Thistle midfielder Graham Muir has said it was a heck of a learning curve as he was called up to the national futsal team, but believes the fast and furious indoor football sport could have a great future in Scotland.

The 30 year Largs midfielder played in all three games against Israel, Armenia and Sweden, and unfortunately Scotland were sent homeward to think again, after some sound beatings, 6-1 against Armenia, and Israel, and a 13-0 thrashing against host Sweden.

“Now we know how Gibraltar feel!” said Graham who headed out to Gothenburg last week for the matches, “We were expecting to get beat as it is the first time that Scotland have competed at this level, and we competed well in the first and third games”.

Scotland were only losing 2-0 at half-time against Sweden in the dynamic indoor football game which uses a smaller but heavier football, and rolling substitutions throughout the game, resulting in tactical shifts which can even see the goalkeeper become an attacking player. And then if caught out, a sub keeper can come racing on to provide immediate back-up!

“My one regret is hitting the post against Sweden - it would have been nice to have come away with an international goal,” admitted Graham, who is hoping to carry on the futsal sport in Scotland, with the world cup qualifiers coming at the end of the year.

“The atmosphere in Sweden was brilliant at the arena, and there were a couple of thousand when the hosts were playing. The opponents pressed us high up the pitch which was something we weren’t used to. The friendly games we had played up till point were at a much slower place, so it was a real eye-opener. Even Armenia boasted four full-time futsal players, and all our opponents were very comfortable on the ball. They also knew different ways to attack like in basketball or American football and you could hear them shout ‘1’ or ‘2’ in relation to different movements. They were more clinical and knew when it was right to make an extra pass to score a goal, whereas we would maybe take an early shot.” Everything was meticulously handled from sport science and club doctors to video analysis in the build-up and the post-mortem. Graham said that everything was very well organised, and it was a terrific all round experience, despite the tough nature of the defeats.

He commented: “In reality when you look at it, Sweden had eight full-time futsal players playing for them, while most of us had only been playing futsal for 14 weeks, but we are not dishearted. The Swedish coaches told us after the game that they were hammered in their first game 14-0, and now they are one of the top sides. It is a great sport, which is treated very seriously, and definitely something which should be introduced for younger players to improve their skill levels.” The Scottish Football Association are carrying on the futsal phenomenon with training bases to be set up in various regions, including Ayr, to encourage children to pick up the skills from a young age, to benefit their all round football experience.

Graham, who is an SFA development officer, said: “Overall, it was a great experience with all the professionalism, everything was provided for you right down to your kit.” And after the drama and intensity of futsal, Graham is returning to the muddy fields of junior football in January as Largs head to Cumbernauld this weekend for a testing league match. He said: “I will be controlling the ball with my studs like in futsal this weekend, probably! That is the transition phase now. It was disappointing not to get that goal against Sweden, but hopefully I can make up for it in my next Thistle match!” * Futsal is a FIFA approved five-a-side football event with its own rules and regulations - and Graham travelled to Sweden to take part in a preliminary qualifying event for the European Championships. Games last for 40 minutes but the clock stops each time the ball goes out of play. There is a continual rotation of players throughout the game with changes taking place every 3/4 minutes due to the high intensity of the action. There are also yellow and red cards. Futsal in Scotland is run in conjunction with the Scottish Football Association (SFA) and Scottish Amateur Football Association (SAFA), and started Scotland’s first league in Perth in 1997 and Perth is the oldest league in the UK.