The big difference in the digital part creates pressure

Just a few days after their successful performance in Astana, where they won second place in the qualifying tournament and secured a place at the Games of the Future, the KMF Titograd team immediately returned to training and preparations for a new great challenge. They are working intensively on perfecting their tactics and improving their form for the final tournament in the Phygital Football category at the Games of The Future, which will be held in Astana from July 26 to August 9.

This result represents a significant step forward for the Podgorica team. Namely, last year, KMF Titograd tried their hand at Phygital Football, a discipline that combines digital and real-life sports through a combination of video games and futsal. At that time, they failed to pass the qualifying stage, but the experience gained was valuable for the team's further development.

The great performance was also confirmed through individual awards. Pavle Vukčević was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player (MVP), while gamer Aleksa Joksimović once again showed that he is equally successful in both the digital and real-world parts of the competition, which is of utmost importance in the discipline of Phygital Football.

Although both have experience with football, it was not difficult for them to adapt to the new rules and specific competition format, which requires equally good skills in the digital and real parts of the game.

"In the beginning it was a little more difficult considering that the game is played on a field with martinellas, so it was unusual for us because we had never encountered such a field. Compared to futsal, the surface, goals and ball are different. Futsal is played on a parquet floor with a four-a-side ball and the goals are the same size as in handball, while in phygital it is played on artificial grass, with a five-a-side ball and the goals are wider than in futsal. However, the biggest difference is that the field is fenced with martinellas," explains Pavle Vukčević. Unlike him, Joksimović completed the national qualifying tournament last year, but did not travel with the team to Abu Dhabi.

"Last year I participated in the qualifying part of the competition. Before the finals, it was decided that one gamer would give way to a futsal player, who would be available in case of an injury to one of the players, so I was not part of the final phase of the competition. However, I gained valuable experience and became additionally familiar with the Phygital format," says Joksimović.

Vukčević points out that last year's experience in Phygital Football, which they gained during the qualifications for the Games of The Future, was valuable to them, even though they did not manage to win a ticket to the final stage of the competition.

"That experience helped us a lot because we knew what to expect in terms of the change of terrain, because last year we encountered such terrain for the first time and we didn't know how we would adapt to it all. Last year we finished the competition in the quarterfinals of the qualifications, we were one step away from qualifying for the main competition and I think that experience helped a lot in the success we have achieved now," Vukčević is confident.

In this format, both the digital and physical parts of the game are equally important, so tactics must be carefully thought out. Any advantage or disadvantage from the video game is directly transferred to the field, which further increases the pressure on the team in the second half of the match.

"Both parts of the game are important, but I would say that the digital part is perhaps slightly more important. The reason for this is because it is the first part of the game and, as you said, in the case of a big difference, there is a lot of pressure. That is why it is important how you enter the game because it is not easy when we start from a deficit on the real field and that is why tactics come into play," explains Vukčević, while Joksimović reveals how difficult it is to transfer tactics from the real field where two teammates have to react quickly to the situation, while on the real field everyone has their own role:

"It was much harder to move from the virtual part to the field than vice versa. The difference would be less if the futsal player had played Sony than it was for me to play futsal. The hardest part for me was following the movements on the field, and an additional challenge was the physical part because the 10 minutes of the game went by quickly and I got tired very quickly. I realized that futsal requires a serious level of coordination, because every mistake is immediately visible, while in the game you can adapt more easily with a little practice," explains Joksimović, who managed to bring his team a point through a goal on the real field, and also had one assist.

"I am very pleased with how I played, especially in the match against Cyprus where I scored a goal and made an assist. I have been training football for over seven years, but I had to stop playing due to an injury. As for the rules in the phygital format, they are somewhat different from classic futsal, the field is surrounded by a mini wall so the ball remains in play, and if it does go out of bounds, it goes to the opposing team. Also, the goals were higher than in standard futsal. However, I would not say that adapting to the rules was difficult, but the biggest challenge was the quality of the opponent," notes Joksimović, whose play on the real field is also satisfied with his teammate Vukčević.

"This year we were unlucky because one of our best players on the right field - Marko Spasojević - got injured, so one of the gamers was forced to play. The coaches decided to have Aleksa Joksimović play and I can safely say that he surprised us all positively. We didn't know what to expect because we didn't know his football skills, only his gaming skills, but Aleksa showed that he really knows how to play and with his goal in the quarter-finals and his dedicated play he was one of the most deserving of our success," Vukčević praised him.

Although he scored a goal and an assist, and received praise from his teammates for his play, Joksimović still does not see himself as a standard member of the KMF Titograd team.

"Regardless of the fact that I played well in that match, I don't believe that I would be at the level of a standard futsal team right now. I think that requires a lot more effort and work. I have been practicing the Phygital format for several years now and that is where I feel most prepared and at my best," admits Joksimović.

In Astana, at the end of July and the beginning of August, the KMF Titograd team will face new clashes at the final tournament of the Games of the Future, where they will once again have the opportunity to meet several opponents from the qualifying tournament. Such circumstances make the preparation somewhat easier. However, at this level of competition, each team comes further improved, so the key to success will be the ability to quickly adapt and react in the match itself.

"It will certainly be easier than for this qualifying tournament because we know what composition some of the teams will have, but it is still a difficult task for the coaches. Together we will analyze the opponents and our game as well, to see where we made mistakes and try to correct them," notes Vukčević.

They don't know if the fact that they finished the qualifying tournament as runners-up will make the rest of the competition easier for them.

"We still don't know what position we will be in the draw, we hope to be in the first pot and that we will have 'easier' opponents in the group, considering that we had by far the toughest group in this tournament. Proof of that is the semi-finals where three out of four teams were from our group," emphasizes Vukčević, who did not want to comment on whether they are among the favorites due to their success in the qualifiers:

"I don't know if they're putting us among the favorites, but we believe we can make it to the end, although the tournament will be much better this time," he adds.

Thanks to the Phygital format, the boundaries between e-sports and sports are slowly blurring, and Joksimović hopes that thanks to this format, prejudices against gamers will also collapse.

"I think the phygital format really blurs the line between gamer and athlete, because it requires the player to be ready for both the digital and physical parts of the game. You have to think quickly in the game, but also be physically ready on the field, which makes it a completely unique experience. I think this is where the true value of this format can be seen, because it shows that success does not depend on just one skill, but on a combination of both worlds," says Joksimović.

While it is easy to recognize which team is the favorite in football, due to the digital part in the Phygital format, it is much more difficult to predict who is better.

"It's very difficult to identify the favorite precisely because of the digital part. Just like I said before, how you open the game is very important because if you start from a deficit, it's difficult to turn things around. I don't think there are that many favorites because no team is that dominant over the other when you look at both parts of the game," Vukčević concludes.