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MY BEACH SOCCER 
How much do you know about Switzerland’s sharp-shooting number ten, Noel Ott?
After bursting onto the beach soccer scene five years ago when he claimed the first ever Rising Star award at the Beach Soccer Star Dubai ceremony in 2014, Noel Ott has become an indispensable part of Angelo Schirinzi’s Swiss team.
His achievements and reputation have since seen him make club appearances for some of the best beach soccer teams on the planet, including FC Barcelona, which no doubt fuelled the many comparisons that have been made between him and the one and only, Lionel Messi.
Born in Baden, Switzerland on 15 January 1994, Noel’s early love of football was heavily influenced by his older brother and his father…
“It was them who made me fall in love with football. My father played in the third league in Switzerland which is still an amateur league, but quite a high level. At six years old, I started playing with Grasshoppers, right up until I was 17. That’s when I started playing beach soccer.”
“Franziska Steinemann [current coach of Switzerland’s women’s beach soccer team], asked me if I wanted to train with Havana Shots. So, I said why not? And then I started in the Swiss league. Two years later, Schirinzi noticed me and called me up to the national team.
I suppose it’s all thanks to Franziska, she is good friends with my mother and Tobi [Steinemann’s son who also plays for Switzerland] played with me in my home town. If she had never asked me to come then maybe my beach soccer career would never have happened.”
Often football players struggle when they first experience playing on sand, and Noel was no exception.
“After the first training session I actually thought that maybe this sport wasn’t for me. In the first moments you can’t even lift the ball or when you shoot and it just hits the sand…it was frustrating.
But the team motivated me because they said that they saw a lot of potential, and it was the year Switzerland reached the final of the World Cup in Dubai. I saw players like Stephan Meier, Dejan Stankovic, Mo Jaeggy and I wanted to be like them.”
These players clearly had a huge impact on the young striker’s career, but who else had an influence?
“The most important person in my career has been Schirinzi because of all the training and the things I have learnt in the national team, but also Stankovic too, as he made Grasshoppers in 2015 and he told me that I needed to go with him to the team.
He also gave me a lot of opportunities outside of Switzerland. When he played abroad he would always ask if he could bring another player because no one knew me at this time.
In terms of other current players, I always think about Leo and Be Martins when I’m training, of course because they are amazing players, but they are similar to me. Not the tallest but fast and we like to go one-on-one with opposition players.”
Noel Ott’s beach soccer career now stretches far beyond the Swiss borders, including stints with Barcelona, Catania, Pisa, Lokomotiv, CSKA, Botofogo, Sporting and Falfala.
“I think my greatest club achievement was with Catania when we won the Coppa Italia and the Scudetto two years ago, but In the Swiss league is winning the MVP in my second year. We also won the league, actually for the first time this year, as well as the cup so I’m proud of that.
With the national team, my best moment was probably the first qualification to the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup in Jesolo in 2014. It was a bittersweet day for me because I was injured against Azerbaijan but everyone had spoken about the World Cup and about how amazing it was. I remember Philip Borer took my shirt and held it up to the camera and I still get goosebumps right now thinking about this moment.”
2019 has seen several familiar faces bow out of international beach soccer, as Switzerland says goodbye to both Mo and Valentin Jaeggy.
“It is really sad to see Mo and Valentin retire as they have done and achieved so much for the team, but I still see a bright future, as we have a very good goalkeeper in Eliott, so I’m not worried.”
The year has also seen many highs and lows for Switzerland, qualifying and competing in an abnormally high number of competitions with beach soccer’s biggest prizes up for grabs.
“Although we achieved Olympic medals in Minsk there have been moments in the last year that that could have gone better. The World Cup for example. Getting as far as we can was an impressive but we have beaten Portugal twice already this year and you imagine yourself getting to the final and maybe doing it again, it was tough.
Ever looking to develop, Noel has bright ambitions for both himself and the team in the coming seasons.
“The goal for the future is to keep improving. This year we got a bronze medal and we are happy with that but the next objective is to make the final in the next Olympic event.”
In 2017, Ott was included in the Top 5 Stars, but does he think it’s possible for him to go one step further and win Best Player one day?
“Why not? Assuming we can win some titles in the future, and with a bit of luck, I think it is possible. This year was a very good year for me personally.”
Noel Ott has already achieved so much on the beach soccer pitch at such a young age, and with such passion and ambition, who knows how far he will go?
Honours:
Rising Star – 2014
Nominee for Best Player – 2014
Best 5 Stars – 2017
Bronze Medal at European Games Minsk – 2019
Swiss League – 2011 and 2019
