First Indoor Football European Cup held in Valencia

Futbol Sala is Spain’s version of our five-a-side and Spain has one of the best national teams in the world.

But step back in time to the mid-70’s, when the likes of Best, Charlton, Law, Kidd, Dunn and Stepney made up a Manchester United five-a-side team that once a year would kick a ball around in the Wembley Arena, bouncing the ball of the side walls against the biggest names in the world of Division One football and that formula is what most of think of as five-a-side and the good news is, that it has now made its way to Spain!

Futbol Sala is a professional game in Spain and worldwide and draws decent crowds although one sometimes wonders about the players and if they are so good, why are they kicking a ball around a gym, rather than out in the fresh air with Messi and Ronaldo! Step in Football Indoor, as they call it in Spain, which is more of less exactly the same game of five-a-side some of us grew up with, whose popularity is quickly growing in Spain. It’s played on a smaller pitch than the Wembley Arena but with boards all round, 30-minutes each way and in a temporary arena, complete with artificial grass, which can be set up either inside or in the fresh air.

The game is growing rapidly in Spain because there is a league for former professionals over the age of 35, which all of the La Liga teams compete in, and there is even a purpose built stadium, albeit just the one, at the International School in Madrid. Such is the popularity of this ‘new’ game that over last weekend, the first European Cup between some of the best teams in the continent was played in the temporary area in the Centro Comercial Bonaire in Valencia.
 
In typical oxymoron style, this Indoor Football competition was played outdoors in the bright sunshine and consisted of Real Madrid, Liverpool, Valencia CF, Inter Milan, Porto and Ajax Amsterdam, some of the most prolific of European Cup winning teams. Some of the legends of these teams, as Ronald de Boer, Paulo Futre, Lubo Penev , Delvecchio, Steve McManaman and other Liverpool legends all participated in the weekend long event although Steve, who could have put on his boots for either Real Madrid or Liverpool, did not feature!
 
Some of the major players involved in the Indoor Football European Cup gathered on the last morning of the tournament at the Hotel Sorolla Palace to discuss details of the competition so far and their take on the other teams. Carlos Santillana (Real Madrid CF), Fernando Giner (Valencia CF), Richard Witschge (Ajax), Marco Delvecchio (FC Inter Milan) and Fernando Gomes (Porto FC) were present for the teams.
 
Fernando Giner, of Valencia CF complained, jokingly, the presence of Madrid. " I would like to ask the organization to please not invite Madrid anymore, because they always beat us! Beyond that, the tournament is fantastic, great players and this level of football is very important for the sport.” Richard Witschge, of Ajax said "The games were good, but we noticed a lack of adaptation to the sport. We had a great time; that was what was important and now we can enjoy this beautiful town and the amenities of the hotel."
 
British hopes were pinned behind Liverpool, who have plenty of Masters Football experience at this level in the UK, but the heat, longer playing time and pace of the games started to show and they lost both their encounters with Inter Milan and Porto FC. The Liverpool team consisted of Bob Bolder, Julian Dicks, John Wark, Mark Wright, Bjorn Tore Kvarme, Paul Walsh, Jimmy Carter, John Durnin and Craig Higneh. The final was shown live on local TV13, which could be picked up all over the Valencian Community and saw Real Madrid lose on Penalties to Inter Milan in a game were the Italian’s complained so much, they had a red card in the last minute of the game and after throwing all of their toys out of their prams, almost walked off the court and into oblivion because things were not going their way! The term spoiled brat was on everyone’s lips!

The idea of Indoor Football is still in its infancy in Spain and with just one purpose built arena in Madrid and with a second installation just outside Benidorm in La Nucia. With the smaller size and cost to build such an arena, especially here in the sunshine where it can be constructed outside, the opportunity for Torrevieja to add an Indoor Football arena to their Sports City mix could be an attractive addition and allow them the opportunity to bring Master’s Indoor Football to the city! If someone were to bring it to their attention, there is a possibility that the planned ice rink could also double as an Indoor Football pitch, with the obvious addition of boards and synthetic grass, in similar fashion to the way that the Major Indoor Soccer League is set up in the USA.

There was also the opportunity to design some of the city’s new sports parks around this concept but in typical, what you know you know, and what you don’t know you don’t know, that opportunity was missed, possibly because they didn’t know but some of the areas could be easily converted for this use rather than just playing three a side! For more information on the first Indoor European Cup or to find out more about the various Indoor Football leagues, rules and regulations, please visit www.ligafutbolindoor.es/

Keith Nicol