Wednesday 18 August 2021, 08:49

Barrabe and Marrucci talk beach soccer and Russia 2021

  • FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Russia 2021™ kicks off tomorrow 

  • Experts predicting an exciting tournament  

  • Interview with Technical Study Group members Claude Barrabe and Matteo Marrucci 

A spectacular, physical and technical sport, beach soccer has established quite a reputation over the years and is no longer seen as a holiday pursuit played on the beach in swim shorts. A reflection of that is the fact that the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup, which kicks off on 19 August, will be taking place in the Russian capital, Moscow, a city not exactly known for its beaches.  

“Eric Cantona once said that beach soccer is a sand sport, not a beach sport, and I totally agree with him,” said Claude Barrabe, a member of the FIFA Technical Study Group (TSG). “The beach is great for developing the game but if you want performance and an elite sport, then you need proper infrastructure. You need a regulation sand pitch for this sport to be played the right way, and that’s what Moscow’s going to offer.”  A former professional goalkeeper who later became France’s national beach soccer team coach, Barrabe will be covering Russia 2021 as a FIFA expert, alongside former Italy international Matteo Marrucci. FIFA.com spoke to the two of them on the eve of the competition.  

FIFA.com: What are the main changes in beach soccer over the last 15 years?  Claude Barrabe: It’s developed a lot on a tactical level. There’s a lot more structure to the game than before. Some of the European and South American teams play high-quality beach soccer, switching their formations and building moves. But tactics and technique are not enough in themselves anymore. Fitness is also massively important, which is something that the big eastern European teams have come to understand. Mindsets have changed too. Teams are very professional in their preparations these days. Things were more relaxed in my day.    Matteo Marrucci: Tactics play an important part in the modern game. Beach soccer used to be more instinctive, but the technical skills and physical demands of the highest level have seen the sport develop so fast. Today, there are players who specialise in beach soccer. It was different before, when footballers just played a bit of beach soccer. Brazil were the one exception and developed a lot of specialists in the game at a very early stage.  

BSWC 2021 - TSG - Head coach Claude Barrabe

Do good footballers make good beach soccer players?   CB: Not necessarily, but there are exceptions, intelligent players who are tactically and technically able to adapt quickly to the different playing surface. Eric Cantona stands out for me. He just had to work on playing bare-footed and getting accustomed to his new surroundings. An intelligent player can do it.    MM: Every beach soccer player has played football in one form or other before, but there’s no guarantee that a world-class footballer will make a top-quality beach soccer player. You have to get to know the sand and learn to bring the skills you’ve learned on grass to it. You have to go through that process.

Cantona Beach Soccer WC

Do some teams or certain continents have their own style of play?   CB: Absolutely. They play a very direct game in Africa, a place I know well because I won the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations with Madagascar. I tried to bring a European touch to their game. European and South American teams play a more structured game and build up play from the back.  

MM: Brazil and Portugal have very similar styles; at least that’s what we’ve seen at the last two World Cups. They’ve both got great players who are strong on an individual level, in one-on-ones, and as a unit. That said, their goalkeepers contribute little to building play, unlike teams such as Switzerland, Tahiti and Senegal, whose keepers are involved in everything. Other teams are halfway between the two, like Japan, who mix things up more while sticking to the 2-2 formation the whole time. I can’t wait to see all these teams on the Moscow sand.  

Is there one formation that’s more popular than the rest?  CB: There’s no classic formation. Every team has its own way of playing and formations just depend on the players that coaches have at their disposal. The most popular formations are 2-2, 3-1 and 1-2-1, but the teams of today can switch formations in the middle of games to exploit the weaknesses of their opponents. There’s nothing set in stone. 

MM: No one tactic is better than another. What makes the difference is the quality of the players, and that’s where teams like Portugal and Brazil have always stood apart because they’ve always had a lot of great players. The new rule preventing goalkeepers from keeping possession for more than four seconds in their own half should help gifted players, the ones who can take the ball round an opponent.

What impact will this new playing rule have?  CB: It’s changed a lot of things, as we saw in the qualifiers for the World Cup. The game has developed and it’s got faster. It’s more direct now because keepers have no choice but to hit it quickly back up the pitch. The new rule means that goalkeepers have to be very good with their feet  and it makes them just another player for defenders to play off. 

MM: The rule will change beach soccer. I think the impact’s going to be so big that the team that handles it best will win in Russia.  

Goalkeeper, Andrey Bukhlitsky of Russia is beaten by the free kick from Andre of Brazil (#9)

Who do you see emerging as world champions in 15 days? CB: Russia will have a great chance on home sand and you can’t overlook Brazil and Portugal, the reigning world champions. It looks a very open tournament and we might even have a surprise from Africa. Who knows?

MM: It’s going to be an evenly contested World Cup with several contenders for the title, like Brazil, Portugal and Russia. Those three are the big favourites to my mind. Russia have always been very strong but the fact they’re on home sand could be just the boost they need. If I had to pick one team, I’d go for Russia. Spain are one of the dark horses. Their last World Cup was six years ago so they’ll be very keen to do well. And I have to mention Japan too. You can’t rule them out. There might also be another team that springs a surprise and gives us one of those amazing stories that sport throws up from time to time.