Soccer vs Futsal
May 11, 2011 5:22 PM   Subscribe

As a player, what are the differences between playing soccer and playing futsal?

He's virtually unknown outside of Japan, I imagine, but Kazu is a famous soccer player here in Japan, an athlete on par with (or maybe even better than) Ichiro in terms of what they've contributed to their respective sports.

Anyway, Kazu made the news here a couple of days ago because the word got out that he might be playing in the pro futsal league (F-League) here during the J-League off season.

Which got me thinking... as a top-level player, what are the differences (if any) between playing soccer and playing futsal?

I'm not interested in the obvious differences like the basic rules and the number of players etc. This question is more about the athlete's abilities. Do you need more stamina to play in one sport or the other? More agility? Do the players in each sport train differently?

I guess my question boils down to something like, would a top-notch soccer player like Messi be a top-notch futsal player, too?

Apologies in advance if this is a silly question. I love watching soccer games, but I've never actually played it myself, so I'd like to hear from all you soccer/futsal players out in AskMe land. Thanks.
posted by misozaki to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (10 answers total) 2 users marked this as a favorite
 
There are some useful insights into the differing skillsets required by futsal vs. football/soccer in this article. The highlight seems to be that because of the much smaller playing area, futsal requires / emphasizes greater skill on the ball to maintain possession, and quicker decision-making when passing or shooting. There's more than just that in the article, though, so it's probably worth a read.
posted by dersins at 5:38 PM on May 11, 2011


The smaller pitch means that the ability to run quickly for more than a few metres is less important. A small pitch also means the ball spends less time high in the air, so presumably the ability to head the ball is a less useful skill than in football.

40 minute games, a small pitch + rolling substitutes mean stamina is much less important. Any professional football player has far more stamina than you need to play futsal (this is probably true of many futsal players too).

Bitter five-a-side experience tells me that the hard surface makes that ball control and accurately judging the range of passes more challenging than on grass, so excellent close control is probably particularly useful. The hard surface also makes physical challenges harder to do safely, and therefore presumably rarer, so that aspect of the game is less important.

Among footballers, Messi is one player I imagine would benefit from (or at least not be impaired by) futsal's rules. He's small, fast over short distances and has excellent close control. He's physically very unusual. Most professional footballers are bigger, less agile, faster over longer distances, stronger, and have worse ball control. But a professional footballer would certainly be better at futsal than someone picked at random from the general population.

I live in the UK, am a football fan, and have never heard of futsal, so I had to look it up. For UK people: it's basically five-a-side football.
posted by caek at 5:49 PM on May 11, 2011 [1 favorite]


Response by poster: Thanks for that link, dersins. Interesting.

And I had no idea that the term "futsal" wasn't known in the UK! Sorry about that. Learn something new every day...

Thanks for the input so far.
posted by misozaki at 6:11 PM on May 11, 2011


Best answer: In addition to fitness and ball skills, soccer is all about using the space, knowing when and where to make runs and how to open up the field. Since the futsal court is so small, spacing isn't as much of an issue. Quickness and ball skills are more important in futsal (and also very helpful in soccer- you won't find any top level players who don't have these attributes), but understanding of positioning and passing ability are essential for soccer and not as relevant on the small futsal pitch. When I've played futsal, the ball is heavier (not sure if that's standard or just the league I played in) and therefore prevents a lot of the types of passes one would make in soccer. When I've been playing outdoor and switch to indoor soccer, I feel like I'm getting winded more often (there's a lot more sprinting and less downtime in futsal) but a top level player would be fit enough that this wouldn't be an issue.
posted by emd3737 at 6:25 PM on May 11, 2011 [1 favorite]


I had no idea that the term "futsal" wasn't known in the UK!

It's well known in my home corner, with interest stemming from when the local professional club signed a Brazilian star.

The smaller, heavier ball is definitely a factor: it really doesn't bounce at all, so it's easier to trap, but you have to be more deliberate in passing it. This usually assists players with quick feet, a good touch and a lower centre of gravity -- the Messi / Maradona type -- over players who rely more on strength, height and heading ability.
posted by holgate at 7:34 PM on May 11, 2011


As others have noted above, futsal is all about quickness and touch. Lightning quickness and impeccable first/second touch can turn a small mistake by an opposing offensive player into a scoring opportunity for your team in a matter of seconds. The action is all over the field all the time - the smallness and heaviness of the ball does not slow down play at all. The hard field and small ball further favor the agile and players that "seem like they have the ball on a string".

If I were picking a defender for my futsal team and I could choose between Messi and the top 10 defenders in the EPL, I would choose Messi.
posted by 3FLryan at 8:41 PM on May 11, 2011


Messi, Javier Hernandez, Aaron Lennon, Dani Alvez and Neuer in goal perhaps in my starting five. No centre backs in the traditional sense, no holding midfielders. It's a game where the quickness and resourcefulness of full backs and wingers and lithe, low-centered attackers have the advantage. And a keeper with great reactions like Neuer.
posted by salishsea at 11:24 PM on May 11, 2011


Response by poster: Thanks everyone! This has been really interesting, and hard to mark best answer. So I guess what I'm gathering from what you've all said is that a good futsal player would no doubt make a good soccer player, but the other way around isn't necessarily the case, depending on the style of the player.

I marked emd3737's as best because the difference in the nature of making space and passing in the two sports was something that hadn't occurred to me at all for some reason, even with the obvious differences in pitch size. I've watched both soccer and futsal games but prefer soccer. And I've wondered why because pro futsal players are amazing athletes, and you'd think with their almost acrobatic handle of the ball and the quicker games with more goals would make the sport more interesting, like basketball, but to me it isn't. emd3737's answer helped me see one of the reasons why I probably prefer soccer over futsal, which wasn't what this question was about, but it was a bonus for me. So, thanks.

If other people want to add their 2ยข, please feel free to do so.
posted by misozaki at 5:39 AM on May 12, 2011


Not sure about "a good futsal player would no doubt make a good soccer player", technically yes, but he will also lack the stamina required to stay effective on a field for 90 minutes.
Falcao was considered the best futsal player in the world when he joined Sao Paulo FC and he didn't do well there and went back to futsal soon after.
On a sidenote King Kazu is a legend and he will do well in futsal.
posted by SageLeVoid at 7:07 AM on May 12, 2011 [1 favorite]


Response by poster: SageLeVoid, thanks for the link. I used not like Kazu at all when he was at his peak, but I have a lot of respect for him now. I don't know if he'll do well in futsal, but he'll definitely bring a lot of attention to the sport if he goes through with this, won't he?
posted by misozaki at 4:22 PM on May 12, 2011


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