Münster learning quickly

In April 2002, a group of German sportsmen from the University of Münster turned up in Portugal for what they thought was a traditional indoor football tournament. They arrived to be confronted for the first time by futsal, the hugely popular version of the eleven-a-side game that has taken much of southern and eastern Europe by storm.

Technique and speed
With its restrictive rules for teams of five, smaller ball and goals, and emphasis on technique and speed, the men from Münster instantly liked what they saw. Little more than four years later, UFC Münster will fly the flag as Germany's first contenders in the UEFA Futsal Cup, the sport's equivalent of the UEFA Champions League. For decades Germany has been among Europe's leading football nations, now maybe they could gain that status in the small-sided game.

Accident
But the story begins in Setubal and that decisive, if accidental, visit to a futsal tournament by a Münster delegation, as enthusiastic club supremo Georg von Coelln tells uefa.com. "I was a player and the coach of the university football team and we were invited to play in an indoor tournament. I got some rules from the organisers but I never read them because I thought that we Germans know indoor football. But this was different. It took two days to understand the rules by playing matches."

Focused
Münster quickly found their feet, finishing fifth out of six teams and won the fair play trophy. Von Coelln was hooked and on the return to Germany put the wheels in motion to get the university focused on futsal. With the backing of the institution's sports vice-chairman Jörg Verhoeven, the initiative began that October with several students keen to get involved. By December it was Munster who had become the experts at a German futsal tournament in Frankfurt, with Von Coelln admitting "we were the only team that knew the rules.

Good team
"From the beginning we had a good team and so we kept playing and practising. So we can say that we are the most experienced team in Germany." That prowess was underlined when UFC Münster finally earned the right to compete with Europe's best by winning the German Football Association's inaugural DFB Futsal Cup back in April. One of the key men in the team was 29-year-old defensive player Dr Gereon Quick, who has a PhD in mathematics and is equally adept at solving problems on the futsal pitch.

'An honour'
"I'm very proud to be part of this team," he said. "It's really an honour to be the first German team to play in Europe. We're hopeful we can do our best to be a good representative for Germany in the UEFA Futsal Cup." The squad is still based around the academic institution, although the players come from places like Hamburg, Bremen and Frankfurt, and have the usual blend of youth and experience that any successful side requires.

Low profile
The part-timers manage to train three or four times a week but futsal in Germany has a long way to go to match the professionalism seen in strongholds such as Spain and Russia. "Futsal is not very well known here,” Quick explained. "In the beginning it was difficult to find tournaments for us to play in. Even now it is still hard to get people into the sports hall and we do not get that many spectators. For example, our regional newspaper reports on our team, but I have never seen an article about futsal in any national newspaper."

'Exciting'
Quick hopes involvement in the UEFA Futsal Cup preliminary round in September will lead to more exposure. "Now it has come true, it's really exciting," he said, although he is realistic about the club's chances in a mini-tournament staged by FK Nafta Mažeikiai of Lithuania and also featuring Cypriot club Parnassos Nicosia and Austrian side USC Eugendorf. The winners of the round-robin event will enter the competition proper.

Feelgood factor
"I think we have a hard group and we will be very lucky to finish first," he said. "I guess we have every chance but it will be very difficult. Regardless, we cannot wait for it to start." German football is on the up, with Quick himself quick to acknowledge the feelgood factor is high. "It is a good time to be in Germany. The [FIFA] World Cup was really great. There was a nice atmosphere and it was very positive." Futsal may be following a long way behind football's footsteps in Germany, but the hope is Münster can also give that nation something to cheer. If they do well and play in the right spirit, they could earn some national headlines of their own.