Columbus Futsal adds a bit of flair to ‘The Beautiful Game’

If you are anything like me, when you talk to other people about soccer one of the main complaints you always hear is there “isn’t enough scoring.” Another one of my favorites is “the matches are too slow.”

Those excuses are no longer valid as “the beautiful game” takes on a whole different meaning in Central Ohio with Columbus Futsal.

Dante Garcia and Malissa Galiffo Garcia bring a variation of the global game to Columbus.

Futsal is a variation of soccer, but has subtle rule changes. The game is played on a hard court, smaller than a traditional soccer pitch, and usually takes place indoors. The game is played between two teams of five players aside counting the goalkeeper.

The game borrows a lot of subtle nuances from other sports like hockey, basketball and lacrosse. It’s easy to notice those nods when taking in a match.

Spectators can expect unlimited substitutions that occur on-the-fly, fouls and penalty shots. The rules are similar to the outdoor game, but different enough to keep things interesting for the casual observer.

Columbus Futsal carries some incredible athletes on its roster. Top to bottom, the team is loaded with talent.

Futsal in Central Ohio even attracted the attention of a former Major League Soccer player.

Zak Boggs spent three years in MLS with the New England Revolution before heading to England for a scholarship to study cancer research at the University of Leicester. It was during this time he began to fall in love with futsal.

“I was over in England for a year on a scholarship. When I was there, I got into futsal and absolutely fell in love with it,” said Boggs. “You can’t really say any bad things about it, it’s amazing, faced paced, you get a lot of touches on the ball. There’s a lot of movement on and off the ball. That’s what it’s all about and it’s just exciting.”

Excitement is the perfect way to describe a game of futsal. On Saturday night Columbus beat Grand Rapids 6-4. Four of the five players on the floor for Columbus scored, including goalkeeper Ygor Talasca.

Author's note: The article was originally post on Massive Report Jan. 21st.