Courtesy: FIFA.com


Reyes proving a hit with the home fans

20 Sep 2016

It all began in the hosts’ opening match of the FIFA Futsal World Cup Colombia 2016, against Portugal in Cali. The livewire No14 came on, put his foot on the ball a couple of times and produced feint or two, giving the fans reason enough in his brief appearance on the court to adopt him as their own.

Then, in Colombia’s second match against Uzbekistan, also in Cali, with the little blond-haired player on the bench and his side struggling, a chant went up around the arena: “Reeeeyes! Reeeeyes! Reeeeyes!”

“Of course I heard it, but you want to stay focused on the match,” said the player in question, Andres Camilo Reyes, in conversation with FIFA.com. “If I think about it, it’s a lovely thing for a player to hear, especially in a sport like futsal, which is starting to grow. It makes me feel proud.”

It should be added that the 27-year-old defender, who contributed a goal and two assists in the vital 4-3 win over Panama in Colombia’s third match, does not hail from Cali. “I’m from Bogota, like the rest of my family. I grew up in the Aures 1 neighbourhood in the suburb of Suba. That’s where I developed as a player and a person.”

It was there that his mother would chide him for playing football and urge him to pick up a book instead. “We’d play all day long on the local pitches and my mum would come and say: ‘Stop playing that sport that nobody knows and get studying’. In the end, though, I’d always forget.”

The sixth-shortest player in the tournament at 5’4 (1.62m), Reyes was never afraid to get a kick or two in his younger days, despite invariably being smaller than the players he was up against: “I did what I loved doing, which was to put my foot on the ball, sell dummies and dribble. They’d try and knock me off it but it never bothered me.”


Hope springs eternal
Though Reyes was unsure of making the Colombia squad for the Futsal World Cup, the invitation duly came his way, forcing him to dye some of his blond locks white. Taking up the story, the Saeta Futsal Club player said: “I wasn’t playing well and I was out of shape. I’d been out of form for the best part of a year. Then, three days before they announced the squad, my wife said to me: ‘If they call you, you have to dye your hair any colour I want’. So you could say both our dreams came true,” he added with a laugh.

A father to three-year-old Maria Paula and four-year-old Juan Camilo, who “already plays the ball like daddy”, Reyes loves spending time with his family. His duties as a parent and national-team futsal player have led to him putting his systems engineering studies on hold, though he has every intention of completing his degree one day: “We’ll just have to see what happens when this is over.”

“This” is the ongoing World Cup, which has seen the hosts scrape into the last 16 following their narrow defeat of the Panamanians. “The nerves were definitely there, especially in the last few seconds. We were all thinking about that last play of the game against Portugal. We needed to keep a cool head to make sure we didn’t make that mistake again, and we did stay cool. That’s the positive thing.”

Los Cafeteros, who have stayed on in Cali, now face Paraguay in the Round of 16 without two of their best players, Angellott Caro and Jorge Abril, both of whom are suspended after picking up two yellow cards apiece in the group phase. Their absence means Reyes will have a bigger role to perform in creating play against the Paraguayans.

“They’re not easy players to replace,” he said. “They spend a lot of time on the court and we’ll miss them. And we’re praying to God that Yulian (Diaz) can make a quick comeback. He’s another key player. I’ve got no doubts, though, that the rest of the team and I will be there competing.”



Courtesy: FIFA.com


A festival with one eye on the future

20 Sep 2016

The FIFA Futsal World Cup is more than just an intensely exciting competition. It is also an important vehicle for promoting all the positive things the sport has to offer, a sport with the power to teach and shape players at the same time.

It was with those goals in mind that a Grassroots Futsal Festival "Skills for All" was held at Cali’s Coliseo el Pueblo on Monday 19 September as part of the Colombia 2016 Legacy Programme.

"The goal of "Skills for All" is to reach kids from six to 12 years old with the intention of motivating them to play futsal," said Brent Rahim, FIFA Beach Soccer and Futsal Development Manager. "The idea is to use fun games to improve their technique, a vital thing in developing as a futsal or football player".

"Skills for All" is also connected with social projects, which help the girls and boys in vulnerable situations," continued Rahim, holder of 49 international caps with Trinidad & Tobago. "It offers them the opportunity to participate in a festival that will help in their educational progression."


"It's fun!"
Taking part in the Cali festival were 41 girls and boys from Club Deportivo Lyon. They enjoyed a fun introduction to futsal on the court that will host the Colombia 2016 final on 1 October.

The event was coordinated by the Argentinian Vicente De Luise, a FIFA instructor and a member of the Technical Study Group analysing each of the games at the tournament. “We carried out what you might call a “mother” course in Bucaramanga, where training was given to coaches from the three cities hosting the World Cup,” he told FIFA.com.

“Those courses were then rolled out at the three host cities, the aim being to introduce futsal to a wider audience,” added De Luise, who coached the Argentina team at the first two futsal world finals, Netherlands 1989 and Hong Kong 1992.

The children taking part in the festival were split into groups and taught the basics of futsal before playing matches among themselves. “Nearly half of them were girls, and they played with the boys because at that age there’s not much difference between them physically.”

Expressing his satisfaction with the event, 12-year-old Sebastian, who was sporting a yellow FIFA shirt and trendy haircut for the occasion, said: “I like futsal because it's quicker and more fun to play. I think the World Cup has been great and my favourite player is Angellott Caro.”

Also there was 11-year-old Laura Soafia, who, with strands of hair loose after a fun time on the court, said: “I like it and I touched the ball a few times. My favourite player at the World Cup is Ricardinho.”

Sebastian and Laura were not the only ones smiling at the end of the festival. “The aim is for them to learn by playing and having fun,” added De Luise. “That’s the best way for them to take concepts on board. The response was great, and they wanted to carry on playing for even longer. That just shows you how much they enjoyed it.”



Courtesy: FIFA.com


Favourites focussed on avoiding upsets

20 Sep 2016

Arguably the three tournament favourites all face their first challenge outside the group stages on Wednesday, with Brazil, Spain and Portugal all taking to the court in their bid to reach the last eight.

FIFA.com looks over their trio of games as Iran, Kazakhstan and Costa Rica all plot upsets.


Match of the day
Spain-Kazakhstan, Medellin, 17:30 (local time)
It’s only just over seven months since these two clashed at UEFA Futsal EURO 2016, but this time around the encounter is set to have quite a different feel to it. When Spain triumphed 5-3 both sides were without some of their top talent.

Fernandao, Aicardo and Lozano, all of whom missed the tournament through injury, are amongst their squad in Colombia – with the latter pair scoring three in the 4-3 win over Morocco. Kazakhstan, meanwhile, were missing suspended goalkeeper Higuita in that semi-final clash – a player who is so pivotal to how they play – so it’s set to be a whole new encounter this time out.


The other matches
Having been unable to put Azerbaijan to bed in Medellin, Iran have paid a high price in being paired with tournament favourites Brazil in the first knockout round. Having conceded more than twice as many as Brazil, while registering just a third of A Seleção’s tally at the other end, the odds are heavily stacked against them. The reigning champions will also have newly-crowned all-time top-scorer Falcao fully focussed on claiming the title after setting that new benchmark. A worrying prospect.

Portugal, similarly ranked high amongst the favourites, present Costa Rica with a daunting task. While the Central Americans are enjoying their first foray into the latter stages of the Futsal World Cup, the sight of an in-form Ricardinho – with nine goals in his last two games – is enough to bring any team out in a cold sweat. But having given Argentina a serious run for their money in their 2-2 draw to round out Group E, Los Ticos will be enthused by the proof that they can frustrate teams with more perceived quality on the court. Though this is likely to be another step up in difficulty.


Player to watch

Tiago Brito (Portugal)
While Ricardinho has, quite rightly, been garnering all the plaudits from Portugal’s last couple of games, spare a thought for Tiago Brito. No goals to his name as of yet, but the Braga pivot has been quietly making the team tick with four assists to his name so far, and a key instrument in the Portuguese machine. Should Costa Rica solely focus on Ricardinho, expect him to gleefully utilise the space.


The stat
29 – Brazil bagged ten more goals than any other side in the group stage, featuring nine different goal-scorers – a tally only matched by Russia. Brazil managed an impressive eight different scorers in their final group game versus Mozambique.

The words
“As a team we haven’t been very good, we haven’t deployed our tactics as well as we can and that’s what normally makes us stand out. But now we have to focus on Kazakhstan, which is going to be a pretty challenging game.” Lozano, Spain


Match schedule

Brazil-Iran (17:30, Bucaramanga)
Spain-Kazakhstan (17:30, Medellin)
Portugal-Costa Rica (20:00, Cali)


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