Aberdeen Futsal Academy left Linz with a burning desire to return to the UEFA Futsal Champions League after their first taste of European competition.
The record books will show they suffered three defeats in Group F – 4-1 to AEL Limassol, 9-0 to Linz and 3-1 to AEK Athens in their final fixture on Saturday.
However, the men from the Granite City can take great credit from the way they performed, particularly against Limassol and Athens either side of the demoralising loss to the impressive host club, who won the section.
Augustin Pais and Rayran Souza had the Greeks two up after half an hour, but Aberdeen made life uncomfortable for Athens and created more chances than in their other encounters.
Callum Dunbar, Miguel Llinas, Arran Christie, Grant Campbell and Jamie Shawyer all went close before captain Campbell deservedly pulled a goal back in the 26th minute.
Despite Aberdeen’s best efforts Andreas Tarnanidis sealed Athens’ win five minutes from time.
But having only been formed in October 2022 and broken Perth Saltires’ four-season stranglehold on the Scottish title earlier this year, Aberdeen Futsal Academy hope to return to Europe again.
Dunbar, who also plays for North Region Junior champions Culter, said: “It’s a learning curve and hopefully we can take a lot of good things back into the Scottish League and come back next year.
“We want to try to be the dominant force in Scotland like Perth have been in the last few years and come back to the Champions League, gain more experience and hopefully win some games.
“Just being here was a highlight, it was a great experience.”
New experience for players
Some of Aberdeen’s 14-man squad were experiencing futsal for the first time.
Wick Academy’s Richard Macadie was asked to play by former Scorries’ team-mate and club founder Campbell.
Macadie – who has made more than 600 appearances for Wick – played in one friendly before flying out to Austria.
The 37-year-old added: “It was a learning experience for me being thrown in at the deep end.
“But as each game went on I felt I learned a bit more and I really enjoyed it.
“Grant asked me via text and as soon as I read the message I thought ‘there’s no way I’m turning this down.’
“I don’t know if there’s anything I could compare this experience to really. It’s a UEFA ranked tournament and playing in a competition like this is something that’s never on your radar.
“So I was grateful for the opportunity when it popped up.”
East End goalkeeper Stewart Gray was also inexperienced prior to this trip and trained just once before arriving in Linz.
The 38-year-old also revealed he is planning to mark the week in a special way and said: “I might end up getting a wee Champions League tattoo as a memento of this trip.
“It was only three weeks ago I got the shout and I hadn’t heard of futsal at all.
“It was an incredible experience and one I certainly wasn’t going to turn down.
“There were nerves before the first game, but once it starts you just play your own game.”
Scots were up against it
It’s worth putting into context the scale of the challenge faced by Aberdeen.
Athens, who are part-funded by the football club AEK, had four full-time players within their squad who had been drawn from Argentina, Brazil and Italy.
The rest of their players also receive wages and train four times a week. Whereas, nobody playing for Aberdeen receives a penny and most have to juggle training around their 11-a-side football commitments.
AEK boss Angelos Emmanouilidis believes Aberdeen should take heart from their displays.
He said: “I think the match against us was Aberdeen’s best match of the three, they played very well.
“I have to give Aberdeen a lot of congratulations for their effort and the way that they played.
“Aberdeen should leave with positives with the memories they’ve made and the experiences they have had. That’s very important and it will make them better.”
‘The aim has to be to try to come back’
David Booth has been one of Aberdeen Futsal Academy’s regular players since their formation and he believes the Champions League experience can only benefit the club going forward.
The ex-Huntly and Turriff United man said: “The boys put in an unbelievable shift and the whole week has been a great experience.
“I think the aim has to be to try to come back here. There was a mash up in terms of the squad.
“For some of the guys it was their first time with us and their first experience of futsal.
“It can be a challenge to persuade guys to play but hopefully the Champions League experience and the exposure from it will tempt a few more into coming along.”
Chris Angus holds the distinction of scoring Aberdeen’s first goal in Europe after netting against Limassol.
The 33-year-old former Buckie Thistle and Inverurie Locos striker, who missed the last game through suspension, said: “I was winding everyone up saying I was the first to score but I don’t think it will be a pub quiz question any time soon.
“As a squad of 14 players I’m so proud of every single one of them.
“Without Grant, Dean Elrick (manager), David Littlejohn (general manager) and David Booth this wouldn’t have happened. The amount of time Grant spends on it is phenomenal.
“The vision he’s got for futsal in the north-east is amazing and there’s a massive opportunity.”
The last word on Euro adventure
Given that he is club’s founder and driving force, who is determined to keep growing futsal in the north of Scotland, it seems appropriate to let Campbell have the final word.
“Pride is the word I would use in terms of the week overall,” he said.
“I hope everyone enjoyed it and they go away saying ‘futsal is for us.’
“I hope they speak to other top players in the north of Scotland about playing because the experiences are second to none.
“This group of players has seen what it’s about and what it has to offer.
“We’ll try to tempt more players along, but the downside is we’re competing with 11-a-side football time and we need to respect that.
“We’re not trying to take players to get injured or cause headaches for their managers.
“We’ve had managers say to us the touch, control and intensity of their players has gone up since they started playing with us.
“It’s a battle, but if we want to move forward we’ll have to meet it head one.
“Without a doubt we want to try to come back next season.”
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