Issue Two by OnTheCourt

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the only futsal coaches magazine

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onthecourt . April 2021

welcome It is fair to say that we have been completely overwhelmed with all of the messages that we have received since releasing issue 1; from grassroots to professional coaches and players from every single continent! It was really uplifting to speak to new and old faces so my challenge to everyone in the futsal world is to reach out and message some futsal contacts and help each other out! Here at OTC, we believe that if we continue promoting everyone’s contributions to the game at all levels, futsal will begin to gain the recognition that it deserves and this will benefit all of us! Our promise is that we will continue to learn as much as possible about all aspects of futsal and continue sharing all of this with you. This will hopefully help to break all barriers to futsal and continue to build bridges to bring the futsal community together. In Issue 2, we decided to focus on the champions of the Copa de España 2021 (and now SuperCopa winners) Inter F.S. Our writers have been looking into the current and historic success of the club and we hope that you enjoy it as much as we did writing this issue for you, the #FutsalFamily.

david tapia-owens Head of Futsal Nottingham Trent University & Assistant ProFutsal

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onthecourt . April 2021

collaborators

davidtapia-owens @12DTO jonkurrant @futsaljk8 benpickford @BPAnalysis96 markfinney @thegfc_tv benlazarus @ben_lazarus96 johntapia-owens @jatowens

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FUTSAL

THE STORY OF AN INDOOR FOOTBALL REVOLUTION Futsal is one of the fastest-growing sports on the planet: over 60 million people play this lightning-fast and tactically intricate variation of indoor football. Despite its growing status, however, futsal’s history remains largely unknown and untold. Jamie Fahey is a leading futsal expert and qualified youth coach. He spent his childhood playing endless football matches in the shattered urban landscape of 1980s Liverpool – on the same streets later graced by Wayne Rooney, the ‘last true street footballer’. Yet when Fahey’s own footballing career stalled, he realised he had been unwittingly learning the skills that pointed to his true passion. In Futsal: The Story of An Indoor Football Revolution, Fahey makes the case for futsal’s transformative grassroots effect, both in the UK and abroad. He also tells the story of futsal’s politics, tactics and personalities – and in doing so, illuminates a hidden corner of sporting history.

JAMIE FAHEY WITH A FOREWORD BY ROBERTO MARTINEZ

https://guardianbookshop.com/futsal-9781911545590.html

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onthecourt . April 2021

1ST JULY 2021

‘Superb... as stylish as any of the great Brazilians whose skills gave us this sport’ - Daniel Taylor, The Athletic

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contents 12

Introduction to Futsal glossary of terms

Candelas and Velasco head coach focus

Tino Perez Team analysis

transitionx2 Session of the month

Jesus Herrero Goalkeeper Focus

Pito Player focus

Copa Espana Final xG in Futsal

Copa Espana Final futsal packing analysis

Niyazov Goal of the month

100

Kelme Flamenco Futsal Shoe focus

104

FS Futsal Femenino interview

110

7futsal interview

118

104

Upcoming Games

...enjoy...

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110

74 18

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introduction to futsal in possession

Game of 2

combinations attacking play ball and one

Wall Pass

Vertical Wall Pass

Aclarado

Involves passing to a player and also getting a return pass. Usually passed from wing centre – wing to create wide opportunities

This time it involves passing to a pivot and receiving a return pass or set. Usually from wing-wingcentre with the first pass being a parallel. This usually creates central shooting opportunities.

Purposeful isolated 1v1, where other players clear out of the way to allow space behind the defender. The players that have cleared may also become a backpost target which makes the goalkeeper have to think.

Fixate/Fixation

Heels/Pisada

Finta/Feint

This involves engaging or getting close to a defender (either with the ball or off the ball) to manipulate the space for other teammates.

This is an on the ball movement that involves fixating a defender. Once they are close, the player heels the ball with a technique that already begins a sprint/ change of rhythm to attack the space behind and look for a return pass over the top.

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A movement involving a change in speed or direction to deceive a defender. Can be by simply stepping to a side, dropping a shoulder or making a double movement by running one way before turning.

Ove

A run that expl created by a pla who is fixatin defensive playe confusion and an on defensiv

Ruptu

Running past d to open passing or to look to r the de

onthecourt . April 2021

2/Dualities

s involving two yers, one on the e off the ball

Parallel

ure/Cut

defensive lines g lanes behind receive behind efense.

Back Door

can be a run or a pass which uses the space down the same wing as the ball. For example, a player may run into the space vacated by a pivot who has switched sides OR a pass down the line to a pivot.

A pass played forwards usually from one wing to the other

Similar to a diagonal, but a player will make a purposeful movement towards his own goal to fixate a defender before exploiting the space behind. Can also be done by a pivot in the fixes’ blind spot.

Screen

Direct Curtain

Indirect Curtain

A purposeful movement off the ball which interferes with a defender’s ability to defend the ball. This usually creates passing lines or space to dribble into.

A screen movement where a player runs towards their defensive pairing and creates a passing line behind their own back for two team mates.

Usually a curved run from a winger in front of the defensive pairing of another teammate. This causes confusion for defenders when tracking and also opens a passing line for the teammate whose marker was screened.

Change of Rhythm

Numerical superiority

Positional superiority

Usually done as part of a rupture or cut where an attacker will engage a defender and then quickly change pace to exploit the space which has been created behind by fixating the defender.

Overloading an area of the pitch to outnumber the opposition

Having an advantage over the opposition defender in terms of dangerous spaces or body orientation

erlap

loits the space ayer on the ball ng/engaging a er. This causes n indirect screen ve pairings

Diagonal

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introduction to futsal

out of possession & transition

Individual press

High/Mid/ Low block

Rotational defence

Defending man to man within a moment of the game. Could be within open play or from set pieces. It may involve principles that allow for exchanges or defensive jumps depending on the coach.

The location of the defensive system set up. For example, from the opposition goalkeeper, where do we want our team to position our defensive system.

Usually used against the fly goalkeeper or as part of a low block. This defence tends to switch between diamond and a box (2-2) depending on where the ball circulates to and how the oppositions set up.

Temporize

Defensive Pair/Pairings

K-save

A defensive action when a player purposefully slows down the attacking player until there is more cover or recovery runs.

Which player is marking which opponent. This can be shifted to gain an advantage, however, attacking teams may also look to create changes to benefit them; such as isolating a big pivot to defend 1v1 against a quick player.

A common save in futsal where a goalkeeper drops one knee and makes a right angle with the other. One arm will then fill the gap above the lying leg and the other arm will be above the raised knee.

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Exch

A principle should be de or if to sw pairings wit

Split

Another com by goalkeep a pass to t Goalkeeper create a long draught excl legs and wil their b

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hange

of play which ecided of when wap defensive thin open play.

Save

mmon save used pers following the backpost. rs will look to g barrier like a luder with both ll aim to keep body tall.

Defensive Jump

Defensive Feint

The defending player leaves their initial pair after they pass the ball and now defends the receiver of the pass. Usually done following a short pass or when the receiver of the ball is

A change of direction or a drop of the shoulder or hips to trick the attacking player to shift the ball in a certain direction and then trap them.

Opening

Counterpress

the initial moment following a recovery or loss of the ball when the players are unorganised. This is when players will look to recognise and exploit the positioning.

An immediate pressing reaction after losing the ball; in the “opening” moment of the in to out of possession transition.

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15%OFF

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two golden eras for inter fs. overview Over the past 30 years, it is fair to say that Inter FS, in its numerous forms, have dominated the top tier of Spanish futsal, as well as the major European competition, the UEFA Futsal Cup (now known as the UEFA Futsal Champions League). Over this period they have achieved 14 playoff titles (ElPozo Murcia in second place with 5) and 5 European titles (two more than FC Barcelona). Despite a prolonged success for the club across each decade, a significant part were the periods under the guidance of two of the most highly regarded coaches in the history of Spanish futsal: Jesus Candelas and Jesus Velasco. In this article we take a look at some of their title winning teams and try to identify their key players, in possession and out of possession systems and their key principles which shaped their team philosophy.

david tapia-owens @12dto

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candelas& velasco head coach focus

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20022004

two incredible seasons

This team is one of the most loved and remembered across Spain due to the incredible players individually and as a collective; as well as their immense battles against an equally memorable ElPozo Murcia side featuring Paulo Roberto, Lenisio and Kike Boned. This Boomerang team featured arguably 3 of the top players of all time with Daniel Ibanes, Schumacher and Luis Amado. However, the team were far more than just being reliant on these recognisable names and had a wealth of experience, energy, goal scoring quality, intelligence and game management across the entire squad. If we look at the goals and assists from the 3-2 series win over ElPozo in the 2003/04 season, we can see just how widely spread the goal involvements were across the squad:

2003/04 Finals vs ElPozo Goals: Joan 4, Marquinho 4, Limones 3, Schumacher 3, Daniel 3, Luis 3, Andreu 2, Orol 2, Julio 2 Assists: Joan 5, Andreu 4, Julio 4, Marquinho 2, Schumacher 2, Daniel 2, Luis Amado 1

los hermanos linares: joan and andreu Unlike other signings, there were no doubts whatsoever about whether the twin brothers Joan and Andreu Linares would be successful at Inter. Joan joined from Playas de Castellon, having already won 2 UEFA Futsal Cups, 2 national titles, a World Cup and a league MVP title; and was also fresh from scoring 46 goals in the 2001/02 season. His brother, the versatile winger Andreu was also proven having also won a national and a European title alongside Joan at Playas de Castellon, and joined Inter a year later from Miro Martorell. Their connection on the court was inevitable and coincided with one of the most successful periods of all time for ”la maquina verde” (the green team). Despite the obvious similarities in their appearance, the two players had very different roles in the team, but as can be seen in the goal involvements from both the 2002/03 and 2003/04 final series against ElPozo, together, their impact on this team was significant. Joan was a strong, left-footed pivot but was also electric quick like Andreu. Joan would occupy central spaces in a 3-1 system or would play as more of a false pivot on the right wing when Candelas opted for the now uncommon 2-2 system which he often used in order to keep his multiple talented pivots on court at the same time. This allowed the right-footed Andreu to link up with him diagonally within the 2-2 or 3-1 system. Although the 2-2 system allowed him to become a false pivot and then control positively to create a 1-1 on the right wing; interestingly another strategy aimed to exploit the space with his speed by doing curved diagonal runs towards the opposite wing. This allowed him to create a positional advantage over his defensive pair but more importantly, the opportunity to roll the ball with his left foot and shoot across goal against a keeper who would be forced to leave his line (See images). His range of finishing was undeniable, racking up serious goal tallies in the league and is the leading goalscorer of all time in the LNFS with 602 goals with some incredible goal tallies in his prime:

Schumacher

Andreu Linares

Dani Ibanes

Joan Linares

12 Luis Amado

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57 goals in 1997-98 – CLM Talavera 40 goals in 1998-99 – CLM Talavera 68 goals in 1999-00 – CLM Talavera 41 goals in 2000-01 – Playas de Castellon 46 goals in 2001-02 – Interviu Boomerang 40 goals in 2002-03 – Interviu Boomerang onthecourt . April 2021

joan and andreu 2-2 connection

‘‘...the two players had very different roles in the team...’’

joan and andreu 2-2 connection

andreu vertical overlap

andreu overlap central pivot

onthecourt. April 2021

Within the finals for example, his hattrick in the deciding fifth game in 2004 were all from set pieces (a header from a corner, a free kick and a back post finish from a throw-in) and he was often the target man for Andreu and the captain, Julio who usually were the designated takers high up the court (from throw-ins prior to the rule change). On court, Joan was always used alongside his brother to create a deadly connection on and off the ball. Usually they formed the front two of a 2-2 defensive system which allowed for quick counter attacks but also in possession, their positioning in the system perfectly complemented one another as can be seen in the images below. Candelas created a system which would promote the key principles required for the two Linares brother to excel, whether that be by setting a trap to promote more transitions or to calm down the pace of the game to then create diagonal dualities between the two. Valued even more by the national team (117 caps, nearly double those of his brother), Andreu Linares was an extremely versatile player, often operating on the wing, where his directness, speed, 1v1 ability and shooting from wide areas made him one of the most dangerous players in the league over a long period of time. Unlike his brother who tended to stay as a fixed pivot, Andreu was an extremely creative player and was used for multiple purposes such as getting out of pressure, counterattacking from a deeper block, set piece taking, winning isolated 1v1s, defending the fly goalkeeper and pressing high when necessary. As aforementioned, in the 2-2 system he would look to combine with his brother diagonally. However, individually, Andreu looked to use his speed and intelligence to leave his defensive pair behind in numerous ways. Below we can see his goal in game 4 of the 2002-03 finals, where he does a vertical overlap of Schumacher, before finishing first time followed a scooped pass down the line. Secondly, we can see Andreu predicting the pass into a central pivot Marquinho and making a curved run around him, once again leaving his pair behind significantly within 10 metres due to the orientation advantage of facing forward and causing confusion and an indirect block by overlapping.

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out of possession: systems and principles Prior to discussing the defensive systems and principles, it is important to note that there were alternative laws of the game to those that we are used to now. Goalkeepers could pick up the ball following a back pass or could catch directly from a throw in, limiting the chance to press high up the court if this option were still available. Also, goalkeepers had to bounce the ball in their own half in order to distribute; for example, bouncing before kicking for long distribution or needing to bounce the throw. Equally, it is of equal importance to note that the 5 game finals were often played on simultaneous days which meant that teams needed to control their legs and saw multiple periods of alternating between a deep block to counter and a three quarter individual press with exchanges

out of possession: systems and principles The speed and athleticism of Daniel Ibanes and the Linares brothers contributed hugely to their multiple roles in the team. For example, we see the two brothers alongside each other at the top of a 2-2 defensive system with exchanges. When high up the court, they try to do defensive feints to force the possession to one side and know that their speed will allow them to cheat and reach their pair if the pass did happen to reach them (see images). By starting narrow, they look to either intercept the horizontal pass and also to limit the vertical pass into the dangerous pivots Lenisio and Paulo Roberto. They also expect to do defensive exchanges and this is simplified as there are two fixes behind them which also means that they aren’t scared of being isolated 1v1 as there is cover and no space behind. Even if the opposition pivot had done an ”aclarado” and opened the space behind, they were both quick enough to make up for their risk by doing a defensive feint. Daniel Ibanes was also an incredibly intelligent defender and ran riot across the finals (5 game series) in both seasons, forcing numerous errors through defensive feints and in particular, his speed of thought to do defensive jumps following shorts passes or passes that put opponents in difficult scenarios. He tormented Balo from ElPozo in game 5 in 2002/03which swung the momentum of the game at vital points in the first half. These 3 players in particular, saw defending as more opportunities to score if done correctly. Between them, they recovered the ball in dangerous positions and were electric in their speed of thought to get finishing opportunities The ball ricocheted off the wall, Daniel won the ball and broke quickly with Schumacher, who then nutmegged the final man before finishing; all within 4 seconds of an extremely dangerous set piece against them.

‘‘they saw defending as more opportunities to score...’’ otc | Page 22

onthecourt . April 2021

2-2 de sys

amado distribution 1

The two Linares brothers would also be at the top of a deep 2-2 or as a ”pico” (top man) and an ala in a diamond, with the intention of catching out tiring teams in the latter stages of games. Below for example, we can see two different occasions where Luis Amado is able to catch the ball and the immediate response from the front two is to attack the space behind and take advantage of their orientation. Despite the rules at the time being different regarding goalkeeper distribution, Amado is able to bounce the throw before the halfway line which also speeds up the transition with a low throw.

amado distribution 1

1 2

2 efensive stem

1 2

2 3

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d t e

transition: daniel ibanes counters and forced errors Candelas’ side were most successful throughout their multiple finals by being extremely intelligent off the ball and forcing passes or errors which they would take advantage of to have opportunities high up the court or if not by allowing two thirds of the court, sitting deep and using their speed in transition to punish the opponent. As already mentioned, Andreu, Joan and particularly, the great Daniel Ibanes were at the heart of this and looked to take advantage of openings created by winning back possession and punishing unorganised defenses. Whilst we have already looked at a few different ways that Andreu and Joan looked to trap defenders, the king of the transition for Interviu was their talisman Daniel. Candelas always praised his ability to read opposition players and claimed that he had every tool possible to punish them. Candelas went on to say that Daniel could recognise opposition strategies instantly and that he would infamously always ask the exact details of where each player would be positioned and why. In game 5 of the 2002-03 season, it soon became obvious that he would target certain opposition players such as Balo as ideal pairings of whom he could win the ball in dangerous areas. For the equaliser, Balo had the ball rolled to him and seemingly looked under little pressure. Daniel did a defensive feint by curving his run to force him inside and then within a split second he had forced the error, received a square pass from Andreu and put the ball in the top corner past Sergio who had been unbeatable until that point (see images) And less than two minutes later, Daniel was back at it pressing Balo who again looked under little pressure. This time tricking him to play down the line, intercepting this exact pass and would have inevitably scored if Balo hadn’t opted for the tactical foul (see images).

‘‘it became obvious that he would target certain opposition players from whom he could win the ball in dangerous areas...’’ otc | Page 24

onthecourt . April 2021

defensive feint forcing the error from balo for equaliser reading the game and opting to pressing Balo again

key player: Daniel Ibanes Although it is impossible to compare players in order to define “the best”, when these discussions happen, Daniel Ibanes will always be heavily mentioned. Candelas described Daniel as having the ability and dedication to the sport which allowed him to predict exactly what would happen and create mental images . Candelas added that unlike others, Daniel’s success was his ability to predict scenarios, react to unpredictable scenarios but more importantly, the ability to take hold of the game and control it. And this can be seen with his ability to force opponents into traps and take advantage. Daniel had everything and his ability to make decisions at full speed was ridiculous! On multiple occasions in big games, his quality in transition led to important goals; such as for the equaliser in Game 1, where within 2 seconds of a throw from Luis Amado, Daniel had already dribbled past the ElPozo players and was squaring the ball for Limones on an empty net; and in game 4 he was back at it, winning the ball from a dangeorus set piece, launching forward before passing on to Schumacher who nutmegged the final man before finishing. However, despite his obvious wide range of abilities and high quality moments within all of his games, his goal in the game 3 hammering to go 1-0 showed his step above the high level players around him. With the ball at his feet as a fix and every single player between him and the goal, Daniel engaged a defender to create space behind, passed wide to Marquinho with the outside of his boot, changed his pace to beat the defender, received the ball back from a bounce pass in a central area and rocketed an unstoppable shot into the top corner.

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in possession: systems and principles When speaking about his teams, Candelas referred to it being a dynamic, everchanging model of play or playing philosophy. Although a system offers a screenshot into how a team begins play, he states that this offers little insight into a team and that the key elements are the structures within the team (see the final paragraph). Where Candelas excelled as a coach and as a leader was understanding the importance of getting his players in the right positions, alongside the right teammates and ensuring that everyone on the court was congruent in their ideas and principles across all 4 “moments of play”: on the ball, off the ball, transition off to on and transition on to off. Across the two seasons, his Interviu team regularly started from the goalkeeper in a 2-2 formation and initiated movements with varying plays to set up the team. However, once in play, this team were far from robotic and was built with a few key “structures”:

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Ensuring that players were on court in their correct ”combinations” alongside teammates who they linked well with. Manipulating the defensive pairs to create favourable pairings to isolate 1v1 for example. Interchanging positions until players were operating in their favoured areas; for example Schumacher on the left wing close to the half way line or Joan starting high on the right wing and looking to receive diagonal passes inside to roll forwards with his left foot. Always having an option between the lines to disrupt the first defensive lines. Using speed and intelligence to cause confusion in exchanges and exploit spaces. Most commonly done by Andreu and Daniel.

between the lines As mentioned before, against ElPozo in the league finals and Benfica in the UEFA Futsal Cup finals (two leg finals in that era), Boomerang tended to begin their possessions in a 2-2 which tended to merge to a 3-1 in a few different ways. Once in play, there was much more of a focus on principles as mentioned above; particularly looking for dualities between players who linked well. Below we can see two different ways in which the 2-2 began from Luis Amado with either one of the two fixes cutting between the lines to disrupt the defense and one of the pivots coming around as a false (Figure 7). This essentially creates a 2-1-1 shape with players looking to bounce off the middle player like in the diagram, which the pivot then reacts too and looks for a passing line from the bounce. Marquinho in particular was a strong fixed pivot in these scenarios despite his stature, whereas Joan would look to receive the pass and roll inside with his left on his first touch. This understanding was extremely noticeable and you could see how links and relationships changed on court as soon as players were substituted. In Figure 8, we see the same 2-1-1 obtained from the 2-2 but this time by one of the pivots dropping in to blind block or disrupt the first defensive line. This then creates space for the fix on the same side to do a backdoor run into the space or more importantly for this team, they would have an isolated 1v1 for Schumacher, Daniel or Andreu with plenty of space behind! If these options weren’t immediately available the system would remain as a 3-1 (2-1-1) where the players would look to manipulate the defending team by creating favourable pairs or if not to get players into the areas where they would be most effective; these players and their coach Candelas, knew each other inside out!

‘‘...these players and their coach knew each other inside out...’’ onthecourt . April 2021

candelas’ green machine 7

Arguably one of the most feared teams in the history of the European game, Candelas’ ”maquina verde” were relentless and he managed to achieve an unbelievable side which truly showed the strengths of each of its components. As Candelas himself says, the system used gives us little information and is just a still shot. It is more important to focus on “structures” and “relationships” within the system. This is why he believes that playing philosophies are everchanging based on development, adaptability and congruence. The reason why Candelas is truly inspirational as a coach is:

GREEN MACH INE 8

His ability to get players in the right positions within a system.

Getting players alongside teammates who they have strong understandings and links with; like Andreu and Joan, Daniel and Schumacher.

Creating teams that have the ability to succeed with different styles in moments on the ball (elaborate or direct), and also in moments off the ball (pressing or recovering). Creating a team that is dangerous in all 4 “moments” of the game that he defines as: On the ball, off the ball, transition on to off and transition off to on.

Whilst the green machine may be seen as a star studded team full of legends of the game, this would all have been impossible without the guidance of one of the all time great maestros Jesus Candelas. To this day, many coaches still seek to learn from his incredible detail when describing the art of coaching, not just on the court, but the importance of building a system and its structures off the court!

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20142018 an era of domination

After having already led a period of domestic domination in Italy, with Luparense, Jesus Velasco joined Inter Movistar in 2012 with the team looking to rediscover the impact on global futsal that Jesus Candelas’ “maquina verde” team had had in the previous decade. What happened subsequently was an incredible era of domination in Spain alongside reaching the pinnacle of European futsal on two occasions. Velasco didn’t just have a “successful” period of trophies (if that is how some judge success); more significantly, he has influenced the way that many coaches think, particularly with his ability to adapt his systems and principles based on the strong personalities and the plethora of experience within the Inter changing room despite the numerous transfers each season. Tactically, it could be argued that Velasco was the king of the 4-0 system. Despite adapting his team’s principles in the latter stages of his time at Inter with the signings of dominant pivots such as Paco Solano and Elisandro, the fluidity of the 4-0 system punished many teams and made them extremely difficult to apply pressure against. Also, off the ball, Inter were relentless in their high press but also had some of the most intelligent defensive players in a low block and in a rotational defence against the fly goalkeeper; Pola and Carlos Ortiz. Over the next few pages, we will look at some of the basic ideas used across the years and how principles were implemented and adapted to the numerous superstars who graced the court of Alcala de Henares.

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14 Rafael Rato 6 Daniel 27 Jesus Herrero

23 Carlos Ortiz 10 Ricardinho

luis amado, pola, borja, cardinal, rivillos, mel, alex

onthecourt . April 2021

out of possession systems and principles

13 Gadeia 1

Jesus Herrero

Carlos Ortiz

Elisando

10 Ricardinho

Although Velasco’s Inter sides were always a joy to watch in possession, Inter more frequently than not, chose to engage high up the court past the 10m line. Once the ball was in play, Inter used an individual defense with exchanges, however there were also some obvious principles regarding when to exchange, when to do a defensive jump and finally, offering cover in the defensive 1v1 by controlling the central axis. Whilst some adjustments were made depending on the opponent (regarding the positioning of the first defensive line as well as the body orientation to force the play in a certain direction) Velasco’s Inter aimed to punish teams high up the court and control the momentum of the game by dominating possession whilst forcing errors or winning the ball from the opposition in dangerous areas. With incredibly intelligent defensive players such as Pola and Ortiz, the team were able to dominate domestic and European games against excellent and memorable ElPozo teams throughout Velasco’s first few seasons and then also against Barcelona during the second half of his time in charge.

humberto, pola, borja, daniel, rafael rato, bruno taffy, solano, bebe, alex gonzalez

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out of possession: systems and principles You would be right to associate Velasco’s Inter with fluid, imaginative and intelligent attacking play. However, off the ball, this was an incredible team that were able to shut out many teams in high pressure, important and close games. Arguably, this is what won the titles for the club. The way that Velasco maximised the performances of his star players and also continued developing already experienced players was extremely impressive. Even more impressive, in a very similar way to Candelas, was his ability to bring these players together with a clear vision and principles for the team; and then getting star players to die for the cause on the court with their work rate off the ball. This team looked to dominate the game and strangle their opponents to get the possession back quickly and in dangerous areas Some key features of Velasco’s system across the seasons are:

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Engage high up the court Individual with exchanges Step backwards if your man gets a pass off to stop them breaking the line quickly.

Exchange following a block if you can see the ball and your pair.

Cover against the aclarado – Cover player goes to the central axis.

out of possession: high pressure and forcing the error Regardless of their opponent, Velasco’s Inter always engaged high up the court; only stepping back a few yards against Ferrao’s Barcelona to reduce his space. Against ElPozo in the heated playoff series finals and against Sporting and Kairat in the UEFA Futsal Cup finals, Inter engaged higher than the 10m spot and swept the attacking players towards the wing to cut off central or horizontal passes. If the trap was escaped, then Inter locked on man to man and exchanged following obvious blocks by jumping to the ball. A key feature due to how high the first defensive line was, was that players needed to step back if their man got a pass away in order to counteract them then being able to attack the space behind. This also allowed a second where the original marker or the cover player could decide on whether to exchange. Whilst in possession, Inter looked to punish any hesitation by breaking lines with electric speed; out of possession they looked to slow down attacking players from doing so as they were well aware that the height of their pressure left them vulnerable if not.

‘‘...his ability to bring these players together with a clear vision and principles for the team...’’

Rotational defense against fly – Ortiz as “pico” (reference point) and regulates the pressure

onthecourt . April 2021

out of possession: cover in the 1v1 Here we can see an example of what happened once the opposition reached the attacking half. Here, Jaen have created a favourable 1v1 against the pivot Solano on the wing. Whilst originally, Pola looks to drop back and offer the double team or cover, Ortiz can be seen directing the fix Daniel to cover instead which allows them to set in a position which covers the most dangerous options but also is the right distance to be able to engage again should the player go backwards again.

onthecourt. April 2021

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key players out of possession: carlos ortiz and pola The talismanic Ricardinho provided many memorable moments during his time wearing Inter’s colours; however, two cult heroes of both Inter and Spanish national team fans are Carlos Ortiz and Adrian Alonso “Pola”. Perhaps a lot more under the radar than the talented players they have shared the changing room with during their long careers, such as Schumacher, Daniel Ibanes and Ricardinho, the longevity of these two and the amount of silverware that can be used to back up their quality is astounding. Carlos Ortiz was perhaps the key figure of Velasco’s side across his stint in charge. The captain, known as the Spartan, was possibly the guaranteed starter throughout the years and despite the many comings and goings in the transfer windows. Whilst watching Inter’s performances from their playoff final series against ElPozo in 2014 and FC Barcelona in 2017 as well as their UEFA Futsal Cup success in 2017 and 2018, it is evident why the Spartan Ortiz was deemed to be so important to this team. His leadership is noticeable through the screen and within the arenas when watching him in action and his qualities perfectly complement those of the talented players who he shared the court with, in particular, his close friend Ricardinho.

By really trying to simplify what exactly makes Ortiz an exceptional player in the history of futsal, we can identify his abilities to: defend world class pivots, volley/finish from set pieces, be arguably the best defender against the fly goalkeeper, link up play with other key players and finally and most importantly to Velasco’s system, play pin point passes across the floor or in the air to the plethora of rupturing runs from the 4-0 system. We will look at his passing role in possession across the next few pages but below we can see his key role in the rotational defense against the fly. Not only is he able to regulate the tempo of his teams pressure but this also forces the opposition to adapt their tempo. Despite always playing as a fix during normal play, Ortiz is the first defensive line against the game of 5. Once the ball goes wide, he dictates how the team rotate to a box shape 2-2 and also regulates if and when the team will attempt to gain metres or drop further. As can be seen in the images below, Ortiz regularly points his teammates into position and you can only imagine how vocal he is alongside this. Once the ball goes central, then the box rotates again, leaving Ortiz at the top and Pola as the fix. Against alternative fly systems such as the 2-3, we can see the box utilised when the ball is central and then a diamond following any movement or if the ball is shifted to a false player. This was essential in many of the finals that Inter won by allowing them to pull through in close games despite the onslaught of pressure.

‘‘...Ortiz regularly points his teammates into position and you can only imagine how vocal he is alongside this...’’ otc | Page 32

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inPola: The greatest ‘6th’ man Alongside the skipper Ortiz in the low block against the fly, we can always see the ridiculously consistent Pola. Arguably one of the greatest “sixth” men in the LNFS, Pola always seems to have an impact on the game due to his defensive abilities, particularly in the press and his quality and speed in transition. Pola was an ever-present figure towards the end of Inter’s closest and most important games; getting numerous rewards for his work ethic off the ball for Spain and Inter. Below for example, we can see how Pola begins as a fix against Sporting’s fly, before predicting the pass to the corner, rotating into the box shape but cutting out the pass with his speed before finishing into the open net from 30+ metres! The absolute workhorse of Inter and the Spanish national team, Pola will remain a cult hero for many years to come.

onthecourt. April 2021

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in possession: systems and principles In the images below in the playoff final series against ElPozo in 2014, we can see a perfect example of the principles in full flow. Ricardinho comes inside onto his left foot and is under little pressure due to his 1v1 ability. Daniel Shiraishi cuts diagonally to drag his marker wide. At the bottom of the images, Ortiz is on the wing and walks towards his own goal to offer a horizontal pass to Ricardinho, but look at his negative body orientation and the way that this drags his marker further out! Finally, if we look at number 14 Rafael Rato; look at his orientation towards Ricardinho initially, to drag his defender out and then immediately changes pace and attacks the space now created by Daniel and Ortiz. Ricardinho can now pass horizontally to Ortiz due to the double cut OR he can pass over the top to Rato OR finally, he could do a pisada heel pass to Daniel and then also attack the space behind. The pisada pass or the use of the outside of the foot allows the attacking player to already gain momentum whilst passing which can win them the space behind especially if their marker is close. As mentioned before, Carlos Ortiz’s ability to play the pass over the top with his first touch was essential to this system and was the reason why these principles were so successful.

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onthecourt . April 2021

in possession: between the lines and creating verticality In the images below in the playoff final series against ElPozo in 2014, we can see a perfect example of the principles in full flow. Ricardinho comes inside onto his left foot and is under little pressure due to his 1v1 ability. Daniel Shiraishi cuts diagonally to drag his marker wide. At the bottom of the images, Ortiz is on the wing and walks towards his own goal to offer a horizontal pass to Ricardinho, but look at his negative body orientation and the way that this drags his marker further out! Finally, if we look at number 14 Rafael Rato; look at his orientation towards Ricardinho initially, to drag his defender out and then immediately changes pace and attacks the space now created by Daniel and Ortiz. Ricardinho can now pass horizontally to Ortiz due to the double cut OR he can pass over the top to Rato OR finally, he could do a pisada heel pass to Daniel and then also attack the space behind. The pisada pass or the use of the outside of the foot allows the attacking player to already gain momentum whilst passing which can win them the space behind especially if their marker is close. As mentioned before, Carlos Ortiz’s ability to play the pass over the top with his first touch was essential to this system and was the reason why these principles were so successful.

onthecourt. April 2021

in possession: creating isolated 1v1s for the winger or pivot Particularly within the 3-1 system but also used in the 4-0 once in the attacking half, Velasco’s Inter looked to isolate Ricardinho (obviously!) but also players like Bateria, Gadeia and Pola on the wing; also Elisandro, Humberto and Solano as pivots by attempting to manipulate the defensive pairings until they thought and advantage had been created. Once this had been done, Inter’s players would do a “barrido” by sweeping the players to one wing and isolating Ricardinho in the 1v1 with plenty of space in behind the defender (see images against Jaen who opted to defend with no cover). In this case, a team mate will time his run to the back post to confuse the keeper and the defenders. If the defending team provide cover for the 1v1, then a team mate would block on the inside or blind block to allow Ricardinho or Gadeia to cut inside and shoot (see images of Ricardinho’s final goal against Sporting on the next page where he capitalises on a blind block by a teammate). For the pivots, if the pairing was right, Inter would look to find the pivot on the right hand side (as most were left footed), and then simply delay any waves of shooters until the pivot had decided to stop. Elisandro for example took advantage in the European final against Sporting by rolling inside onto his left and unleashing an unstoppable strike (See figure 10). otc | Page 35

10 o mago: the magic of ricardinho

What else is there to be said about one of the most famous faces in world futsal over the past two decades almost. Yes it is fair to say that the man is a showman with a box full of tricks and flicks which lift the spectators off their seats and also helps to spread the word of futsal across social media. However, watching Ricardinho playing under Velasco, particularly in any of the most important games, is the only way of understanding just how good both of these guys are at what they do. Velasco managed to get the best out of the winger by creating a system with principles that allowed him to demonstrate his defensive abilities in the press, his speed and intelligence to beat the pressure and finally, a system with plenty of isolated 1v1s where he could run riot. His laterality is simply ridiculous and he is able to flick it down the line and finish, cut inside and finish, shift it side to side with “la croqueta” and then finish… His team mates evidently attempted to create opportunities for him to have space in the 1v1 as can be seen on the previous page against Jaen or below in his goal against Sporting. If we look at figure 10, we can see just how a teammate would decide to do a blind block to create a shooting opportunity inside if there was defensive cover in the 1v1 OR how they would go directly to the back post expecting full well that the Portuguese magician would beat his man and get a shot off. I have outlined some of his most memorable and important goals in the Inter colours below but get in touch with us to let us know your favourites. A few things are always certain when Ricardinho plays in a big game: that he will impact the game directly and that (as Bielsa says in football), ”la gambeta” (dribbling past a player) beats any defensive system. Yes there are ways of countering his threat, but this magician will always find a new answer yet to be seen on the big stage and will undoubtedly keep producing memorable goals until the day he stops playing. A generational player! Who will take his throne?

goal 1: uefa futsal cup final 2017 vs kairat

goal 2:copa de espana final 2018 vs jaen

goal 3: ufea futsal cup fina 2018 vs sportin

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onthecourt . April 2021

al ng

onthecourt. April 2021

boomerang vs movistar It is evident that we are talking about two of the strongest teams in the history of the European game under two of the most influential coaches in the sport. Despite some key differences in their principles of play, both managers were able to push star players to another level and were able to create teams which were more than their sum of parts. They were able to adapt principles and quartets to ensure that each players strengths were used at the right time and that each 4 had the right technical and tactical capacity to beat any opponent on the big stage. Here’s to two of the greatest teams and two of the greatest coaches of all time! Let us know who you think would win in a showdown between the two in their prime!

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Futsal PremierLeague WestwayLondon

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onthecourt . April 2021

U7-8S U9-10S U11-12S U13-14S U15-U16S Adults FUTSAL - 3X3 - PANNA registernow thefutsalpl@gmail.com @TheFutsalPL onthecourt. April 2021

@TheFutsalPL otc | Page 39

inter fs tino perez team analysis

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onthecourt . April 2021

a team of chameleons After a dominant 5 seasons under Jesus Velasco and with stellar talent within their ranks the final season in 2018-19 felt like a ‘last dance’ for the majority of players and the coach. With a huge overhaul of players and the incorporation of Tino Perez, Inter’s playing style has resorted back to that which gave all the success. Tino has slowly brought in lesser renowned players replacing the likes of Ortiz, Ricardinho, Solano, Elisandro and Pola (now in his final season) and placed an emphasis on players being adaptable, mouldable and working as a collective. In a short space of time they were able to capture the LNFS title last season and this season have been able to conquer all the spanish cups on show. The ever changing 4s and positinings on court provide the opposition issues with players being comfortable in roles that aren’t their accustomed positions. Pito, for example, has become one of the best ‘all-round’ players in the game and is as comfortable in fix areas as he is high up the court with his back to the goal. Inter enter into the play-offs with a low league position, but with an ability to beat any team over 1-3 games. We will look at what makes them so dangerous as well as some of their key principles on show...

johntapia-owens @jatowens

onthecourt. April 2021

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Tino Perez: 20 years of success At 52, Perez reclaimed the LNFS title 19 years after his last one with Playas Castellon. A serial winner having won in 1997, 2001, 2020 the LNFS. He also reigned over Europe winning the Europa League in 1997 and then winning a three peat in 2001, 2002 & 2003 with Playas de Castellon. He was integral at the beginning of some of Futsal’s most renowned players such as Joan and Andreu Linares and Javi Rodriguez. Joan was key for Tino at Talavera and subsequently moved with him to Playas de Castellon, becoming one of the world’s best players. At just 27 his ‘elite’ coaching career began which means at just 52 he has over 25 years coaching at the top level in different countries whilst maintaining the same success.

outofpossesion

‘‘Tino’s teams are built on strong ethos of working collectively towards the same goal...’’ otc | Page 42

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inpossesion

Tino Perez: A team working together Out of posession, Tino’s teams are aggresive and use jumps, double teams and attempt to win the ball in high areas with short transitions in attack. They all recover and counter press when needed with a famous clip from the Copa final showing all 4 outfielders sliding to stop a cross after a transition. In posession he uses predominantly a 1-4-0 utilising the all round qualities of his players to his advantage. Pivots can be found in fix areas and fixs can be found cutting high up the court to finish attacks. This constant change of roles and positions causes issues for the defending team and can be damaging. There are 8-9 outfielders who share court time nearly equally so Tino can keep the intensity high as well as varying players that play together; this has changed throughout the season. He has managed to turn players such as Fer Drasler into a 1v1 dribbler, pivot and fix simultaneously meaning he is comfortable playing alongside any of the other players in the squad. He has worked over the last year to change the old guard of Inter’s galacticos into a more all round squad providing depth over quality in a core 4-5. We will see over the next pages how the goals have arrived from all angles with player participation split over the squad leading to a visibily strong bond between all the players.

onthecourt. April 2021

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SQUAD 1

jesus herrero

goals for participation*

on court when goal was scored

alex gonzalez

jesus garcia

boyis

5 17

fer drasler

javi

qique

8 12

raya

borja

1 herrero 43% (31)

3 2

17 fer drasler 50% (36)

martel 51% (37)

10 saldise 51% (37)

2 1 5

3 4 9

5 5 14

jesus 43% (31)

cecilio 40% (29)

raya 40% (29)

boyis 26% (19)

tripodi 22% (16)

bruno 22% (16)

goals scored fro

bruno iocavino

cecilio

13 32 3 7

eric martel

jon

tripodi

pola

4 2

0 3

4 5

saldise

pito

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open play

transition

kick in

attack fly

defend fly

corner

free kick

10m

goal throw

4v3 red

set p 22%

onthecourt . April 2021

goals against participation**

on court when goal was conceded

1 herrero 44% (24)

8 18

pito 41% (30)

cecilio 51% (28)

raya 48% (26)

pito 46% (25)

10 fer drasler 42% (23)

borja 39% (28)

saldise 39% (21)

martel 37% (20)

borja 37% (20)

pola 30% (16)

pola 15% (11)

jesus 30% (16)

boyis 26% (14)

tripodi 24% (13)

bruno 11% (6)

goals conceded from

44%

open play

30%

transition

20%

attack fly

11%

.5%

defend fly

kick in

5.5%

free kick

1.8%

corner

13%

2.5%

10m

1.8%

8.5%

2.5%

.3%

Inter FS: The numbers As mentioned previously, the objective numbers also reflect the subjective view on Tino Perez’s philosophy and outcomes. We will see over the next few pages the subjective view and attacking/defending tendencies the team seeks to make but first we can see to the left the key strategies that are giving Inter goals as well as the areas they usually concede from. Perez’s ability to rotate players consitently is seen in the goals and assists stats with everyone posting numbers worthy in any squad. If we focus on goal participation (player being on court for the goal), 11 outfield players post over 15% goal participation with 7 players being on court for at least 25% of Inter’s goals. The majority of Inter’s goals are through open play, transitions (we will look at how Levante use anticipation to gain these advantages) and set pieces. Tino Perez’s focus on possession based futsal with a purpose and squad rotation leads to a majority in open play goals distributed between the squad. From open play, we will look at how positional variation and role exchange between players plays a part in this. Inter have threats all over the court with their fix’s also posting incredible goals and assists stats within open play due to their mobility and finding themselves high up the court. Pola’s injury hit season has affected his numbers with the conceded goals participation so high due to his use in defending the fly goalkeeper.

*goals for participation is based on 72 out of Inter’s 122 scored goals. Videos of 50 goals (12 games) were not available to see players on court for the goals scored **goals against participation is based on 54 out of Inter’s 83 conceded goals. Videos of 29 goals (12 games) were not available to see players on court for the goals scored

.3% onthecourt. April 2021

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Over the next few pages we will delve further into the in possession moment for Inter and how they seek to hurt their opponents. There are two attacking strategies we will look at which will be:

1-4-0

1. The use of a pivot: Inside of this we will look at a few strategies. Mainly a ‘false’ pivot on the wing where the priority is to dominate spaces over dominating the player. We will also see how Pito can dominate the centre of the court or in false pivot positions to create finalising options. 2. Without a pivot: Inter predominantly begin with a 1-4-0 framework working on varying their distances of passes with players appearing between the lines, fixes attacking spaces vacated and players entering pivot areas against lower block defences. The ability of the players to take on different roles within the framework depending on their positioning on court is key and Tino has acquired ‘all-round’ players to be able to do this as opposed to high quality position-specific players.

1-3-1

central

false

aclarado

pito

saldise

pito

‘‘ ability of the players to take on different roles within the framework...’’

dia

attack otc | Page 46

onthecourt . April 2021

Pito: Just a pivot?

goal involve.

goal partic.

goal partic. % total

agonal

41%

Although Pito is defined as a Pivot by the LNFS, the majority of his goals and play don’t come from typical Pivot actions. He often is found linking up with the play at the back of the court within Inter’s framework (1-4-0) but will utilise his dribbling strengths dropping into the wide areas once the defence is flat, receive the ball and face up his opponents. He is an incredible dribbler and shooter with both feet which causes the defenders issues in these scenarios without cover. His goals in the Copa against Barcelona were of this mould, where he received the ball as winger, was able to beat the defender and GK who was acting as cover down the line. He can also be used as a central pivot (something Brazil have done so more than Inter) and is comfortable with his back towards the goal.

turn & face

central pivot

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key player eric martel

Eric Martels presence in attack is key for Inter. The left footed Ala has been on court for 51% of Inter’s goals from the games analysed and provides a threat in both open play and set pieces. He attempts to dominate the ball in central positions and find the false pivot on the right of the court so he can attack the spaces in front or behind resulting in a shot or assist. His shooting and movement cause the defence a dilemma whether to follow and overload the side of the court when he finds the false pivot thus exposing the opposite wing for the diagonal ball. The majority of his goals have come from set pieces seen in the Copa when he found the net through corners, kick ins and a free kick in the final.

goals v Pozo. Fer Drasler.

v parrulo. ‘ala sweep’

Martel parelal goal

In possession: Central Pivot, Pito One of the most experienced and feared pivots still in the league, Pito is a threat with his back to goal but not afraid to also join in the play from the back of the court. Inter don’t utilise the central pivot often but have done so on occassions to devastating affect isolating Pito against either 1 or 2 defenders. This was apparent already in the 1st round of play off fixtures against Barca where a ball from Boyis directly into Pito isolated him against Ximbinha. His strength, shooting and finishing from anywhere within 12 metres is apparent in many of his goals this season.

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onthecourt . April 2021

In possession: Use of a ‘false’ pivot

turn & face

The transition from 1-4-0 into 1-3-1 is seen throughout Inter’s games. They will utilise players that cut through as false pivots as they are coming around for support for the player on the ball. We will see later how they utilise the spaces left by the false pivot attacking these off the ball. The players in these positons vary, with Fer Drasler (predominantly a Fix), Cecilio (ala), Pola (ala), Pito (pivot) all occupying these spaces on occassions leading to overlaps, underlaps or set-shots. We can see on the left some examples of different ways the false pivot has been utilised over the course of the season so far and then how the executions vary depending on the defensive positioning and spacial availability. The first goal is created through the fix, Raya, finding Fer Draslet on the left of the court high and cutting into the space created by the pivot movement to the wing. In the same game, Fer received the ball in the same position but on this occasion turned and faced the defender, gained the advantage and was able to score.

The second option again is created by the ala sweeping the defender away, allowing the fix (Martel) to find the false pivot and attack the space in front for the set-shot. The third movement is similar to the first, however the execution varies due to the spacial constraints and decision making from Cecilio-Martel. Martel follows his pass in and Cecilio plays the paralel into the space once the defence has been flatenned to then finalise. The variation of execution within the main core principles and strategy Inter utilise is devastating to the opposition. The ability of the players to recognise to stay high and become the focal point in attacks and timing to offer support on the wing allows for vacated spaces to be utilised in the 2nd and 3rd phases of play.

onthecourt. April 2021

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without a pivot: attacking the back spaces Inter often convert into a 1-4-0 when on court, either with their pivots (Pito and Saldise are comfortable in these situations), or with the introduction of more ‘mobile’ players like Bruno, Borja and Raya. They are often found using these approaches against very aggresive defences, in particular when the defending team approaches with a more individual defence approach. Inter will seek to create numerical advantages between the lines, resulting in the defence having to apply extra pressure and flattening the line. This allows them then to attack the spaces behind for their runners. Their movement to consistently create options on the ball through numerical advantages, shorten their passes to entice the defenders then recognise and play long passes is seen in almost every game. In the Copa Final Tino was very vocal when losing 1-0 in the first 6 mins of his Timeout to vary the distance of passes and have runners to cause issues for Barcelona, this lead to them winning 6-1. In diagrams 1a and 1b we see the support between the lines seen in the O’Parrulo game and the movement from the opposite winger to drag the defender out so the fix can then attack the space to receive. In diagrams 2 a the opposite fix is the one to screen enticing the last defender allowing the opposite winger to cut behind and receive the diagonal ball, something Martel scored from.

Another situation which is frequently utilised is the aclarado of Pito or Fer, mentioned before. This is also encouraged in the 1-4-0 set up when other players may be deeper. In diagrams 3a and 3b we see first the creation of space and isolation of Pito, who receives to confront the defender. As a result of the 1-4-0

aclarado

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onthecourt . April 2021

key player cecilio

Cecilio moved from Levante to Inter as one of the most experienced players within the LNFS. In possession his intelligence between the lines allows him to receive the ball there or set for a shooter higher up the court.

His involvement within goals has grown throughout the season, and is apparent in the important games. Cecilio will often show up against Barca, Pozo and the top teams with a goal or crucial assist.

Fer Drasler: Just a Fix?

His intelligence in the centre or side of the court as well as his finishing ability in front of goal has made him one of the signings of the season.

Another chameleon within Inter’s ranks, Fer Drasler is extremely comfortable within every role and position on court. As seen in the previous page, he can be found in false pivot positions similar to Pito, drifting high up the court with either his back to goal and setting for his team mates or turning to face in aclarado situations in which he has scored numerous goals from (seen in 4a,b,c). Classified as a ‘fix’ he will be utilised when possible at the back of the court with his dribbling and passing ability able to aleviate pressure from Inter when needed. His ability to also finish sees him included in the attacking fly GK as well as his defensive capacity which sees him also defend the fly when needed.

onthecourt. April 2021

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contents At O’Parrulo, Diego Rios utilised very agressive principles and positioning on the court. This was regardless of the lesser quality, at that stage, of his squad than the majority of the LNFS (1a,1b,1c). He has re-emphasised these principles at Levante, bringing in aggressive players with the defensive qualities he wants to succeed. They mainly implement a full court pressing strategy, with man 2 man with exchanges principles. The emphasis is on the ability to create numerical advantages in positions on the court which can allow jumps or double teams so Inter can attempt to win the ball.

‘‘high intensity with cover, emphasis on jumps and double teams to win the ball when possible...’’

Due to the nature of the principles, this means that they usually are positioned with cover, especially high up the court (see images right), set as a Y. More towards their own goal, their fix will act as cover to assist blocks(2a). It allows for the first line to be aggresive knowing cover is present and if the ball does bypass the first line the support to then double team or jump is there. This is also reflected in the stats with 17% of their goals coming in transition, usually short transitions high up the court in the final third when the press has been effective. Dani Saldise, Pola and Cecilio are all key players in an incredible first line pressure and anticipation, causing the attacking players issues in rotations.

Images 2b and 2c highlight the body orientation and agression of this first line, how Bruno’s body orientation has dictacted the play and assisted Saldise’s subsequent press to recover and score. Over the next page we will look at how they have managed to implement this.

1c force error next phase

defensive cover

We will look at the positional sideand principles of Inter’s defence.

anticipate to steal

defence 3b

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onthecourt . April 2021

key player pola Off the ball Pola is one of the most important and crucial players in the world, his ability to defend on all lines as well as being dominant in defending the fly is apparent. He has been key in Inter’s success over the years and Tino continues to utilise his strengths. Above we can see his reading to allow the defensive exchange and then the speed to jump to double team the pivot resulting in a transition.

onthecourt. April 2021

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key player jesus herrero The student after the master. Jesus was the GK to de-throne Amado when at Inter and cementing is number 1 status over the years. He will be the last remaining old-guard when Pola departs. His ability to keep Inter in games at crucial points through incredible shot stopping as well as a strong presence in 1v1 situations has helped Inter’s success over the years. Under Tino he won’t often act as cover, allowing him to concentrate on his shot-stopping abilities. For further reading on how Jesus helps his team, please read Ben Lazarus’ great article in the next few pages!

full court defence

half court defence

Inter’s exchange defence

jump out of cortina

cecilio goal v Valdep. ‘exchange jump’

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onthecourt . April 2021

positional defence: full court v half court & principles Inter usually deploy a high court press with man 2 man with exchanges principles. The core principles followed are to create numerical advantages where possibe working collectively to regain possession. Figure 1 emphasises the full court press set up against Barcelona set as a Y with cover. The importance in the numerical advantages is evident to quickly somether the attacking team. They will usually exchange their player (as seen in Figure 3) and jump out of any curtains or attempted blocks (shown in Figure 4). By double teaming or jumping Inter expose themselves to positional advantages if the ball is circulated out of the double team quickly. Inter usually concede from open play fast-attacks where a defensive error has caused a momentary advantage for the opposition. They maintain their principles when in a low block after being pushed back with the Fix acting as a cover. However, they have had huge success also from this, with the majority of their goals coming from transitions as a result of the defensive principles put in play. The players’ ability as well as agression have allowed this team defensive strategy to thrive. Exchanging with precision and timing to anticipate the pass across and steal is something they have become increasingly better at. Again, as in attack, players will find themselves in different positions on the court due to the flexibility in attack. This means that even fixes like Fer ( figure 4) or Boyis are still intense high up the court in first line pressure. The opposition has to deal with quick switches of play to gain positional advantages or through appearances in front of the first line. Goals conceded have come from engaging the second player in a double team then circulating the ball. What is obvious, is that Inter’s defence will continue to risk big and gain a lot of successes from this,

onthecourt. April 2021

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Inter’s defensive jumps Inter are deadly in their defensive jumps and quickly attempt to smother the ball by creating numerical advantages when and where possible. In the figures below we can see two simultaneous jumps from Dani Saldise in one play. Firstly, recognising the role he has to play as the ball is played back and secondly then recognising the numerical advantage in the wide area from the positioning of his other team mates. By jumping the second time, Saldise is able to cut all potential options for the attacker whilst then prompting Bruno also to double team (last image) and attempt to smother the ball high.

jump and double team

double team central pivot

jump and double team.

double team in wide areas

Boyis balance and communication at the back of the court is key as well as being comfortable pressing in the first line.

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onthecourt . April 2021

Inter’s anticipation, jumps and double teams Inter’s players are incredibly aggressive and will work as a collective to attempt to steal the ball back. They will jump on many occasions by either jumping the exchange (anticipating the pass across) or jump to double team when possible, creating numerical advantages. Figure 1 shows the reading of the curtain from Fer as well as the good body orientation from Bruno to dictate the attacker back towards his team-mate. This allows Fer to jump and subsequently double team resulting in a high steal, Figure 2 shows double teaming central pivots when siutated low on the court. Pola, who is key to this, recognises the pass and quickly double team from the opposite side, again creating the numerical advantage. This works best in wide areas but can cause the majority of Inter’s conceded goals as seen in figures 3, where Pola attempts a jump but the Pivot is able to release the ball to the overlapping player creating a fast attack and 2v1 for Valdepenas. When successful it can be frustrating for the opposition as seen in figure 4 by the constant double teaming of Ferrao either centrally or in wide areas to nulify his threat. Inter, as seen in the previous page, stick to their principles of ‘jumping’ even in exchanges and allows them therefore to anticipate passes across, intercept and create short transitions. Goals such as the Cecilio one (previous page) are created through being aggresive once the attacking player has cut through.

Pola is key in the anticipation when defending as well as his recognition of when to jump and double team.

onthecourt. April 2021

Dani offers a great out of possession anticipation in ‘jumping’ situations as well as aggression when pressing which has created him and others many goals.

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the mobility the balance

the ‘pivots’ def intensity aclarado the all-rounders

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onthecourt . April 2021

# INT ERI STA SOY

squad adaptability: changing roles

he 4-0

On paper, Inter’s players should have very defined positions: Pito as a pivot, Martel as an Ala and Fer Drasler as a fix for example. In reality, as we have seen, their ability to exchange positionally on court and find themselves able to adapt quickly to different roles is crucial to their success.

Fer Drasler can be seen throughout the season scoring as a pivot, in aclarado situations as an ala and also applying balance to the 4 in fix areas of the court.

Inter’s adaptability and chameleon like structure gives their opponents real issues and it’s apparent why they have had huge success over the last 2 seasons under Tino. Although they struggled towards the end of the season they arguably could be considered favourites in the play-offs.

onthecourt. April 2021

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onthecourt . April 2021

Last month the Spanish LNFS announced a partnership with the National Futsal League Community Interest Company in England which will see the NFL become LNFS England next season, raising the profile of futsal in England and creating a vibrant new futsal identity. The LNFS England vision is to create a coherent and connected league system, owned by the clubs, and with leadership principles that include openness, transparency, and collaboration. The league will continue to develop partnerships that support its members’ development and wellbeing, for the benefit of the futsal community. A futsal arena strategy is already underway to identify and develop the best available venues to host futsal matches and events. An annual event for the whole community to attend every summer in Spain, with the best two LNFS England teams competing against top Spanish teams has been announced. Youth leagues will benefit from better collaboration, with opportunities to participate in national finals alongside adult teams. The application window to join LNFS England next season is due to shut in less than a month. Full applications must be submitted by Monday 7th June. All EoIs and applications will be treated in the strictest confidence. Interviews will take place during June and we will finalise the structure of next season’s competition by Monday 28th June, ahead of July’s AGM. Follow us at lnfsengland.org and on social media to discover more.

onthecourt. April 2021

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session of the month transitionsx2 johntapia-owens @jatowens

organisation full sized court (30+x18+) goals placed at 15m and 40m with 3 lines of players and two defenders. GK distributes to either one of three players to play a 3v2 in the first goal. As soon as the ball is dead the GK distributes quickly to the same players now attacking the end goal. Defenders must recover

objectives 1

defensive recovery

attacking transitions= decision making and principles

goalkeeper distribution

15 time

15 players

key coaching points 1

Transition decision making and principles

Goalkeeper distribution in transition moments= types of distribution

Rule changes/progressions: 1

begin the first phase with a corner or set piece rather than a goal throw

defenders stay on until they do not concede

defenders can also score when recovering the ball

send in your sessions to: onthecourt.coach@gmail.com otc | Page 62

intensity

corner onthecourt . April 2021

organisation

phasetwo

onthecourt. April 2021

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t r e adv a e r a

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onthecourt . April 2021

t t r r e e v v d d aa a a e e r r aa

onthecourt. April 2021

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onthecourt . April 2021

Shouldering the responsibility of being Inter Movistar’s goalkeeper is no easy task. Having to follow in the footsteps of the legendary Luis Amado would trouble even some of the best ‘keepers in the game, but Jesús Herrero has stepped up and proven himself to be one of futsal’s best. Currently in his second spell at Inter, which began in 2013, the 34 year old has won the lot: two UEFA Futsal Cups (now known as the UEFA Futsal Champions League), six LNFS titles, one Copa del Rey, four Copas de España, and three Supercopas de España. An integral figure of many of these triumphs, Herrero’s dependability has enabled him to be a mainstay at the top of Spanish futsal for almost a decade. Having been involved in the Spanish national team in multiple tournaments, Herrero will be hoping to be included in his country’s squad for this year’s Futsal World Cup, held in Lithuania. In past tournaments, he’s had to play second fiddle to Paco Sedano, but with his retirement in 2018 creating a vacancy for the number one spot, he’s currently fighting it out with Juanjo, Carlos Barrón, Dídac Plana, Fabio and Chemi for a place in the starting five and in the squad. Although a prominent member of a phenomenal team, Jesús never seems to be given the acclaim that is received by some of his contemporaries. Amado, Sedano, Higuita and Juanjo are just a few ‘keepers that seem to be more widely recognised by the futsal community, but this seems curious when you consider both Herrero’s trophy-laden career and his ability.

jesus herrero

goalkeeper focus benlazarus @ben_lazarus96

onthecourt. April 2021

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Spanish tradition Regardless of this, Herrero is undoubtedly one of the best there is. A model example of an orthodox Spanish futsal goalkeeper, he fits the bill for what many in Spain would look for between the posts; strong in 1v1 situations, with sharp reactions and the capacity to sweep in behind his defence. To truly understand Herrero’s rise, one must first appreciate who he replaced at Inter. Luis Amado has been recognised as a legendary figure within not just the GK union, but the wider futsal community itself. In Doug Reed’s article ‘Luis Amado – The Greatest of All Time?’, the England international noted how “Luis Amado earned the right to be mentioned alongside [Michael] Jordan, [Tiger] Woods and [Roger] Federer.” To replace a player of such significance takes great self-belief and character, as well as ability. In terms of Herrero, this was demonstrated when he displaced Amado from the Inter starting five – albeit at the twilight of his career. If Amado was a pioneer of the Spanish school of futsal goalkeeping, then Herrero is one of its finest students. Last month’s On The Court goalkeeping article saw us look at Leo Higuita, whose technique is different from Herrero’s. Although both of their approaches to goalkeeping share many aspects, certain facets differ. Take low shots from towards the edge of the penalty area, for example, whereby Higuita tends to lead with a dive and Herrero will predominantly attempt to make a save with his legs. This is one aspect of the game that separates the ‘Brazilian’ school of goalkeeping from the Spanish school.

The type of save in question is often executed to perfection by Herrero. If the ball is struck towards the corner of the goal, he is adept at stretching his foot out low to stop the shot. More impressive, however, is his ability to prevent goals from shots where the attacker has quickly shifted the ball infield before striking it low towards the near post. This is extremely difficult. Although futsal goals are not particularly wide, if an attacker can bring the ball from the wide spaces of the court to a more central area, they have a greater chance at causing trouble for the goalkeeper because they have more of the goal to aim at. In the context of this type of save, it is especially challenging as the touch inside will likely lure the goalkeeper to move closer than they were towards the far post in order to cover their angles, leaving a larger gap at the back post than before (Image 1). In these situations, Herrero reacts well and expertly uses the leg closest to the back stick, grounding it in a shape reminiscent of a ‘K’ save to cover the space he had stepped away from as the ball was taken inside (Image 2).

A model example of an orthodox Spanish futsal goalkeeper

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onthecourt . April 2021

‘‘Dominating the space and manipulating his opponent...’’ 1 2

The wall A well-rounded goalkeeper, Herrero doesn’t just excel in these situations; he is also particularly strong in 1v1 encounters. Dominating the space and manipulating his opponent to force them to strike the ball towards his body, he makes what many would consider an excellent opportunity for a team to score extremely difficult. There are many things that make a goalkeeper seemingly unbeatable in a 1v1 situation. Reading of the game is high on the list, as a ‘keeper must be able to recognise when to come off of their line and narrow the angle, and when to hold off. Also important is positioning; attackers are ready to pounce on any gap left uncovered, and so a goalkeeper’s angles must be spot on and they must not be too deep. The shape of the block save that is often the result of shots in these situations is extremely important, and the ‘K’ save is often the most effective way of preventing goals from 1v1s. Here, one knee is dropped towards the ground to cover any low efforts; the other leg is at a 45° angle and close enough to the dropped knee to prevent the ball from sneaking through; the torso is square to the ball so that any shots towards the midriff cannot pass through, and the arms are at the side of the body, covering any higher strikes that are wide of the body. Just as essential is bravery; the ball is going to be hit – often very hard – at the goalkeeper in these situations, but to maximise the chance of making a save, they cannot take their eyes off the ball or turn away from it. Herrero has mastered this craft, and the impact of his ability can be seen in his team’s approach to games. From Inter’s perspective, they can be confident in their ‘keeper’s ability to have 1v1s covered and can therefore press higher up the court, which can be a powerful weapon to win the ball and score.

onthecourt. April 2021

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The ‘K’ king Let’s have a look at Herrero in action. In the second LNFS play-off final game against Barcelona in 2018, Barca were presented with a good opportunity when Adolfo was put through on goal with the Inter ‘keeper the only thing standing in his way from putting his team in the lead. Having beaten a defender with a lofted flick before using the sole of his foot to bring the ball under control whilst on the run, he was able to get a powerful shot away that seemed destined for the roof of the net (Image 3). However, utilising the aforementioned 1v1 attributes, Herrero had closed off Adolfo’s space to shoot at by being high off of his line, with his torso facing the ball – which enabled him to clearly see the path of the shot – and his arms set by the side of his body. Trusting that his ‘K’ save technique would work, he dropped his right knee to close the gap between his legs and remained upright so that the ball would simply strike him; he had already done the work to get into the optimum position to make the save. As the ball was struck, his left arm was in the right place to divert the shot away for a corner (Image 4). Herrero’s save from Adolfo was a perfect example of a ‘keeper getting into the right position for a shot to be struck in their direction, and this is a huge part of being recognised as a ‘wall’ in goal. However, whilst this was by no means a simple save, it was struck from a wide angle and it was therefore easier for the Spanish international to make the block than had Adolfo’s approach been through the centre of the court. The outlook changes entirely when the ball is in a central position, as it is far more difficult for a goalkeeper to effectively cover their angles, particularly as an attacker can shift the ball to either side to create a better angle for themselves. Herrero’s 1v1 technique is beneficial in these circumstances. Whilst some choose to set themselves in these situations by standing tall, Herrero prefers to have a low set position with his legs, crouching slightly to enable powerful lateral and upwards movement. been cut off (Image 7).

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onthecourt . April 2021

As is shown here, when faced with an Industrias Santa Coloma attacker in a central position, he engaged his opponent by coming to the edge of his box and prepared to utilise the ‘K’ save technique (Image 5). Because the ‘keeper had effectively closed off the attacker’s shooting path, he decided to roll the ball to his left – the opposite direction to which Herrero had set to ground his knee. As he did so, Herrero, thinking that a shot was coming his way, reacted to the foot approaching the ball and fully took up the ‘K’ save position, seemingly handing the attacker the advantage of the situation (Image 6). However, because of the low set position of Herrero, he was able to quickly reverse his shape and ground the opposite knee, ensuring that the space that was created by the change in direction of the ball had

One of the greats Jesús Herrero has manned Inter Movistar’s goal for almost a decade now, and has won an array of silverware in this time. As talented as he is successful, he simply has to go down as one of futsal’s all-time great goalkeepers. Some may argue that he does not have the dynamism of Higuita or the gravitas of Amado, but he certainly has an incredible influence on an incredible team. Having won so much throughout his career, he has illustrated his desire to leave the court with a win at all costs. With an exceptional interpretation of Amado’s Spanish school of goalkeeping, he should be used as a barometer by which to measure a goalkeeper’s technique.

onthecourt. April 2021

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onthecourt . April 2021

KMCreate onthecourt. April 2021

Web. www.km-create.co.uk Email. kmcreate@outlook.com Instagram. @km.create otc | Page 73

A moving a la pivot who can dominate with his frame (6ft ‘) and his technical capability. Although Right footed, his laterality on either foot to hold up makes him extremely dangerous in possession for Inter Movistar. In the last 3 LNFS games alone Pito has scored 5 and assisted 4 to give his club a chance of being crowned Spanish Champions.

Pito Jean Pierre

player focus jonkurrant @futsaljk8

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onthecourt . April 2021

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versatility This is because not only can get build in attack in 4-0 due to his technical and tactical understand as a moving pivot they can utilise wide areas, his laterality with the ball and technical fluidity means he can play in every area as a pivot. For example - Pito’s frame allows “Ferrao-like” in stature and hold-up play in the centre of the court to release pressure, but where Pito really comes alive is in wide areas as a false pivot. He can hold up with his right foot like a traditional false pivot who is dominantly right footed can, but he can also play false on the opposite side and this creates real indecision and uncertainty for opposing fixes, like the recent fixture vs Jimbee Cartagena and Croatia’s decorated a la fix - Marinovic found out recently. Unlike most pivot’s, Pito is dominant in 1vs1 areas when isolated with a less-fluid but equally devastating ‘half-step’ like Barcelona’s Dyego, where he gets bends his knees to gain a lower centre of gravity to body feint inside and then drive line, but once again he can do this on either side of the court. This is even more impressive due to the lanky nature and frame, to be so coordinated at speed. Against Jimbee he worked his way through a 1vs2 dropping his shoulder and letting rip from the right hand side of the court into the top corner to send Inter 2-0 up and helping them grab a 4-3 win, making him absolutely lethal in attack and one of the most rounded attacking players in the LNFS and the world.   In front of goal, Pito is up there as one of the best finishers in the league this season, and his recent display against Cordoba showed this in abundance, grabbing 2 goals and assisting 3 in their 7-3 victory. If Inter are to compete for the LNFS next season and try to claim a Champions League title he is one they surely have to keep hold of for the foreseeable future!

3 5

4 otc | Page 76

onthecourt . April 2021

7 6

‘‘Pito is dominant in 1v1 areas when isolated...’’ onthecourt. April 2021

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onthecourt . April 2021

THE IMPORTANCE OF BODY POSITION

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onthecourt. April 2021

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xG analysis

Copa España Final 2021

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onthecourt . April 2021

introduction The recent Copa Del Rey final result looks very one sided on paper. Inter Movistar won comfortably, 6-1. Despite the close nature of the contest throughout, as is usually the case in futsal, the team who rode their wave of momentum and capitalised during these periods won the game. What I am hoping to do throughout this article is show how my xG model can help to attribute where the game was won (or lost). DISCLAIMER: Whilst the model I have built currently has done a good job of predicting goals scored over a large number of shot events, it is very basic. It currently only considers shot location, and distance from goal. This is purely due to the lack of event data available in futsal. With time, and manual collection of event data such as these, I can begin to more accurately adjust xG values with a range of contributing factors, such as assist type, strong foot, set pieces, powerplay situations and occlusion to name a few.

benpickford @BPAnalysis96

onthecourt. April 2021

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barcelonashots

goals1 shots41 xG5.26 distance9.94m

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aicardo&coelhoshots

goals0 shots15 xG1.45 distance11.49m

onthecourt . April 2021

barcaanalysis I wanted to start with a quick look at Barcelona, to give some context to how they performed throughout. They accumulated 5.26 xG, from 41 shots, scoring once with a conversion rate of just 2%. The average shot distance sat at 9.94m whilst average occlusion (players in the way) was 2.45 (more on this later). Coelho accumulated the most shots – 8, and resultant total xG of any Barcelona player – 0.82 (as a result of pure shot volume as opposed to chance quality). Povill registers the highest xG per shot with 2 shots averaging 0.27 xG per shot despite only really featuring late on. Taking a look at the Shot Map for Barcelona, it seems as though there are similar issues to the dataset we looked at last issue. 38 low quality shots were taken, 3 good quality shots, and 0 high quality shots. This is again based on my current boundaries of less than 0.25, 0.250.5 and 0.5+. Each value representing the % chance of each shot being scored on average (based solely on this model, including its various limitations). It is then important to remember from the previous article the difference between volume of low-quality shots vs few high-quality chances equating to the same xG over a season. By focussing on pure shot volume from distance, you are increasing the volatility associated with those chances. I wanted to look at two players in particular before moving on, Aicardo (#3) and Coelho (#5). Below is the map for their collective attempts across the game, accounting for 37% of all shots taken by Barcelona, with not a single shot returning a “good” quality (0.250.5) xG. For me the point of focus here is the average distance of the shots taken, well beyond 10m. Inter did an excellent job of stifling shots from range by filling the shooting lanes with multiple bodies. This increased occlusion often saw shots stopped at source, as opposed to hitting the target or offering tap-ins at the second post. This for me was one of the key deciding instances of the cup final, Barcelona were happy to take frustrated pot-shots from distance as a result of them not being able to break down a very resolute Inter Movistar defence.

onthecourt. April 2021

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inter analysis Before diving into further analysis, I have graphed the shots per 10-minute period and xG timeline for the match. As you can see, the game starts off fairly evenly, before Inter take off and don’t look back, consistently out-scoring Barcelona in xG and accumulating more shots. Barcelona’s trend is much more linear, with a slow start building up to an onslaught of shots in the last 10 minutes as they tried to claw their way back into the game.

intershots

Beginning the analysis of Inter, I have a few graphs which should help show the story of the match, starting with their total shot map below. This shows 6 Goals, from 44 shots, and a total of 5.77 xG, an average shot distance of 11.49m (heavily influenced by a couple of very speculative efforts, which I believe were actually designed to turnover possession to set up their press). Inter also created one high quality chance; their second post finish from a high kick in. 4 good quality chances were accumulated, whilst 39 low quality shots were taken. I’ve created a treemap for Inter, to visualise who contributed the most in terms of xG accumulated. As you can see Borja leads the way, with 2.08 xG mirroring his 2 goals scored. Interestingly, Eric Martel took one more shot than Borja in the game (12 shots to 11, respectively). Despite this as you can see from the xG Contribution graph, Borja racks up double the xG per shot, which supports the notion of focussing on good to high quality shots, as opposed to shooting from low quality locations. Next is a percentage share of the shot events. This is where you can start to pick apart the performance of both sides. We can see the total xG share is actually very similar, so now I’m looking at why Inter potentially had the much better conversion rate on the day. It is true that an element of this is luck and natural variation which we touched on in the last edition, but the part of this that sticks out to me is the average occlusion is slightly less for Inter Movistar than it is for Barcelona.

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goals6 shots44 xG5.77 distance11.49m

onthecourt . April 2021

15 12

0-10

10-20

20-30

inter

barca

inter

barca

inter

barca

6 inter

barca

30-40

shotsper period 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0

xGtimeline

Pito 0.637

Raya 0.606 Iocav 0.169

Borja 2.08

Martel 1.136

Cecilio 0.58

Saldise Fer 0.396 0.161

xGcontribution av. ocl av. dis xG convers goals

If you consider what this means in game, on average per shot Inter had ½ a body less between the ball and the goal compared to Barcelona. Now if you consider the difficulty of finding a gap to score in past 2.5 players at the highest level of futsal, this is difficult. This for me is potentially where the game was won and lost. A large part of Inter’s success was in transition. The final graph displays the share of total shot events which occurred in a “counterattack” game state. They might not have scored consistently from these attacking transitions, but by exploiting Barcelona in this way they managed to sustain attacks with consistent pressure and take advantage of this momentum shift they often created.

shots 0%

10%

20%

30% 40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90% 100%

%match stats

inter

barca

onthecourt. April 2021

%totalshots from counters

Counterattacks naturally induce low shot occlusion. Often assisted by through balls, players will often find themselves 1v1 or 2v2. Naturally this opens up better shot angles, which might not necessarily be possible to exploit if you are defending against a half court zone with 3 or 4 players blocking the path to goal. I hope this article has been useful, and gives you an idea on how you might look to engineer chances for your team moving forwards!

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Inter Movistar 11

Iacovino

Fer Drasler

Pito

Raya

Jon

Borja

Pola

Tripodi

Martel

Matheus

Herrero

Boyis

Saldise

Ferrao

Marcenio

Didac

Cecilio

Dyego

27 Jesus

Packing Analysis

Copa España Final 2021 otc | Page 86

onthecourt . April 2021

Barca Futsal Coelho

Aicardo

Povill

Daniel

Ximbinha 99 Joselito

Adolfo

Feixas

Introduction

In our previous article which looked at the Italian game between CUS Ancona and Futsal Cesana we closed with some thoughts for future areas of futsal analysis which could be explored: “[an] area which is of interest is to identify the performance of the ‘whispering’ players as this is elusive; these are the players who facilitate other players. These players are [usually] not recognised [statistically, such as] a third player making a screen movement which facilitates a successful link between two other players.”

mark finney @thegfc_tv

onthecourt. April 2021

Capturing this sort of information statistically, especially in the context of futsal, is something which fascinates me. Why do some teams play better when certain players are on the court, even if those players are not scoring the goals, they are not providing the passes and they are not the 1v1 specialists? #10 Dani Saldise of Inter Movistar was the best facilitator in the Copa de España final, closely followed by #12 Borja and then by #2 Aicardo of Barça. Why? To explain that, we need to tell the backstory of how we got to that point.e. It is a measure

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What is a good pass? A common line often heard is “you can’t trust just the data – you need old-fashioned opinions too”. For that, I would say that experienced data analysts are the people who are most suspicious of data and will not provide any numbers without also providing the context, assumptions and process which led to those numbers. The world is a complex place and capturing it in numbers can be a dangerous thing to do if those numbers are used in a clumsy fashion. So, our backstory needs to include how we got to the conclusion that Dani Saldise was the best facilitator in the game and the context in which we say that. If we are to work out who the best facilitator is, then we need to know what they are facilitating. To define this, they are facilitating team-mates to bypass opponents either by a pass, by 1v1 or by otherwise travelling with the ball. But this opens a myriad of further questions and definitions. What is a good pass, for instance? That is a deliberately vague question. To answer that question, further questions need to be asked. Does a pass even need to be received for it to be a good pass? What if the pass were good but the receiver had poor technique, and if that pass happened again, it would be received and hence completed? Does the pass need to go past opposition players for it to be a good pass? Is a pass better if it leads to a big event such as a shot on goal, or is a pass still a good pass regardless of the subsequent outcome? However, the approach is still valid on the basis of profiling a team in that it identifies which players link up most in any given game through successful combination play. Game time is a major contributor to higher scores, though there is also the theoretical possibility that player combinations can get game time without accruing many points due to being ineffective. Other visualisations such as playing rosters should be used to give further context and will be left out of the scope for this article, though they are discussed online in the references cited in the introduction.

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onthecourt . April 2021

The backstory The definition I have used in this piece of analysis is as follows: Play can be divided into in possession and out of possession and within each of those, it is possible to accrue positive and negative points depending on the success or otherwise of actions taking place. For this piece of analysis, the focus has been on positive points awarded while in possession. These points can be earned by players for (i) playing a pass which bypasses one or more opponents; (ii) receiving that same pass; (iii) bypassing opponents by 1v1 or by travelling with the ball. As such, it identifies the players who make things happen. There are more complete ways of analysing games, such as the one in figure 1 which looks at all four quadrants identified by in/out of possession x positive/negative points. This was part of an analysis piece performed on the Negeri Sembilan v Perak match in the Malaysia Premier Futsal League (2020). The away team, Perak, were coached by Damon Shaw and we shared some useful insights.

Figure 1.

‘‘Does a pass even need to be received for it to be a good pass?...’’

onthecourt. April 2021

The visualisations shown in figure 1 were initially provided to Damon without labelling the players to which they related. It was interesting that Damon was still able to identify his players just by the shape of their radar signature. For the piece of analysis in this article though, we will take a more scoped approach. This is valid, providing we explicitly state our scope and assumptions and providing we interpret the results in that context. So, for the Copa de España, we will look at just one of these quadrants: positive points in possession. There is still subjectivity in awarding these scores: did a pass really bypass opponents or was it just played around the edge of an intact and still organised defence? Over time though, these judgement calls have become consistent and consider the game context of the pass which has been played.

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Game Time But how do we deal with the fact that players all play for different amounts of time? How do we make sure that a player who has only played for 10 minutes is weighted fairly compared to a player who has played for 20 minutes? Clearly, we must equalise the playing time so that the numbers are as if all players have played for an equal amount of time. I like to do this as a “per 20 minutes” figure for futsal as it is a more realistic figure to standardise to than “per 40” as in top-level futsal, players would not play an entire 40 minutes. Standardising pitch time presents its own issues though if we apply this blindly: players with small amounts of playing time (small data sets) can have highly anomalous results. These players are not included. This removes players such as #13 Joselito and #4 Coelho for Barça from the reckoning. Figure 2a and 2b show the playing rosters for both teams for the game. Many analysts like to snapshot every 15, 30 or 60 seconds to work out who is playing in a less labour-intensive way. However, at the expense of my time, I prefer to do this to the second. This captures occurrences such as #13 Martel coming on for Inter Movistar for a two second stint to score his free kick, as well as Barça bringing on specialists such as #4 Coelho to defend against such free kicks. This highlights the emotional stability and the specialism of top-level futsal players. I have first-hand experience of non-league footballers playing in English domestic futsal matches and getting upset because “you’ve only just put me on, now you’re subbing me off”. That was during three-minute spells, so imagine the difference in mindset getting footballers to play futsal for two-second specialist spells, let alone substituting them after scoring in those two seconds!

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onthecourt . April 2021

Including all pitch time to equalise the numbers would not be correct though! I would argue that there are distinct pieces to the game of futsal and that 4v3 and 5v4 powerplays (fly keeper) should be treated separately to the rest of the match. As such, the analysis for this piece is focussed on the first 27 minutes of the game – up to the red card for Barça #18 Marcenio. Figure 2b shows the timeline after that event: a 4v3 powerplay up until #12 Borja scores the third goal for Inter Movistar, a very brief period for #13 Martel to score again from a set piece (kick-in) to make it 4-1, and then a period of fly keeper by Barca to get back into the game. The period after that has also been discounted as the game at that point (6-1) was more of an exhibition game with court time for more fringe players. Taking all of that into account, we can produce figure 3 which shows points amassed by each player for passes provided, passes received and for 1v1-type actions. The left side of the table contains the absolute values, and the right side contains the values after playing time was equalised so that it was as if every player had played for 20 minutes. Figures for facilitating actions are also included (the act F column).

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Before discussing the facilitators - which is the slant to this article – we need to provide some a narrative to figure 3. Taking all things identified earlier into consideration, #6 Daniel (Barça) was the best provider of passes (25.5 points), closely followed by #12 Borja, Inter Movistar (24.4 points). I have embedded hashtags on Twitter prior to this article being published and the Twitter hashtag #futsalprovider shows Daniel and Borja racking up points as passing providers. #17 Fernando (Inter Movistar) was by far the best receiver (46.8 points), with #99 Ximbinha (Barça) in second place with 28.9 points. Clips of the events which fed into these receiving figures can be found via the Twitter hashtag #futsalreceiver. #18 Pito (Inter Movistar) was the best at individual actions to bypass opponents (7.1 points in the 1v1 column; Twitter hashtag #futsal1v1).

‘‘Going back to old fashioned subjective judgement calls, Aicardo is my best facilitator in the game...’’

What surprised me was that only 15% of the 109 events were facilitated by players other than those directly involved in the event (15%). My hunch was that this would occur far more often than it does. This means that there are very few data points in a single match from which to draw conclusions as to the best facilitator. It would be better to amass a much larger data set on which to draw such conclusions. So, #10 Saldise amasses the most points for facilitating actions (4.3) albeit from a very small data set. For this, I will defer to subjective judgement: a search for the Twitter hashtag #futsalfacilitator will bring up a clip which includes my own favourite facilitating movement from the game: the cutting rupture and subsequent screen played by #2 Aicardo (Barça) to facilitate the pass from #8 Adolfo to #6 Daniel. Going back to old fashioned subjective judgement calls, Aicardo is my best facilitator in the game. Regardless of any stats!

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heels

6 10

goal of the month niyazovvsporting

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10niyazov 6gomez 9asadov KPRFvsporting 29april2021

The champions league was full of top quality set pieces. KPRF were able to score 2 set pieces in the game. The first one, highlighted here was from a kick in 6m out. Two ‘blockers’ cross over with the ball going to the fix. The first line pressure from sporting creates the space in the 2nd phase centrally. The ball is then played to Raul Gomez (6) who holds and heels for the original taker (Niyazov) who has followed the ball into the middle taking advantage of the same side block. Watch here: https://youtu.be/bZ82DwAD81E?t=87

Zagreb

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futsalshoe review kelme flamenco powered by

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spart onthecourt . April 2021

The Kelme Flamenco is the new futsal shoe from Kelme, a retro style futsal shoe with a modern twist using modern technologies for a greater fit and feel. The shoe can be found in a variety of colour combinations with the white and gold ones being the most aesthetically pleasing. The touch of blue or red means they can combine with any kit colours. The shoe offers the same stability as a Munich without being as heavy giving the player a lighter feel when wearing. Players who enjoy having a more stable shoe will enjoy these although those who prefer a lighter, tight fit shoe may try to stay to their usual choices.

comfort

aesthetics

Overall, the shoe offers comfortability, stability and looks incredible when playing to make sure you stand out. You can buy these now at the Futsal Shop or through Kelme and think you will enjoy what the new Flamenco brings to the table!

weight

true fit

4.2 overall jonkurrant @futsaljk8 onthecourt. April 2021

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spart custom commissions contact @spart_visuals

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The womens game is growing thanks to the growing work behind the scenes from coaches, players and fans. Laura Viafara is one of those passionate individuals that is pushing the womens game in the right direction. FS Futsal Femenino offers analysis, tactical insights and news around the womens game and is helping coaches increase their knowledge in the area. We spoke to her about what futsal means to her and how the women’s futsal is on the up!

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“Being a technical director is what I really want to do for the rest of my life...

Hola Laura! Can you give us an introduction for readers of who you are and what is FS Futsal Femenino? LV. My name is Laura Viafara, I am Colombian and a futsal coach. I have lived in Argentina for six years. I studied Architecture in Bogotá. However, the passion for soccer made me land in this wonderful country. I was an amateur futsal player and represented my University in several championships. My life has always been connected with this sport; And because of this, I decided to take a risk and start anew a path that I enjoy walking every day. Being a technical director is really what I want to do for the rest of my life. What is women’s futsal (FS)? It is a teaching and learning special about futsal practiced by women. In it, what I try to do is make our sport visible, through video analysis; and the use of technology to empower players and coaches. So that, during the competition, they have more tools in the development of the game.

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Why did you start FS Futsal Femeninoand what did you want to achieve?

Elite Women’s Futsal is evolving a lot now, what do you think is needed at the base to increase the number of players?

I was browsing social networks and it caught my attention that a female futsal coach was giving feedback to his players with videos of men. This caused me concerns. So, I started looking and realized that the information was scarce.

Support, dissemination and practice spaces in essential places such as schools - in Brazil it is played at school, for this and for other reasons they have excellent players. Sport must be professionalized so that more girls can dedicate themselves and make their dream come true. It does not have to be a privilege for some, but an option for all.

This is how my FS Project started. My purpose is to provide soccer players and coach with a broader spectrum in which tactics, technique and the visibility of players converge who can be references for women who are there and those who come. I wanted to get a space within the (over) information that exists; And now what I want is to continue growing so that Women’s Futsal (FS) becomes a reference in sport and from there, contribute to the growth of athletes.

Do you see the progress of the world Women’s Futsal right now? Yes, progress cannot be denied. Progress is gradual and the steps are short, but strong and forceful. The players have earned a place thanks to the game, the preparation, the integrity, passion and sacrifice. In Europe the advance is more noticeable than in Latin America. Now, there are several leagues at an extraordinary level, and it is good to see Argentine footballers in the different championships in Spain, Italy and Brazil. That speaks highly of the preparation that exists here. Women’s futsal is in a great moment and it is really pleasant to sit, watch and analyse the games. There is a good rhythm, good players and very entertaining matches. The difference between the teams is getting smaller and smaller.

“Women’s futsal is in a great moment and it is really pleasant to sit, watch and analyse the games...

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In addition, it is necessary for women to enter sports at a younger age, therein lies the difference. The basis is the future. Therefore, the coaches must be trained to teach. That his main objective is not to be in first class, but that he has the vocation to accompany, instruct and give sufficient tools in his growth. Promote junior championships. Thus, the average age in clubs and teams will go down. Without the institutions in charge of futsal this cannot be possible. The focus should be on a serious, congruent project that is sustained over time. In this way, the foundations will be solid. Plans should not contain only immediate or short-term results.

Where do you see women’s futsal in the next 5 years? What do you think are the next steps that are needed? Women’s futsal is growing a lot. So, in the next five years I imagine, more teams, more leagues, intercontinental tournaments and more game broadcasts - the rights are sold. I want to see more women coaching and coaching - not just in the FSF, but also in men’s teams. And that the players can dedicate themselves to their passion, because they have an income that allows them to enjoy their career and their dream.

“more teams, more leagues, intercontinental tounraments and more game broadcasts..

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The next steps are: indisputably a women’s futsal World Cup, it is incredible that with everything that is happening in sport with women, there is still no World Cup event. The tournament now is daunting. The footballers and all the people who are behind our activity deserve to be able to face powers such as Brazil, Portugal, Spain, Iran, Japan, among others. I want to be in a World Cup as a spectator and coach, because I feel that it is the biggest event in this sport. FIFA in the coming years must focus all its efforts on planning championships for us women. For sports in general, I believe that if futsal manages to be in the Olympic Games, it will have more relevance, support and dissemination from the mainstream media. When the test was carried out in 2018, the results were really good and that undoubtedly helped to give it a leap in quality. Hopefully in the next few years futsal will be in the Olympics.

Can you pick your 5 all-time for Women’s Futsal? It is very difficult for me, to be able to choose an alltime team. Because, finding videos or information from 2008/10 below is very difficult. The first “World Cup” endorsed by FIFA was in 2010 and the images that exist are few. There is no data survey. Therefore, there is no important knowledge about the players from 15 or even 10 years ago. Fortunately, this is changing and now monitoring a team or an athlete is much easier, because in most cases the information is there. If not, the team can be contacted and have a positive response. They all want the activity to grow. Therefore, when something is required, both the Clubs and the footballers are ready to help. Currently there are several young players with projection to follow: Janice Silva from Portugal is a phenomenal Pivot who has a great future ahead of her, Amandinha who is the best player in the world and Silvina Nava who is Argentine, and has an incredible game reading, always one step ahead of the play. When the ball reaches her, she already knows what to do with it.

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to learn more about FS Futsal Femenino: @fsfutsalfemenino

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letstalk procast

the latest futsal podcast available now on:

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PROFUTSAL LONDON @7futsalbe

@7futsal

#7futsal

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#7futsal

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We sat down and interviewed Vince van de Vreken, founder and owner of 7futsal. With over 2 million followers across all platforms, Vince gives us the lowdown on all things Futsal. It’s obvious we spoke to one of Futsal’s most passionate followers and influencers from grassroots to the professional game. He is show-casing futsal to a mass audience and exposing the beautiful sport to a younger, vibrant demographic.

Q. Can you please give us an introduction into who you are and why you are so passionate about Futsal? VvdV. I’m 23 years old, born and raised in Belgium. In my daily life, I recently graduated from university and started working as a Mechanical Engineer. In my spare time, I’m working on a hobby that got a little bit out of hand called Seven Futsal. It’s a concept I started in September 2018. Long story short: futsal players, clubs and federations send me their videos. I edit and share them on all social media platforms through the 7Futsal accounts. This results in an engaged futsal community between the fans, players, clubs and federations. Each video is a collaboration between me and the ones associated with it from which we all gain more reach and followers. Overall, I act as a promoter of our sport.

vince van de vreken

a promoter for futsal

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My passion for futsal is the result of a combination of circumstances. I grew up playing football at my local club. To improve my skills, I went to a football school on Sunday. Being one of the better players at ten years old, the technical trainer who played futsal in the first division introduced me to the club. I instantly fell in love with the game. Having Sever’s disease for two years, a type of bone injury in which the growth plate in the lower back of the heel becomes inflamed and causes pain, I couldn’t play futsal or football. I still played on the streets even though the doctor told me to rest. I missed the transition to the big field in football because of the injury, and it never felt the same afterwards. I wanted to touch the ball more frequently and play more tactical, so I skipped football training to play futsal. At 14 years old, I went all-in on futsal. Resulting in me joining the U21 team at 16 and start training with the first team every week. My dad was a futsal goalkeeper in his younger years, and he joined the club as a board member along the way. Later, I started doing the social media of the club. Playing futsal and following the ins and outs of a futsal club at the highest level in Belgium for ten years made me visualize futsal the way I look at it today.

‘‘Each video is a collaboration between me and the ones associated with it from which we all gain more reach and followers. Overall, I act as a promoter of our sport....’’ otc | Page 112

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‘‘The underlying goal is and will always be the same: Inspire people to start playing futsal. ...’’

Q. Why did you start 7Futsal? What was your aim behind it? VvdV. Since 2015, I have managed my futsal club’s social media accounts in the Belgian first division called CKB Puurs, which later on evolved in FT Bornem-Puurs. At the end of the 2017-2018 season, our futsal club decided to quit, and I still had the accounts with around 10 thousand followers combined. At the time, there wasn’t an account representing the global futsal community on social media. The ones that existed were kind of amateurish and only focused on a specific country. I felt like I could do better, so I started the 7Futsal account. The ‘7’ comes from my shirt number and ‘Futsal’ as our sport’s international name. Seven futsal was born. I was sharing videos from all over the world to a global audience using the universal English language. At first, it was more of a hobby. But along the way, it’s becoming more serious and I’m slowly developing it into a personal futsal brand. The options are endless. Up to this moment, I’ve only put time into it and almost haven’t made a penny. It’s my choice to build a valuable business in the long run because I know that if you have a passion for something and follow the desire to achieve your goals, money will become a by-product over time. As the revenue grows, it will be used to buy time to promote futsal even more. The underlying goal is and will always be the same: Inspire

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Q. You have an incredible following online, what do you think clubs, players or organisations can do better to capture the audience like you have? VvdV. Yes, I’ve built it up to around 2 million followers across all platforms in 2 and a half years. In my opinion, it’s quite simple if they follow these key points:

is to be present on all possible platforms where your target audience is. For example, with Seven Futsal, I have accounts on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn. On Facebook, I have a page and a group. I’m also a moderator of the r/ futsal subreddit. Step 2 is to consistently post relevant content on all those accounts you just created. With Seven Futsal, I found a balance for myself that 2 posts a day is perfect for how much time I can spend on it and the engagement it gives me in return. Those 2 posts a day, posted in all those accounts equals 14 posts a day in total for people to interact with. The biggest mistake you can make is to overthink what you should post and eventually don’t post anything at all. To say it with a Nike slogan: Just Do It. Most of the content I post, I haven’t filmed. But if you’re a player, club or futsal federation, film as much as you can. From training to games to behind the scenes. In the short term, you will attract the people you know, their friends and families. Followed by people living around the location of your club. In the long term, you will build an audience that will generate extra revenue through on one hand more sponsorships and the other hand more visitors to games. Step 3 is to trigger your followers to interact with your content. You can do that by using a call to action in your captions, tagging players and coaches in your post and ask them to comment and share in their story for example. The interaction will

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Q. You seem to vary your content from the elite side of the sport to the grassroots and lower leagues, how important is it for you to highlight all levels of the Futsal pyramid??

Q. Where do you see Futsal going in the next 5 years? What do you think needs to change or improve so the sport continues to progress?

As I said before, I don’t think that much about a video. If I see something I like, I post it. Doesn’t matter the level or origin. It can be the best or worst of futsal and street soccer. I keep it as diverse as possible. Professional futsal is played a lot more tactical. In lower leagues, there are more possibilities for using skills. I find it interesting to see that when I post a freekick routine from the pro’s, it almost immediately gets recreated in the lower leagues. You’ll get a kind of cross-pollination. I also don’t care if a post gets fewer likes because the next day I will post 2 other new videos. People these days have a very short attention span and they don’t care how your feed looks; they just want to see content that makes them feel something for a moment. A video that can make you smile because it’s funny, can give you a wow effect, can inspire you, can teach you something… It’s the best feeling to know that you can inspire the youth to start playing futsal and improve themselves.

In the next 5 years, I think some kind of revolution will start to take off. We already see a lot of new initiatives appear like magazines, podcasts, websites. More and more professionalism will take place in the national leagues across the world. The partnership between LNFS and the National Futsal League in England is a great example. The futsal community is finally becoming more united. My whole life, I got the feeling I need to fight for futsal. In the end, it’s all about a lack of money. With our club in the first division, we had to work three times as hard to get less sponsorship than a local football team. Futsal being under football’s wings results in limited opportunities for the wrong reasons. Look at what’s happened in England recently, where the FA is cutting the funding with 90% of what already was a small piece of the pie. Football associations are making the following mistake: They see that futsal benefits football players in countries such as Brazil, Argentina, Spain, and Portugal. So, they will add it to their academy model as a way to improve football players.

‘‘It’s the best feeling to know you can inspire the youth to start playing futsal and improve themselves ...’’

But in those countries, the success was achieved by developing futsal as a game itself, not to improve football players. People still see futsal as football’s little brother, and I want to change that. Futsal is growing rapidly, but with actions like this, it’s like going two steps forward and one step back at a time. FIFA is not pushing it enough. They should follow the image of AFC and UEFA, which gives it more coverage. In a Utopia, futsal is distinguished from football, and there is one united futsal organization instead of lots of different ones with a small variation in rules. Futsal will go through the roof and will finally become an Olympic sport.

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Vince’s All Time 5

Ricardinho

Higuita

Ortiz

Ferrao

12 Falcao

Q. Can you pick your all time starting 5? GK, Cierre, Alas, Pivot. In goal, I’ll put Léo Higuita. For me, the most complete goalkeeper: he has good reflexes, can play along in possession and has amazing shooting with precision and power. Carlos Ortiz as a defender will be the backbone of the team. Ricardinho and Falcão on the wings. Both geniuses in futsal, they don’t even need an introduction. As a pivot, there is only one player that stands out: Ferrão

Q. How do you integrate futsal into your football programme, and why do you think it is beneficial? When it comes to this topic, I’m a bit against the grain. As a kid, I never felt the desire to choose a team I would support. I’m just supporting the team I’m playing for, and I don’t change teams. In Belgium, I have a slight preference for FT Antwerpen. Just because they are the closest club to where I live. Being in the position where I manage Seven Futsal, I find it important to be a neutral spectator. This gives me the advantage of judging videos objectively and enjoying every action of our beautiful sport. My favourite player of all time is without a doubt Falcão, the King of Futsal. I still remember the day he started following me at the beginning of this journey, that was a very special moment.

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@7futsalbe @7futsal

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#mentalhealtha

CAL ADV i a (w

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awarenessweek

LM T R E V ) g n iti

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upcoming key futsal this month...

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onthecourt . April 2021

game watch June Palma v Zaragoza LNFS Play Off

Barca v Inter LNFS Play Off

ElPozo v Valdepenas LNFS Play Off

Jimbee v Levante LNFS Play Off

All 2nd Games LNFS Play Off

All 3rd Games LNFS Play Off

Sporting v Benfica Liga Placard Final G1

Benfica v Sporting Liga Placard Final G2

Sporting v Benfica Liga Placard Final G3

NFS Tier 1 Games English National Futsal Series T1

NFS Tier 1 Final English National Futsal Series

France D1 Week 22 French D1 Futsal

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buy us a coffee! click below!

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collaborators

davidtapia-owens @12DTO jonkurrant @futsaljk8 benpickford @BPAnalysis96 markfinney @thegfc_tv benlazarus @ben_lazarus96 johntapia-owens @jatowens

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write for us! draw for us! talk for us! snap for us! ... getinvolved

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see you next month ;)

@otc_coach @otc_coach

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