It was the transfer that momentarily catapulted futsal into the mainstream. Suddenly, it was on news channels alongside stories on crime, the economy, government, politics, showbusiness and A-star sport. People who had never watched the five-on-five discipline were abruptly curious.

The move’s subject was a court crack, but it was truly indebted to a grass god. Pany Varela had become ‘The Cristiano of the Court’ by joining Ronaldo at Al Nassr in Riyadh.

Curiously, it wasn’t the first time Portuguese futsal has been grateful to Cristiano Ronaldo. Perhaps unbeknownst to one of the most famous men on the planet, he was a huge inspiration behind Portugal conquering their first FIFA Futsal World Cup™ in 2021.

Pany discusses that as well as his delight at seeing Ricardinho crown his extraordinary career in Kaunas, being named the sport’s Best Player for 2022, Portugal’s incomparable mentality, the quality of Erick, Zicky and 21-year-old phenom Kutchy, and the Uzbekistan 2024 title race.

Can you describe your emotions when the buzzer sounded in Kaunas and you became champions of the world?
Pany Varela: The emotions were ones of satisfaction, joy and mission completed. It was a goal that we had had for a long time, and the feeling that it had been achieved is, without doubt, one of the best feelings a player can have.

You were exceptional in the knockout phase. That must have been a dream for you?
I think the knockout stage was a dream for the whole team. When the collective works really well, and the squad works really well, individuals always end up shining. It was left to me to finish off the good plays the Portuguese team made. Obviously I was happy to do that, but I think with the dynamic we had at the time, any one of the players could have done what I did. It ended up being me, and I’m obviously happy, but I think it was down to the collective. The teamwork was incredible, we had a lot of confidence. When you’re lacking confidence, the ball hits the post and goes wide. When you have belief, it hits the post and goes in. We believe a lot in this. We had the utmost belief in everything the coaching staff told us. That’s what made the difference. Whoever ends up scoring the goals is just a small detail in the middle of everything else.

How pleased were you for Ricardinho that he finally won the only major title that had eluded him?
Ricardinho is an example to me. I’ve known him since I was in the Benfica youth academy. I’ve always looked up to him as a role model, and he continues to be a role model, a teacher to me. I think futsal owed the World Cup title to Ricardo. Sorry, that’s just my personal opinion. I’m happy because it was yet another achievement in his career. Now, looking back, I don’t think Ricardo left anything undone. As futsal lovers, as futsal players, we just have to say a big thank you to Ricardo for everything he did. As a Portuguese person too, I got the maximum out of watching him play at those levels. I made the most of it and I’ll always make the most out of our friendship. Ultimately that’s the most important thing in all of this.

How did it feel to be named the Best Player on the planet for 2022?
It was just another cherry on the top of the beautiful cake that the Portuguese national team has made. In individual terms, you fall into heaven once again because every sportsperson dreams – or should dream – of winning the biggest awards. But this was down to the work of an entire group, all the people around me, from when I started to now. It’s a reason to be proud because it showed that all the effort my family and I made – in addition to having paid off because I make a living doing what I love – is recognised worldwide. It was a day that I will never forget.

How would you describe your eight years at Sporting?
The decision to go to Sporting was the happiest decision of my life. Looking back, I’m so glad I did. I wouldn’t change a thing about the journey: all the pain, all the difficulties, all the achievements. They made perfect sense and they made me a better man, an excellent player. Sporting is in my heart and always will be. Not only because of what we achieved, but also because of the people I met there, some of whom became family. Sporting will always be a priority in my life, in my son’s life, my family’s life because my time there was absolutely amazing.

You are being called ‘The Cristiano of the Court’. What do you think of Cristiano?
Cristiano Ronaldo is a symbol in our country. Fortunately he is from Portugal. He is someone who fills us with enormous pride. Cristiano was a huge inspiration for us [futsal] players. We all wanted to have that hunger to win that Cristiano does. That hunger, that desire helped us become world champions. I take my hat off to Cristiano and give him all the plaudits in the world, because that’s what he deserves. People have expected excellence from Cristiano his whole career. The minute something goes wrong, they criticise him. It’s human nature but it’s not fair on him. Look at what he’s achieved, look at what he’s done for Portugal, look at how much he’s inspired not just footballers but athletes from other sports like us. We’re all extremely grateful for the fact that he’s Portuguese and everything he did for our country. The world should be grateful that he existed in the sport we love, in football. We should enjoy Cristiano while he is still playing because it will be very difficult to see another player like him.

Your transfer to Al Nassr got the whole world talking about futsal, including people that had never been into it. How satisfied were you with that?
It’s a good thing that the whole world is talking about futsal, even people who aren’t so into it, because that’s what we want: for our sport to be talked about for good reasons. I hope that my arrival at Al Nassr will be at least as good and as enjoyable as my time at Sporting was. That’s the least I want. But right now, it’s about the national team, it’s time for the World Cup, the place where every player desires to be. It’s about giving our everything and taking Portugal to the heights once again. After that, club futsal. Before that, 100 per cent national team. Right now I’m looking at we did well in the past but could do better, what we have to do. That’s what’s important at this particular moment.

You’re 35. Will this be your last World Cup?
Looking at my age, I’d say yes. But honestly, I haven’t thought about it. If it’s not my last World Cup, it will be because the next generation isn’t doing their job well. I’m not thinking about whether or not it’s my last World Cup, I’m just thinking about enjoying it. Every World Cup is a unique event, so it’s about enjoying it to the maximum. If it’s my last one, let it be as big as my first one. Let it be as big as 2021!

Time and time again, against great teams in big tournaments, Portugal have come from behind to win. Can you tell us about the Portuguese mentality?
The mentality of the Portuguese team is the mentality of the Portuguese. We are resilient people, people who are used to obstacles, and we never back down from a fight. So I think that was the click that was missing: to look at opponents and know they have great quality, but to not doubt our own quality. Obviously we don’t want to win games from behind – we want to win as easily as possible. But it’s futsal and it’s good to know that, if we are behind, we have so much quality and will to win that enables us to push ourselves to the limit. When you give it your everything without leaving anything back, and win from behind, it gives me great satisfaction. That’s our mentality: never give up. It doesn’t matter how many goals you’re losing by or how long is left, never give up. When you have this mentality, you’re much closer to achieving success.

Portugal will meet Morocco in arguably the most mouth-watering game of the group stage. What do you think of this Morocco team?
They’ve been putting in great performances. They have a lot of talented players who are strong physically. They’re not afraid of having the ball at their feet. This is a very important characteristic in futsal. Individually, they have great players. Collectively, they’re very strong. They’ve proven this over and over against strong opponents.

What do you think of Erick as a player?
Wow, Erick Mendonca is a world-class player. What’s he done speaks for itself a lot more than my words do. He is a key player due to a lot of things. He has an astonishing array of qualities. He plays as a fixo, a winger, a pivot. The only thing he hasn’t done is go in goal! If he does end up going in goal, I’m sure he’ll do his job there too! (laughs)

What about Zicky?
For me, Zicky is the best player in the world. He was already a great player. As a team-mate, a friend, I ended up trying to help him to become even better. He’s improved a lot. I look at Zicky and I rate him as the best player in the world, but I’ll tell you something: he can get even better. With his mentality, his work ethic and the people around him, I’m certain that we haven’t even seen the best Zicky yet.

Kutchy has been dazzling at the age of just 21…
Kutchy is the future. He’s taking it step by step, but to be his age and be where he’s at, which is going to represent Portugal at the World Cup, shows what an incredible player he is. He’s already a key player for a big club. He has amazing talent. Portugal are very lucky to have a really good mix of experienced players and quality youngsters. We have Kutchy, Lucio, Tomas Paco, Afonso, who has experience but is still young. The Portuguese national team and Portuguese clubs are very well served.

How many teams do you think could win this World Cup?
(laughs) Fortunately for futsal, there’s so much quality around the world right now, so many really strong teams. We’re definitely going to see games of the highest quality. In big tournaments, we’ve been seeing more and more upsets – good upsets for the sport. I think at this World Cup there could be more than usual. I don’t like to look at probability, statistics. I think every national team has a chance. Rather than speculate on how many teams can win the title, I prefer to push myself to the limit to help Portugal triumph.

Finally, can you tell us about your futsal project in Cabo Verde?
I’m just one per cent of this project. I try to contribute with my experience. It’s to enable youngsters the possibility to play futsal. What I’ve said to the Prime Minister, the Minister of Sports and the President of the Cape Verdean Football Federation is that there exists so much quality in Cape Verdean youngsters. Even if they don’t make it professional, there are so many benefits to playing futsal. More and more countries are getting national championships, establishing national teams. This is spectacular for futsal. Pany Varela is just one per cent of this project. There are a lot of people involved in Cabo Verdean sport working hard to create a national league and national team in Cabo Verde. Cabo Verde has huge potential in futsal.