Do you know how futsal was born? You surely know about the history of football, but let's take a look at the first steps taken on an indoor pitch.
As you can imagine, futsal was born as an adaptation of the 11-a-side football we all know. It was born in 1930 in Uruguay, thanks to a population totally devoted to the king of sports, which they played at any time regardless of the place or conditions. This led Juan Carlos Ceriani, a teacher closely linked to the world of football, to take the sport into indoor pitches, inheriting rules from basketball, handball and water polo, to give shape to this sport that is so widespread today.
Now that this brief introduction is done and we know that both sports have a history that unites them, let's look at their characteristics.
SPEED
The pace of the game is faster in futsal, as it has a smaller pitch, the starts and starts in each of the phases of the game are at a very, very high pace and intensity. On the contrary, football has a ‘slower’ pace - not that it is actually slow, but there are not so many instances of attacks and defences, and therefore the ball does not travel too fast from one goal to another. However, the speed peaks are much higher due to the dimensions of the pitch itself, and the development of the players looking for that deep or long ball, which we see in every match.
GAME
The game as such changes quite a lot, in futsal a missed pass is practically a goal, as it uses many short passes and with continuous passing, an exquisite passing technique is required. In football, passes are short and also 30 or 40 metres long, which means that there are many more missed passes and the game as such is played around the centre of the pitch, so there are not many attacks and static defences.
In addition, a feature of 11-a-side football is the long play, crosses and head goals, something that is only seen in football - and which English football fans love.
MAGIC
And then comes the most difficult point to explain, and that is the details, in futsal we see players who step more on the ball, with a more refined technique with the ball and who are true artists in controlling the game. And far from what you might think, under the futsal shoes we have real showmen, such as Ricardinho or Falcao, who make watching a match in the 40x20, spectacular.
As for football, what can I tell you, since its beginnings we have seen true artists with the ball, and today the dribbling, controls, passes and strength, are spectacles in themselves. Maradona, Messi, Ronaldo, Ronaldinho of FC Barcelona, and a list that could be endless of beasts with the ball, that make us rub our eyes match after match.
In conclusion, we could spend hours and hours debating which dribbles are better, which players are better, which sport is more technical or which sport is more elegant. The truth is that it is a personal decision of each one. In Brazil, the players start by combining futsal with football and then decide which of the two to dedicate themselves to - and I think that's what we have to do. Try both sports, play as much as you can and then choose if you have more potential in futsal or football, the answer is up to you.
