WHEN Rico Zulkarnain left Newport County's academy at the age of 18, he'd have been forgiven for thinking his dreams of playing professional sport were over.

But at the age of 23 he discovered futsal, a smaller scale version of football played with a smaller, heavier ball which favours more technical, skilful players.

"I was a youth worker running street soccer sessions, setting up a music studio at the YMCA, and shooting music videos for local artists," he said. "I was in the Newport County academy until the age of 18. I liked the street soccer side of football.

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"I reached 18 and just fell out of love with football. I had been told by coaches that I was a player that could go pro. But I stopped loving football, it became more of a chore than a hobby.

"But then after some time out, I got this second chance.

"I first found out about futsal at 23. It was like football and street soccer rolled into one.

"I was playing in a street soccer cup in Denmark in 2013. It was mostly 2v2 and 1v1.

"I saw some players and saw the way they moved the ball and their movement off the ball.

South Wales Argus:

Rico Zulkarnain playing for IPC Pelindo II Jakarta in Indonesia. Picture: Rico Zulkarnain.

"They were professional futsal players. I needed to find out about this sport, I thought. We just weren’t a match for them. I thought with the traits that I had, this was going to be for me.

"I looked, and there wasn’t really any teams around – the closest was in Cardiff with Cardiff University.

"I sent the manager of the Welsh national team an email but didn’t get anything back.

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"After a few weeks, I filmed a video of me playing. He got back to me straight away asking if I was Welsh, and if I played futsal.

"He set me up with a trial, and within three months I was playing for the national team.

"I remember the manager asking ‘Where did you come from?’ after the first few sessions. I took to futsal like a duck to water, and scored two goals on my debut against Andorra.

"In this country when young people reach the age of 18, academies let them go and they think that’s it. Players develop at different speeds, they could have a growth spurt, or they could work with a different coach who gets more out of them.

"But if one door closes, another one opens. That’s what futsal gave to me. It was like a gift from god. Thankfully I embraced it."

South Wales Argus:

Rico Zulkarnain defending against Ronaldinho in Dubai. Picture: Rico Zulkarnain.

Since then, Mr Zulkarnain has played in more than 30 countries with the national team and his club teams.

"It’s been incredible, futsal has been my passport to the world," he said. "My dad is from Indonesia and I love travelling and experiencing different cultures and food.

"It’s a completely different game in every country. In Asia, it’s more tactical and faster than here, and in Europe it’s more physical and tactical.

"I have been able to bring all of those experiences back to help me with my game here in Wales.

"We were in Israel for a World Cup Qualifier, and there was a scout in the crowd. He offered me a trial at Hapoel Ra'anana [a football team in the Israeli Premier League] for two weeks.

"I was asked to stay on for more than two weeks so they could take more of a look at me, but I had already booked tickets to Australia to play futsal there."

Mr Zulkarnain has had incredible sucess in his career, not only by establishing himself as Wales' only professional player.

"I have won titles in Dubai, India, Malaysia, America, Wales and Australia," he said.

South Wales Argus:

Rico Zulkarnain as a young Manchester United fan, and playing with Manchester United legend Ryan Giggs. Picture: Rico Zulkarnain.

"I’ve played with Giggsy [Wales manager and Manchester United legend Ryan Giggs]. He was captain of my team in Dubai. I’ve also played against Paul Scholes, Ronaldinho, Hernan Crespo, Deco and Michael Salgado.

"The two best players in the history of futsal are Falcao and Ricardinho. I first met Falcao as a fan in America, but I ended up playing with him."

He also featured in the inaugural Home Nations Futsal Championship, held in Cardiff in 2016, where Wales thrashed England 6-2 after already beating Northern Ireland 7-1 and Scotland 5-2.

"That was a great memory," said Zulkarnain. "At the time, England had been playing futsal for about 30 years.

"To have the first Home Nations cup on home soil and to thrash them in the final - it was an amazing experience."

South Wales Argus:

Rico Zulkarnain celebrating with the Welsh national team. Picture: Rico Zulkarnain.

Currently, Mr Zulkarnain is playing for his own team, FTSL, in Newport, and is looking to encourage more people in Wales to take up the sport.

"All of this knowledge and the things I’ve experienced I’m looking to bring back to Wales to help players here," he said. "A lot of people only see futsal as a tool to make footballers better on the ball, but it’s a sport and entertainment in its own right.

"We’ve got our own club and our own league, but the next step will be getting our own arena, which we are looking into now.

"Just before quarantine we started mapping out our youth and women’s and a senior team.

South Wales Argus:

Rico Zulkarnain has set up the futsal team FTSL in Newport with his partner Tess and his brother Tremayne Stock. Picture: Rico Zulkarnain.

"A lot of football is called off here in Wales because of the weather, so it’s a no brainer to play futsal really, as we play indoors.

"We were gaining this massive momentum, but it was all happening so fast. We were struggling to keep up with everything, so [lockdown] has been a time to reflect and take a step back.

"We are just waiting for the government to give us the green light. Everything is ready to go."

Mr Zulkarnain credits his success to following the mantra of 'play with your heart'.

"In 2013, I was reading a book by Tony Robbins called Awaken the Giant Within, which is about taking control of your destiny," he said.

"I put a picture of Ronaldinho up on my vision board of what I wanted to achieve.

"I didn’t even know what futsal was at that time. I was playing pub football, paying £5 a week to play. But I went from that to beating Ronaldinho in just a few years.

"When I was lining up against him, I did step back and say wow. But it proved to me that everything was possible now, and that has been central to my success.

South Wales Argus:

Rico Zulkarnain credits his partner Tess, who helped launch FTSL, as the reason he's been able to achieve the success in his life and career. Picture: Rico Zulkarnain.

"When I was in Mumbai I walked into a charity book shop and found a book by Dean Karnazes, the American ultramarathon runner.

"He was in high school when he found his love for running. He was just getting into it, and there were already runners at the school with all the gear.

"He asked his coach: ‘How do I beat these guys?’ His coach said run with your heart.

"When I read that, I took inspiration from that. When I was lining up against Ronaldinho, that’s what I remembered. When you play with your heart, the game becomes easy. It’s when my love the game comes out and whether I won or lost, it is a chance to express my love for it.

"I’m writing a book now, which I am two-thirds of the way through. It will be called ‘The Power of Playing With Your Heart.’

"It’s about that mantra, and how that has helped me with my career and my experiences.

"I’ve learned a lot about myself and met some incredible people throughout my career, and this is some of the things I’ll include in the book.

"I have also launched a clothing brand – Love Live Label. I’m using the clothing as a way to get that mantra out to the world."