Max Kilman was sitting on the Wolves bench a few meters away, looking on in anticipation as Fulham’s 16-year-old Harvey Elliott stepped on to the Molineux turf on 4 May to become the youngest Premier League player. It was the 88th minute and the clock was ticking down on Kilman’s chances of making a small piece of history.
In added time – his moment came. Kilman entered the fray to become the first former England futsal international to play in the Premier League.
“It was unbelievable,” says the 22-year-old center-back. “As soon as the board for added time went up the manager just told me to get ready. It didn’t take me long.
“When I ran on to the pitch I just felt everything: the crowd, the environment. It was an amazing experience even though I didn’t really get to play properly; it’s something I’ll never forget.”
Signed from Maidenhead a year ago, Kilman’s debut in the home game against Fulham in May marked the latest staging post on a remarkable journey from non-league football and amateur futsal to Wolves’ first team.
In his first season he played a big part in the under-23s winning the Premier League 2 Division Two. Nuno Espírito Santo rewarded him with a place on the bench on Boxing Day, also against Fulham. He completed his sixth stint in the squad away at Liverpool the week after his debut.
“I only got about 45 seconds on the pitch against Fulham,” he says. Some people might feel it’s no time at all “but in futsal it’s a very long time. You can score about three goals in 45 seconds in futsal …”
One of the highlights of his 25-cap England futsal career was scoring the equalizer – with 16 seconds left – in a 3-3 draw against Germany in November 2016, the second of two matches marking the Germany futsal team’s first internationals.
Despite harboring ambitions when he signed for Wolves to keep playing futsal for England, he now realizes where his future lies. “I do miss playing futsal but I’m very happy where I am now. I feel like I’ve integrated quite well and am respected in the squad.
“I’m happy with this and don’t want to set any clear goals for the coming season. I like the club a lot. The manager, the staff and other players have helped me progress a lot already. I want to keep working hard and learning.”
Kilman’s progress was not lost on his former coach at England futsal. Mike Skubala says it makes the case emphatically for “twin-tracking” in 11-a-side and the Fifa-sanctioned version of five-a-side.
“It’s just like they do in Brazil,” Skubala says. “If it wasn’t for his futsal experience he wouldn’t have got there so soon. I’m certain of that.”
Kilman says his path to the Premier League was not so obvious at times. “When I first went to play futsal for England I wasn’t really sure which way to go. I’d always wanted to be a footballer. It’s always been my dream but I was rated highly in futsal and I started to think it was a possible pathway for me.”
The 6ft 5in ball-playing defender says his breakthrough also owes a lot to good fortune. When he was 15 years old, he was almost a foot shorter. “I was quite a technical player,” he says. “I had to be. I learned how to play and luckily, when I had my growth spurt, I grew a lot but didn’t lose my technical side.”
It was at the start of his growth spurt, still aged 15, that he started playing futsal after he spotted two players in a park near his London home. “I was training with my dad and we saw two older people doing intense training work, fitness work, with a futsal ball. They were two Portuguese guys from Genesis futsal club … they were good.”
He went to train with them – “I loved it from the start” – and was soon playing for the first team in the national league.
He agrees the twin-tracking experience enabled him to fit in so well with his Portuguese teammates at Molineux. Futsal is huge in Portugal – the national team are European champions – and Kilman is aware of the transfer of skills between the codes.
“A lot of the mental side of the game, the awareness, being comfortable on the ball and thinking sharper. Since I’ve got to Wolves I’ve realized that I’d benefited from my time playing futsal. It helps with what they do really well here. The speed of decision-making, everything is just sharper and quicker. You need to know what you’re going to do next.”
Training at Wolves, who begin their season at Leicester on Sunday, includes another game that punishes those lacking a silky first touch. “We play teqball a lot,” he says. “It’s football on a table-tennis table. It’s either 1 v 1 or 2 v 2 … 2 v 2 is more entertaining.”
So who’s his regular partner? “Jota,” he replies. Diogo Jota grew up in the same city, Porto, as the best futsal player in the world, Ricardinho, and was no doubt exposed to the small-sided game as a child.
But who’s the best pair? He’s in no doubt. “Raúl Jiménez and Jonny,” he says. A Mexican and a Spaniard. “They’re very good.”
It is also fair to say that Kilman seems to be in very good company at Wolves.
(The Guardian)
