Courtesy: UEFA.com


Ekaterinburg adapt to life in the spotlight

Wednesday 22 April 2009

by Dmitri Rogovitski

MFK Viz-Sinara Ekaterinburg made a spectacular European debut last season, winning the UEFA Futsal Cup in Moscow to achieve the rare feat of becoming continental champions without ever having secured their national league title. A year on they are defending the title in front of their home fans at the Ekaterinburg Palace of Sport from Friday, and are tipped to succeed as they lead their semi-final opponents MFK Dinamo Moskva by nine points in the league. Coach Sergei Skorovich spoke to uefa.com about staging the tournament and the added pressure of being holders.

uefa.com: You will have 5,000 people in the stands supporting you. Does that make Viz the main favorites to win UEFA Futsal Cup?

Sergei Skorovich: Playing at home will help a lot, but the finals feature top European clubs and they will not be fazed by that. Besides, they will lay an ideal surface at the Palace of Sport, the one created for European and world championships so the conditions will be the same for everyone. Much will depend on form on the day. [Interviú Madrid] may be looking stronger than the others in the terms of ball skills and tactics but everything will be decided on the day. I believe any one of the four sides can win the trophy. Nobody treated us seriously last year but we did it.

uefa.com: Are all your players in shape?

Skorovich: All of them except defender Dmitri Prudnikov. He has broken his ankle and will not play unfortunately. All the rest are fit and ready to fight for the UEFA Futsal Cup.

uefa.com: You suffered defeat against MFK Dinamo Moskva in the Russian Cup final earlier this month. Do you see your semi-final as a chance to get revenge?

Skorovich: It was painful to lose the cup final. Nevertheless we are not looking for any revenge. Both ourselves and Dinamo will be playing to win regardless of our previous meetings. Let the best team win!

uefa.com: What is harder for you, to win the UEFA Futsal Cup or to retain it?

Skorovich: We are in a completely different situation compared to last year. Then we had a different league fixture schedule and we could afford to have some training camps in Kislovodsk specifically to prepare for UEFA Cup. Now we have a very tense schedule because we are competing with Dinamo for the league title, we played in the cup final too. So let us wait and see because you can not tell anything now. Last season we were drawn against Kairat Almaty who were not the strongest possible opponents in the semi-finals. Then we were lucky against [ElPozo Murcia FS] in the final when we prevailed on penalties. Now Kairat play Interviú Madrid, who are probably happy they do not have to play us or Dinamo.

uefa.com: Yuri Rudnev returned to coach Dinamo last month to replace Sérgio Sapo. Do you think the team changed much during his two-month absence?

Skorovich: Rudnev has been on that team for many years. I do not think that two months without him could really affect the team. It is impossible to build or destroy something in that time. Dinamo have top-class players who were acquired by Rudnev himself. Anyway, this is not our business and let Dinamo deal with it themselves. I can only tell you that we have played Dinamo many times and those games were always tough and tense. I expect it to be like that this time again.




Courtesy: UEFA.com


Rudnev getting Dinamo back on track

Wednesday 22 April 2009

by Dmitri Rogovitski from Moscow

Two years ago Yuri Rudnev led MFK Dinamo Moskva to the UEFA Futsal Cup title in Murcia, only to lose their grip on the trophy last year on home territory. Rudnev left the club in January but returned last month and as they prepare for this year's finals, beginning with Friday's last-four encounter against hosts and holders MFK Viz-Sinara Ekaterinburg, he spoke to uefa.com.

uefa.com: How important is home advantage in this tournament?

Yuri Rudnev: The fans will get behind Viz-Sinara to spur them on but I don't think it would affect us in a negative way. Quite the opposite, the crowd create a special atmosphere which makes you want to fight and win.

uefa.com: Dinamo have had quite a few injury problems in recent matches. What is the current situation?

Rudnev: We will definitely be without Sergei Ivanov as he has a collarbone injury and is now out until the end of the season having undergone surgery. As for all the rest, they are fit.

uefa.com: The teams in the final four are almost the same as last year: Dinamo, Viz, Kairat Almaty and Interviú Madrid [instead of ElPozo Murcia FS]. Who are favourites?

Rudnev: There are no favourites. The clubs who qualified for the semi-finals have already proved they are the leading teams in Europe. All but Kairat have UEFA Cups under their belts. All of them are capable of winning the trophy this time. Much will depend on luck.

uefa.com: Do you expect attractive futsal in the finals? Or will they be tight, tense affairs?

Rudnev: The latter, I think. These are play-offs where willpower, organisation and discipline come to the fore. There tournaments gather top-class players and the ones who want it the most win.

uefa.com: Earlier this season you were replaced by Sérgio Sapo as Dinamo coach but returned to the helm two months later. How did those changes affect the team?

Rudnev: I don't think much has changed. In recent matches, especially in the [victorious] Russian Cup final against Viz-Sinara, the lads were back at their best and showed they are true winners. We managed to regain our poise. The only thing that bothers me now is the absence of two of our goalscorers. We have to rebuild our game and deploy versatile players as strikers. But I'm sure we are on the right track.







Posted by Luca Ranocchiari --> luca.ranocchiari@futsalplanet.com