Melbourne Brasil Futsal Academy forges relationships with Barcelona FC at World Cup

A group of young futsal players from outer-eastern Melbourne made the long trip to Spain over summer and returned with some more than handy friends.

Youngsters from the Melbourne Brasil Futsal Academy at the world cup over summer

A group of young futsal players from outer-eastern Melbourne made the long trip to Spain over summer to take on some pretty handy opposition.

The youngsters from the Lower Templestowe-based Melbourne Brasil Futsal Academy contested the Under-13 Futsal World Cup in the Catalan township of Blanes, about 75km from Barcelona, in the northeast of Spain..

And, along the way, they ran headlong into a team from one of the world’s most famous sporting organisations, Barcelona FC.

Futsal is a five-a-side version of soccer played on a hardcourt, often indoors, with a smaller ball. It is lightning fast and demands great skill on the ball and, in places like Brazil and Spain where soccer is almost a religion, futsal has a popularity and participation rate that’s not too far behind the outdoor game.

The trip was a learning experience worth its weight in gold for the youngsters, according to academy coach Gui Costa.

“It was a really good trip,” he said. “We got some coaching from the Barcelona team and we played against them. At the finish they became friends with the Barcelona players and they swapped jerseys.

Proudly flying the Australian flag

“We didn’t play that well against them, they were a bit star struck.

“Their coach came over after the game and said, ‘do you want to cool down with us’. He then talked to the boys and the biggest message he had for them was that if you play futsal then you play futsal. If you play outdoor (soccer) then you play outdoor. You don’t play both.”

Costa said he hoped the initial exchange between the academy and Barcelona would be the beginnings of a great relationship.

“The players are all keen to go back and watch them play (in their regular league) and there’s a possibility of having a Barcelona coach come out here,” he said.

“We’re trying to get that relationship going. I have a lot of respect for them.”

While the Australians were still a fair way behind sides like Barcelona, they proved to be highly competitive against the rest of the field.

“It told us, we are on the right path,” Costa said. “We did a lot of good things and got a lot of things right but we also did a lot of things wrong and we learned a lot from that.”

Costa said the academy was keen to make the trip again this year and, perhaps, expand the touring party to include under-11s, 12s and 13s.

For more information about the Melbourne Brasil Futsal Academy, visit: https://www.mbfa.net.au/