They are young, athletic and share a passion for playing with the soccer ball. Meet Kitti Szasz, Aylin Yaren and Agnieszka Mnich, stars of freestyle football, who won hearts of Indians as they juggled the ball with their body parts. What makes the trio special is that they have not only mastered the art of balancing the football in an easy looking way but also had words of encouragement for other Indians in order to make them pursue freestyle football.
During the past three months, the triumvirate – known as football artists in their respective nations in Europe – have been showcasing their mastery, tenacity and extraordinary control over football in multiple cities. While they have soaked in the Indian culture and conversed with locals in a smattering of Hindi , they also did their bit to give a push to this game which is basically a coordination between body and mind.
They were in India on the invitation of Apollo Tyres and showcased their skills during the half-time of the final of the just concluded Indian Super League.
Pleased as a punch to interact at the India Islamic Cultural Centre at a short notice, Kitti Szasz, 26-year-old hailing from Hungary, describes freestyle football as an art. “It is all about music, football and yourself. We play with all our body parts when music is played. So it looks like dancing with the ball except that it is about performing tricks and entertaining people.”
Aylin, 28, bid adieu to professional football in Germany as she wanted to plan a better career option. “I played football for 22 years and quit the sport last year. I am close to 30 and am planning for my future. It is already popular in Europe and would become more so in years to come.”
Like Aylin, Agnieszka Mnich from Poland was earlier a professional footballer. “We faced lot of challenges as the general impression was that it had few takers. Now they have realised that freestyle footbal has a future as I have reached so far.”
Discontinuing football must have been tough. “I did not have time for both. Freestyle football was something I wanted to do in life. I wanted to entertain people and it has given me inner happiness.”
Describing her profession, Kitti says, it is somewhere in between hobby and sport. “As the name suggests it is freestyle. Therefore, there are no dont’s; only dos! It is not sports so there is no strictness with it. We use our bodies a lot and usually train for three to four hours. If we are preparing for a competition then we need to have an eye on our diet. Otherwise, it is just one or two hours of training.”
“You have to juggle the ball with right and left foot,” says Aylin. Not easy to learn, she admits, but once you learn it then your body gets adjusted to it over a period of time. “In freestyle, you have to play with head and body parts. You have to do your own stuff.”
Keeping their slender physique in mind, which helps in balancing the ball, they are cautious when it comes to intake of food. Kitti says: “We try to eat almost like professional sportsmen. We read about their diet chart and learn what to eat and skip.”
Are Indians fit for this? “Lot of Indians are into freestyle but need support from other people. Physically you have to be strong, good control over your body and cannot drop the ball. We do weight training, athletics so that we don’t get injured,” says Aylin.
Narrating her India sojourn, Kitti says: “We have now become familiar with the rich cultural heritage as we have been to eight cities including Chennai, Bangluru and Kochi. My favourite cities are Kochi and Goa because of their sea, beaches. We also had an interesting time while exploring the Marina Beach in Chennai and would have visited such places but we have a hectic schedule.”
In places, Aylin likes Goa the best as it is good for tourists and is home to a number of beaches. “For us India has been an experience as it has multiple religions and languages. It is another culture for Europeans like us. It In Delhi, we have been to the India Gate for shooting and have been impressed with the way you maintain your huge public gardens.”
All of them share a common dream to see freestyle football becoming a sport and be included in Olympics.
“We would like it to become a sport in Olympics. And would like to be paid as professional sport-persons. I would like to continue freestyle football till my body allows. It is my mission in India as people are largely clueless about this. It is important to popularise it for children, especially girls,” says Kitti.
Meanwhile, the three girls have picked up a smattering of Hindi words. “ Aapki achhi bachchi is my favourite and it helps me to win hearts of Indians,” sums up Kitti.
