Panna is a new kind of street soccer

Panna is one of the varieties of street soccer. However, still few people have heard of it. There are even fewer people who know that anyone can play panna and take part in relevant tournaments in Moscow. In order to understand the peculiarities of the new street movement, to find out what it is, how to play it and what it takes, “Championship” talked to the founder of the first panna school in Russia – Ivan Saprykin.

– Hi, tell me, what is panna?

– Panna is a type of street soccer. It is played in a one-on-one format. The main highlight is the rule of the “thrown ball” between the legs of the opponent. It can be interpreted in this way: if you throw the ball between the opponent’s legs, it is a knockout. But it should be noted that the meaning of the “thrown ball” is different: either a knockout or two points. That is, if you throw the ball between your legs, two points are counted and the game continues.

– Where do panna tournaments usually take place?

– The game takes place in a “cage”, which is what we call the panna court. It is round, metal, professional. There must also be a goal in the game. However, if you do not have a professional court, you can find a suitable patch, put four stable objects, thus marking the gate, and voila, the improvised court is ready. When we first started playing panna, that’s exactly what we did.

– What is the peculiarity of this new movement in soccer?

– Panna for everyone can have a different purpose: it can be entertainment, and professional activity, and improvement of individual skills, but for us it all works together. Panna are beautiful, virtuoso feints, which you need to be able to do in order to throw the ball between your opponent’s legs. To do this, you need to handle the ball well, make spectacular, interesting and, of course, effective feints. Accordingly, if you are professionally engaged in soccer, panna will help to improve your technique. At the same time, all this takes place not in some improvised, but in real combat conditions, where you are one on one fighting with your opponent.

– Are there any special rules of panna? What are the risks of violations?

– Of course, all the rules are regulated. For example, for rough play, the ball is passed to the opponent. Since the panna “cage” is small, it is inappropriate to take penalties. For three warnings you get disqualified. This mostly happens at competitions: the heat of passion, the desire to win – it all makes itself felt.

– Where did this movement come from in Russia?

– Panna originated in Holland, or, more correctly, in Suriname. Suriname used to be a colony of the Netherlands, so they had a large crossing of nations. The word “panna” itself is Surinamese, it translates as “to destroy”. But it was in the Netherlands that panna was most developed. Now the movement is gaining popularity all over the world.

Russia is one of the countries where panna is developing by leaps and bounds. In terms of organization, I think we can safely put us in the top three. We started practicing this type of soccer in 2007.

– Tell us about the tournaments, how often do they take place?

– Throughout the year there is a rating tournament. There is a rating system on the Panna.pro website. Guys register and get automatically into the base. The tournament opens in May and closes at the end of the year. Competitions are held at different events and festivals in several stages, about five or six.

– How many people participate in the tournament?

– Unfortunately, we have to put restrictions on the number of people, and this is due to the limited time for the event. Usually 64 people participate in the tournament.

– Are there any age or other restrictions?

– So far we do not make age restrictions so as not to suppress people’s interest. Now in the cities and districts will appear sites, we plan to come there with master classes and attract as many young players as possible, and thanks to this in the near future we will be able to make a separate slot for children, so that there will be a more fair fight between participants. Also not so long ago we had the first mini-tournament among girls. Accordingly, anyone can play panna: girls, guys, children. Also within our team we are creating a group for teenagers up to 14-15 years old – “Street Madness Junior”. All this is gaining a lot of momentum

– Is there a certain venue where the tournaments are held, or do the venues change?

– Right now Adidas The Base is our main venue where we spend almost all of our free time. The Base is a center where you can not only have a great time, but also improve your skills. Here you can find everything: food, consoles, panna courts, play ping pong, socialize, practice panna, professional soccer players often come to us, you can take pictures and play with them.

In the beginning we just traveled to different sites, played, shot video. After that, people often came up to us and asked us where we could learn how to do it.

– How was your team “Street Madness” formed?

– For the first time we all met and got acquainted in 2006, it all happened on the basis of freestyle. Not thinking long, we formed a team. And just a year later we started to get into panna, started to promote and practice it. In the beginning we were only 4 or 5 people. Now, of course, there are more of us.

– And how was the School of street soccer formed?

– As for the school, initially we did not make any plans. Everything went intuitively. At first we just traveled to different grounds, played, shot video. Afterwards, people often came up to us and asked us where we could learn it. At that time, there was basically nowhere to learn. In the paid school there are two groups: the first group – children and beginners, the second – adults and experienced. At “The Base” we have mixed groups.

– Who trains at the school and what is taught there?

– I train mostly. There is also a free school at The Base. My colleague Jean-Pierre Papin trains there. Panne is a set of elements. It includes ball control, feints, tricks, passes, kicks. That’s what we teach at our school.

– How did you find out about panna and what did you do before you became interested in panna?

– I learned about panna from my friend Jean Pierre Papin, interestingly enough, I didn’t understand the game at first and maybe even laughed at what he told me, but later everything fell into place. Most of the team came to panna from youth soccer. I was involved in sports schools, played in professional mini soccer clubs. After that I got into freestyle, which brought me to such a concept as street soccer.

– Do you have idols in the world of sports, in panna or teams that you would like to be closer to?

– Basically the first steps have already been taken. We are part of the Street Kings world team, whose founders are the legendary Edward Van Gils and Izzy Hitman, they are from the Netherlands. They are also the founders of the street soccer movement in the World. Their story is very similar to ours. “Street Kings” is a world team, we looked up to them, we looked up to them, and today we are the representatives of the “Street Kings” of Russia. It so happened that my colleague Jean-Pierre Panen has already been able to see them, but I haven’t yet. But I’m sure it will happen!

– Do we need more panna-platforms?

– I think we need more, so that more people get to know about it, start playing, get interested. When we put up a playground, we put signs with brief rules next to it. If there are no courts, the sport dies, and we try to make sure that doesn’t happen! We want people to play and enjoy the game.

– Are professional soccer players into panna?

– Yes, of course. For example, Quincy Promes from Spartak. Van Gils has one guy in the team, Orry, and Quincy Promes is his cousin. He even came to our tournament once. In Europe, professional soccer players are happy to play panna, even if they haven’t done it before. With some famous freestylers and panna footballers, you can find videos where they come to clubs – Juventus, Manchester United – and play boldly with soccer players, with Paul Pogba and Neymar.

– When is the next event or competition?

– The season opener on May 1, which anyone can participate in, all you have to do is register on the Panna.pro website and there you can see details of where it’s taking place, what time it’s taking place and what you need to participate. Looking ahead, the opening will take place at The Base Moscow. We are waiting for all those who are not indifferent!