Participants

The criteria for considering a potential participant were the following: (1) to have reached the elite in futsal by competing as senior players in the best clubs of their country or other, and (2) to have participated in international competitions. Twenty-three professional futsal players took part in the study (M_age = 30.60, SD= 3.56). They belonged to five nationalities: Brazil (5), Spain (5), Italy (5), Portugal (5) and Argentina (3). They were contacted in person by the authors of the study.

Measures

A semi-structured interview composed of 50 questions was developed based on previous literature (^{Côté, Ericsson, & Law, 2005}; ^{Carapinheira, Torregrossa, Mendes, Carvalho, & Travassos, 2018}; ^{Monteiro, Monteiro, Nunes, Torregrossa, & Travassos, 2020}). The interview guide (Table 1) was written in the English language and sent by email to five experts (one of each nationality) in the field of talent identification and development. All of them approved the interview and translated it into their native language.

Procedures

Prior to data collection, the aim of the study was explained, and participants gave their verbal consent to the interview being recorded. Interviewers ensured the anonymity of the data and guaranteed that the information would be used exclusively for research purposes.

Interviews were scheduled at times convenient for the participants and were conducted by telephone or video call by three researchers between 2018 and 2020. Participants were interviewed for approximately 45-60 minutes in their native language. All interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and translated into English to be coded and analysed by the second and third authors.

Qualitative analysis

Transcribed material was uploaded into the qualitative software Atlas.ti 8.4.15 for coding and analysis. A qualitative content analysis was conducted, using a descriptive approach by interpreting data and measuring the frequencies of the categories and subcategories (^{Vaismoradi, Turunen, & Bondas, 2013}). The analysis was conducted following the steps established by ^{Elo and Kyngäs (2018)}.

The second and fourth authors independently read the same five interviews, representing 20% of the total, to familiarise themselves with the data. Each one highlighted the important ideas, grouped similar information into main categories/subcategories, and elaborated an initial codebook that was commented on with the other author in a meeting. After discussing the codifications that arose from their data readings, both authors resolved discrepancies and generated the final codebook, which the first author approved. This codebook included the categories and subcategories as well as their descriptions. Once the final codebook was created, the second author coded the entire data set using Atlas.ti.

The following section will show the main results and frequency of the categories (%).

Positive influence of context

This category shows how different agents have influenced futsal players’ careers. Overall, the context was found to have a positive influence on them. As 92% of players revealed, family and coaches were the most determinant agents in their pathway to the elite. Within this category, seven subcategories were observed and considered in the following order of frequency: family and coaches (92%), professional teammates (72%), home country (68%), material and financial resources (60%), friends (44%) and PE teacher (40%).

Concerning family, parents were those that exerted the highest influence on their careers. A Brazilian player (P7) said, “My parents were key, they always supported and encouraged me…, and they always fought for me not to work [in other jobs].” Regarding siblings, a Portuguese player (P23) said, “He [His brother] was the first person to tell me that I would reach the elite”. However, although all players agreed on the importance of family in general, some members appeared to have lower or even negative influence (e.g., “When I had a partner she bothered me a lot… I was not able to be concentrated on my work. It hurt me a lot at that time;” P6, Spanish).

Regarding coaches, all players acknowledged their importance since they are responsible for their training and guiding their development. As a Spanish player (P19) explained: “My coaches devoted 60-70% [of training time] to tactical… 20-30% to technical and 5-10% to psychological aspects.”

Apart from family and coaches, professional teammates were also considered a key influence by many players. Participants mentioned that teammates help reach better outcomes and make the training easier. A Portuguese player (P16) said: “I don’t think everyone has to be friends outside of the team environment, but you must always have respect between all colleagues and coaching staff. I think a good atmosphere brings good results more easily.”

Finally, from the players’ view, friends and PE teachers influenced their careers to a lesser extent. In fact, a Spanish player (P18) explained that the influence of PE teacher could have been negative: “I think the influence that he [PE teacher] had could have been even negative, because he [PE teacher] was from the old school [traditional]…and PE lessons were like military lessons.”

Home country and material and financial resources were also highlighted as important positive contextual aspects. Some players explained that the home country is decisive in terms of the national recognition of futsal, as well as the available equipment and economic recognition. In this sense, an Argentine player (P21) said: “I think being comfortable and calm is very important, just focusing on sports, without being worried about having food one day, paying a bill or something like that. I believe that economics is also very important for futsal players.”

Conversely, some players think that becoming a professional does not depend on their home country or financial support but on their commitment to reaching the elite. An Argentine player (P11) shared: “I believe that being a professional doesn’t depend on having economic retribution…It seems to me that [being a professional player] depends on you, on what you want to do and how you want to do it.” Similarly, a Spanish participant (P18) explained that home country or material and financial resources are not extremely decisive for being a professional player: “… He [one Brazilian colleague] appeared barefoot to play. He told me that he had learned to play barefoot and shoes were a luxury for him. It’s, certainly, an example of a colleague who trained without shoes and equally reached the first division.”

Abilities/skills of the young player with the potential to reach the elite

The second category that emerged from the data was the identification of abilities/skills of the young player with the potential to reach the elite. Within this category, Psychological and personal skills (88%) were the most highlighted aspects by players, followed by technical-tactical skills (32%) and Physical abilities (12%).

Most players emphasised the personality and psychological characteristics (88%), such as coping with stress, engagement, commitment, motivation, self-confidence, humility and persistence as skills that young players need to develop to reach the elite. For example, a Spanish participant (P15) explained, “he has a minimum of skills, but especially he listens and wants to learn. He was a boy who really listens the coach, who asks, who is lively and really listens to the opinions of other players and coaches.”, or “especially enthusiasm and passion” (P18, Spanish player), or

[Young players] must be very persevering and respectful. He must respect his teammates a lot, both those who play with him and those who play against him. For me, it is important to be humble and train, train, train. Train what you are good at, obviously. Train what you are not so good and always try to improve. That humility of knowing that you are never perfect, that you can always improve. Therefore, that is what can lead the person to reach the elite (P9, Brazilian player).

In opposition to the category of key aspects of training, players emphasised more the technical-tactical skills of youngers and only at the end their physical abilities. An Argentine player (P11) shared:

By doing the basics (controlling, guiding, passing, and kicking), being physically and mentally well, you can play on the elite level.” Another one stated that “It is true that in futsal, control and passing are essential. Without control and pass, you cannot get anywhere, but well, you must differentiate the quality in terms of control and pass. I believe that physical aspect and tactical rigor, having a technical basis of control and passing, and competitiveness with oneself is what matters.

Finally, some players also acknowledged the key role of physical abilities for the development as futsal players (e.g., “The main thing is that guys are physically well, that they take care of themselves... I think that having that, they can get to play in a league.” P21, Argentine player).

Educational background

The third category that emerged from the data was the players’ educational career. Within this category, two subcategories were observed and considered in the following order of frequency: Difficulties in combining studies and sport (76%) and the importance of being qualified to reach the sporting elite (72%).

Players revealed the value they place on studying and the difficulties they handled combining studies and a futsal career, which led some of them to leave their undergraduate studies. A Spanish player (P18) said:

The main problem is the physical fatigue caused by the training sessions. After that, you must have the willpower to dedicate yourself to study. Moreover, you might miss many classes due to the training sessions, but especially for trips around the country each weekend. It’s true that we have a lot of free time, but it isn’t easy to invest that free time in studying.

However, sometimes this decision was voluntary and not forced by the situation. An Argentine player (P11) stated: “It was a choice of mine not to continue studying at the university level, but it was a mistake.”

There was no consensus about the importance of being qualified to become futsal players (78.26%). Most of them claimed that qualification is not necessary but recommendable. In this sense, one of the Spanish players (P18) explained that he was signed by a professional team because of his high qualification: “The coach considered they [coaches] must have qualified people in a team because they had many bumpkin [players].”

Training stages

This fourth category included an insight into the players’ training stages throughout their lives. Participants were asked about the deliberated play and structured practice to gain such insight. They were also asked about their participation in other activities and possible promotion among categories.

Within this category, four subcategories were established: deliberated play (88%), participation in other sports or activities (80%), structured practice (68%), and promotion among categories (40%).

Deliberated play and participation in other sports or activities were considered very important in developing the expertise. However, such a process was not linear, and some players started to play futsal at an older age (e.g., “I started playing futsal when I was 16, directly in the first team;” P1, Italian player).

On average, futsal players in our study had only 6.2 years of training until reaching the senior level. Almost all players participated in other sports or activities during their childhood and adolescence, such as other sports, music or painting.

Finally, nearly half of the players (40%) were usually promoted to superior categories because of their precocity and talent (e.g., a U10 player trained and competed with the U12 team). Regarding this, a Portuguese player (P12) said: “When I started in futsal with 13 years, I played many times in my category, but also in the superior one. As I became older, I played more and more times on a higher level than on mine.”

Key aspects of training

Participants pointed out several aspects of training that play an essential role in the pathway to the elite. Within this category, seven subcategories were observed and considered in the following order of frequency: psychological (92%), quality and training with better players (88%), video display and physical condition (80%), quantity (16%) and technical tactical aspects (8%).

Almost of the players highlighted the relevance of psychological characteristics (e.g., coping with stress, engagement, motivation, self-confidence, humility and persistence), as a Brazilian player (P22) described:

The psychological aspect has a vital role because currently the psychological influences have a high impact on sports. The pressure is good, but it is also bad. When you feel too much pressure, if the person do not have the psychological aspect very well worked out, or if the person is having any problem at home, or problems in any area of their life, I think it will greatly influence your performance on the pitch. I think the person must be always concentrated. When I go to the pitch, the thought is just on the pitch because any lapse in concentration could cause a defeat for my team.

Other respondents supported the key role of the psychological dimension. An Argentine player (P11) explained that he had seen some very good players at technical level that could be pro players. However, they do not reach the elite because of their lack of psychological skills.

Regarding the ongoing debate about quantity vs quality of training, almost all players highlighted that quality is more determinant than quantity. A Spanish player mentioned that “The quality. Training a lot and without any kind of criteria… is like doing nothing” (P10). Furthermore, a Spanish player (P19) stated: “Generally the quality, and at specific moments it can be the quantity. Generally, out of 100% of the season, 85% must be quality.”

Also, they reinforced the importance of competitivity in the team and the training sessions, by training with better players, as a fundamental issue. A Spanish player (P13) explained: “I think you learn more, if you consider you are at a much higher level than the average, you could settle down. I believe that the better the colleagues, the more you push yourself, day after day, and in the end, you improve.”

Players also clearly stated that physical-conditional training and video display are key issues in their development, especially as complements to athlete’s preparation.

Also, players mentioned that physical condition is vital for the development of elite players: “I think it’s [physical training] an essential complement in the athlete’s training.” (P18, Spanish). Regarding the value of video display to improve their knowledge about the game and their tactical performance, a Portuguese player (P14) shared:

I think it [video display] is a mental preparation for what you are going to find [in a match]. It helps you to have more knowledge of what could happen. Knowing what type of movements and individual and collective characteristics helps you to stay one-step ahead of your opponent.

In opposition, the great expertise in technical-tactical skills was not identified as important as other aspects of training. An Argentine player (P11) explained: At technical level, it is confused that a good player is a player who plays one for one, or who makes bicycle kick goals or “rabona” passes… He [the participant mentions the name of a player] knows how to do many things that many players are not able to do, but he also does the basics very well. However, there are guys who want to do what he does, that’s beyond the reach of many, without doing the basics well. Do you understand? ...the basic thing is to control, guide, pass and shoot, that is the basic... simple things are not easy and one thinks that simple [things] are easy and they aren’t. Simple [things] are simple, but making them easy is difficult.

Retirement and post-career

This category included the participants’ future expectations after retiring from futsal as professional players. Within this category, three subcategories were observed and considered in the following order of frequency: Remain associated with the futsal context (64%), managing a business (40%), and resume studies (16%).

Most of the players revealed their intention to remain associated with the futsal context, developing other roles such as sports manager, sports director or coach. For example, an Italian participant (P3) said: “I would like to actively participate in the development of this field.” Similarly, another respondent shared his intention to remain associated with futsal: “Anything related to futsal. Trying to give back some of what futsal gave me.” (P7, Brazilian player).

Another mentioned prospect by nearly half of the players (43.58%) was to manage a business not related to futsal. A Spanish player (P13) said: “I’d like to set up something [a business] of my own…because I’m studying business administration.” Finally, a reduced number of players would like to resume studies that they did not finish before because of their lack of time. A Portuguese player (P14) stated: “When I retire, I’ll take some sabbatical months to enjoy my family and continue some courses that during the professional career were impossible to take. I’ll evaluate what possibilities may arise from these studies.”