Futsal
The Time Of Their Lives
Meeting Neymar Jr. and representing Pakistan, former national champions of Red Bull Neymar Jr’s Five reminisce their journey to the World Finals.
Murtaza Hussain is one of Pakistan’s top strikers. The state of football in Pakistan is such, however, that he would’ve never envisaged even in his wildest dreams a chance of meeting Neymar Jr. on the pitch.
Instead, it was futsal – and the Red Bull Neymar Jr’s Five tournament in particular – that brought upon that opportunity for Murtaza.
“To see him [Neymar] in flesh, was the crowning moment of the journey,” recalled Murtuza, the attacking spearhead of Highlanders FC, who represented Pakistan at the Red Bull Neymar Jr’s Five World Finals in 2017 after winning the national finals.
Not only did he get to see Neymar but also making an appearance that year during the World Finals at the Instituto Projeto Neymar Jr. were Neymar’s close friends that included his Brazil team-mate Gabriel Jesus and former France striker Djibril Cisse.
Neymar Jr at the Red Bull Neymar Jr's Five 2019 World Final in Brazil.
© Marcelo Maragni/Red Bull Content Pool
“Neymar is one of the most iconic players in the world and seeing him alongside Jesus, who is also a top, top striker, and Cisse really was something for me,” said Murtuza. “As a player, you learn so much from those who play in your position even if its futsal.”
For others like Rana Abbas, Moeez Khalid and Anas Irfan, who have also been to the World Finals as part of Pakistan’s champion teams in the last four years but aren’t professional footballers like Murtaza, watching Neymar at such close quarters brought unbridled joy.
“I could believe he was right there in front of me,” remembered Anas, whose Raw Talent FC won the national finals in 2018 before flying to Brazil for the world finals. “I kept calling out to him just so I could shake his hand but while it wasn’t possible, I got a picture with his son who was also there.”
Neymar Jr at the World Final of Red Bull Neymar Jr's Five.
© Marcelo Maragni/Red Bull Content Pool
While Anas and his side were unlucky not to get a picture with Neymar, Rana and Moeez got their souvenir photographs with the Brazilian superstar.
“Once the tournament ended, the participating team got our chance to pose for a picture with Neymar,” recalls Rana, whose Black FC side last year became the latest team to reach the world finals. “It was a brief moment but I’ll cherish that forever.”
Similar was the case with Moeez back in 2016, when Ghosts FC won the national finals of the first edition of the Neymar Jr Five.
“I was able to see the person behind the star during our quick interaction,” noted Moeez. “For all of his demeanour, he appears to be a very humble person.”
DREAMS AND AMBITIONS
Meeting Neymar, however, was only the climax of the quartet’s journey to becoming Pakistan’s representatives at the world finals. The overall experience too for each of them was very special.
“I would count it as one of the best experiences of my life,” said Rana. “Being there, representing Pakistan was very special.”
Anas echoed Rana’s thoughts. “Representing Pakistan was a dream really,” he said. “There was an immense sense of fulfilment.”
But then there was the hangover. “ Once the tournament ended, it seemed the end of the road,” added Anas. “But that road, the whole journey to the World Finals is unforgettable.”
For Anas and the others, the journey, the quest to go to Brazil for the World Finals began once the inaugural edition kicked off in 2016.
Team Pakistan just before the game at the 2016 World Final, Brazil.
© Fabio Piva/Red Bull Content Pool
There were heartbreaks and close finishes but ultimately there was gratification.
“The fact that we were representing Pakistan in Brazil really was the icing on top of the cake,” reflected Moeez.
Ghosts FC and Moeez had a stern test of their mettle at the national finals in 2016. No one expected them to overcome Highlanders in the semi-final. That game in Islamabad began with vociferous support for the Highlanders, who are based in the capital. It ended in stunned silence as Peshawar’s Ghosts FC won on penalties.
Karachi’s Steel Town FC were no match in the final and Ghosts FC had punched their tickets to Brazil.
“It began when I saw an advertisement about the tournament and I decided to enter the team in the regional finals,” informed Moeez. “Me and my six team-mates been playing futsal together for quite some time but the tournament gave us a chance to test ourselves in a competition. We’d played teams in Islamabad quite a lot and we had the belief in ourselves that we could win it. That belief took us through.”
Ghosts FC had not conceded a goal in the national finals. It was another story at the world finals though. They could manage just one draw, whilst losing all of their other games.
“The world’s best futsal teams were assembled there,” reasoned Moeez. “The level of competition was of the highest order.”
It was the tournament’s organisation though that left Moeez full of praise.
“There were two hotels fully booked for the participating teams,” he said, “the place was abuzz with activity. So many people, all of them with the one goal of winning the competition.”
THE STAR FOOTBALLERS’ GOAL
Murtaza also had one goal. The disappointment of missing out in 2016 meant he was fired up when the competition returned a year later.
“In the inaugural edition, we were the favourites but we lost,” he said. “We’d made our team in 2010, playing football and then futsal and we rated ourselves as the best team so it was definitely disappointing. So we channelled that disappointment and began training for next year.”
Raw Talent celebrates after winning the National Finals in Pakistan, 2018.
© Yasir Nisar/Red Bull Content Pool
That training reaped its rewards the following year. Having breezed through the regional finals, Highlanders beat Fantastic Five of Lahore in the showpiece game of the national finals with Murtaza scoring a hat-trick.
As a footballer for the Pakistan national team, there is never a chance for a tour of South America … especially that of Brazil so this was a huge opportunity for me to see the country that lives, breathes and eats football.
But then, his football career very nearly got in the way of him going to Brazil. Back then, Murtuza was on the books of Pakistani side Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) and the National Challenge Cup – the country’s top cup competition – was about to begin.
“I asked the manager to give me a leave from the training camp, promising him to return with even more energy and vigour and luckily, my request was granted,” said Murtaza, who now plays for K-Electric, another of Pakistan’s top sides.
“I was of course very excited and the best thing was the way in which the tournament was organised. From the opening ceremony to the close, everything was impeccable. What was sad though was that we couldn’t win a single game.”
In Brazil, the visits organised for the participating teams were also very moving for Murtaza.
“We visited Pele’s museum which was very inspirational, saw the streets where Gabriel Jesus grew up,” he said, “and it made me hope that we have a similar system in Pakistan where we can offer players a chance to grow.”
NEW NAME, BETTER LUCK
Murtaza’s Highlanders reached yet another national finals the following year. Yet again, they were facing the same opposition they had faced the previous year. The only change was that Fantastic Five were now Raw Talent.
The change of name brought upon a change in fortunes. This time, they beat the Highlanders.
Highlanders celebrate their victory at the 2017's National Finals.
© Israr Shah/Red Bull Content Pool
“We’d started the team in 2015 and we quickly became the cream of Lahore,” informed Anas. “We’d qualified for the national finals in each of the first two editions but fell short of winning the title. In 2018, we finally won.
“That day, I was on cloud nine. We really wanted to win the national finals of the Neymar Jr’s Five, which is the biggest futsal tournament organised in the country.”
Then came the journey to Brazil. But unlike the national champions in the past, Raw Talent only got to spend three days in Neymar’s homeland. It didn’t, however, mean that their journey was short on moments.
“The excitement only grew once we saw the protocol we received upon landing in Brazil,” said Anas. “The best moment, however, was when I held the Pakistan flag during the opening ceremony. It made me so emotional that I had tears in my eyes.”
Highlanders representing Pakistan at the 2017's World Finals in Brazil.
© Marcelo Maragni/Red Bull Content Pool
Not even Raw Talent could end Pakistan’s wait for a win at the world finals though.
PAKISTAN’S FIRST WIN
The duck finally broke the following year when Black FC beat the Cypriot representatives 5-1.
“It took us time to make it to the world finals but we created history for Pakistan at the tournament,” said Rana. ”I and my Black FC team-mates had been playing futsal together in Islamabad for quite some time and it was after the first edition of Red Bull’s Neymar Jr’s Five that we decided to form a team.”
Black FC at the National Finals in Lahore in 2019.
© Yasir Nisar/Red Bull Content Pool
Having won the regional finals, they edged Karachi’s Northern United in the final in Lahore.
“We wanted to bring Pakistan’s first win at the tournament … that was the goal,” said Rana. “We lost our opening two games but we got the win we wanted against the team from Cyprus.”
Rana has been one of the pioneers of futsal in the country and he believes that Red Bull Neymar Jr’s Five is giving more impetus to the game in the country.
“All futsal players look forward to it,” he said. “The prize on offer for winning the national finals is what drives them for glory. The world finals really are the pinnacle of the game, bringing people from all around the world, gathering them in an exciting mix of cultures.”
