Courtesy: UEFA.com


Imperious Interviú claim third UEFA Futsal Cup

Sunday 26 April 2009

Match report by Paul Saffer from Ekaterinburg Palace of Sport

Interviú Madrid won the UEFA Futsal Cup for a record third time with a comfortable final victory against hosts MFK Viz-Sinara Ekaterinburg.

Spanish success
Defending the European title, Ekaterinburg had never lost a match in this competition having succeeded on their debut last season. However, by half-time they were 3-0 down to goals from Daniel and Jordi Torrás, plus Schumacher's penalty. Daniel's free-kick in the 25th minute produced an immediate response from Konstantin Agapov, but Juanra's late strike ensured that for the fifth time in the tournament's eight-year history, the trophy would go to Spain.

Zuev saves
The opening exchanges were tight, but Schumacher – whose two early goals set up Interviú's 5-0 semi-final defeat of Kairat Almaty – soon threatened, forcing a fine save from Sergei Zuev. Ekaterinburg's goalkeeper was superb in last year's final and again on Friday in the tense 2-0 defeat of MFK Dinamo Moskva, and he got his legs in the way of another effort from Schumacher, who, like Daniel and Interviú No1 Luis Amado, was also part of the 2004 and 2006 triumphs.

Daniel strikes
Zuev was beaten when Neto, the other double goalscorer against Kairat, hit the post after an intelligent Daniel cross, and at the other end Konstantin Timoschenkov's strike suffered the same fate. However, from Daniel's shot the ball deflected in off the woodwork to give Interviú an eight-minute lead. Zuev prevented a second when he clawed off the line when Amado's long throw nearly deflected in through his legs off Daniel's flick.

Lead stretched
However, Interviú's second goal arrived just before the midway point of the first half, Betão rolling the ball backwards to Torrás, who beat Zuev from a similar angle as Daniel for the first goal. Things got worse for Zuev when he brought down Gabriel in the box and Schumacher gave the keeper no chance with his penalty. Ekaterinburg were stung, but Artem Chudinov did make Amado save not long before the break.

Quickfire goals
The hosts started the second half in high spirits but were vulnerable to the counter and from a typically strong Amado roll, Betão slipped Damir Khamadiev and was only denied by a Zuev stretch. It was 4-0 soon afterwards, though, as Daniel's free-kick eluded Zuev's grasp. The Ekaterinburg reponse was immediate; Pavel Chistopolov's back-heel was lashed in by Agapov.

Clincher
Suddenly the home fans were making themselves heard again, and their players were certainly inspired. However, plenty of Interviú's squad have experience of big international finals for club and country, and proved adept at repelling the Ekaterinburg attacks, not to mention breaking at speed as when Ortiz made Zuev save again. Ekaterinburg's spirit did not let up, but neither did Interviú's determination, and with two minutes left, and Alexei Mokhov on as a flying goalkeeper for the hosts, Juanra stole the ball and rolled it into an empty net. Betão hit the crossbar with a double penalty, but victory was long sealed, moving Interviú one title ahead of the only other multiple winners, Spanish rivals Playas de Castellón FS.




Alonso hails Candelas after Interviú triumph

Sunday 26 April 2009

Match review by David Baño & Eugene Ravdin from Ekaterinburg Palace of Sport

Juan Luis Alonso took over as Interviú Madrid coach at the start of the season from Jesús Candelas and on Sunday celebrated victory in the UEFA Futsal Cup with a comprehensive 5-1 win over hosts and holders MFK Viz-Sinara Ekaterinburg. Alonso paid tribute to Candelas as well as hailing the passion for futsal in the host city. Viz coach Sergei Skorovich admitted the experience of an Interviú side featuring several FIFA Futsal World Cup winners proved too much for his young, homegrown squad.

Juan Luis Alonso, Interviú coach
It's always special to win a European title, especially as we had revamped the team compared to last year, with six new players and a new coach. The club had been very brave to make such changes, so we are all very satisfied about this victory. It is my happiest day as a futsal coach. My first thoughts go to my father and I also have thoughts for Jesús Candelas. We would not be here today without his work in the past. The level of expectation at this club is very high. If you finish second, it is almost a defeat.

We are very happy with the organisation of this tournament. We have been treated very well; the people are very nice. What has pleased me the most has been to see that this city is very passionate about futsal. We have seen many children playing futsal and that's an example to give to everybody.

Sergei Skorovich, Ekaterinburg coach
If I had another chance to play this match, I would opt for a more defensive approach from the start and wait for our chance on the break. We were good at times but we lost because the Interviú players had more skill and more confidence. Today it was very difficult for us to match Interviú. Besides, we also had a very demanding game [in the semi-finals], while the Spanish side were able to field fringe players and were therefore fresher. But we never let our heads drop. The lads tried hard and were eager to win and I can look them in the eyes because they gave all their strength, knowledge and skill. But our opponents had a number of top-class players who can tear any team to pieces.

Of course we wanted to be more successful. If we had not let them score so easily and then scored on the break we could have got something from this match. But we are not wizards and cannot make things happen with a flick of a wand. We tried hard and that makes me happy. I can say that it is a great feeling to play in the finals and in the final itself. We reached that through our own sweat. I congratulated the lads after the match and said they did a good job and can be proud of themselves. We should preserve the squad we have and develop new little stars. Then we will be moving forward. The young players coming into our team now are not ready to play at the top level. They are good domestically, but it takes more to take on nine world champions.




Amado euphoric about European crown

Sunday 26 April 2009

by David Baño from Ekaterinburg Palace of Sport

Luis Amado has won everything there is to win in the sport but that does not mean that the goalkeeper is any less thrilled by Interviú Madrid's latest UEFA Futsal Cup triumph on Sunday.

Latest success
Having kept a clean sheet in Friday's 5-0 last-four defeat of Kairat Almaty, Amado only conceded in the final against hosts and holders MFK Viz-Sinara Ekaterinburg when Interviú were four up, and they went on to win 5-1. For the 32-year-old, a two-time FIFA Futsal World Cup and UEFA European Futsal Championship winner with Spain, it was his and the club's record third UEFA Futsal Cup success.

Meaning
Amado, one of only three players along with Schumacher and Daniel to have been part of all of Interviú's successes in the competition, told uefa.com: "This honour means a lot to me, as it not the first time I have won it. It is very difficult to win a European title. It means a lot for the club too, for their sponsors and for all the new players and the coach who have joined the club this season. For them especially it was a good challenge."

Marquinho tribute
Had it not been for injury, there would have been a fourth player celebrating a third triumph. "I want have a special word about a player who was not here with us today: Marquinho," Amado said. "He is injured and has just had surgery. I want to celebrate this trophy with him and for him." And Amado concluded: "I want to tell the fans to enjoy this sport as much as we do ourselves. We try to do our best so that our fans in Spain can enjoy it and I hope we have managed to do so."




Montovanelli makes sure of Kairat bronze

Sunday 26 April 2009

Match report by Paul Saffer from Ekaterinburg Palace of Sport

Kairat Almaty claimed an impressive third place in the UEFA Futsal Cup after Carlos Montovanelli's early goal proved enough to defeat former champions MFK Dinamo Moskva.

Total commitment
Having lost 5-0 in this fixture to Dinamo a year ago, and in both legs of the 2006 semi-final to that year's eventual winners, Kairat were the outsiders at kick-off. However, Montovanelli's strike and a display of total commitment ensured Kairat ended the finals on a high.

Early goal
Against the early run of play, Kairat made a third-minute breakthrough. There was a warning when Pavel Stepanov, who had been on the bench on Friday, blocked a Montovanelli free-kick only for Messias to rattle the woodwork with his follow-up. Seconds later, Messias forced Stepanov to parry another shot and Montovanelli was on hand to bury the rebound.

Post rattled
Dinamo remained the dominant team but although Aleksandr Fukin made Gustavo save, clear shots on goal were rare. An Anatoli Badretdinov effort was then kept out by a combination of Gustavo and defender and at the other end, in the last second of the half, Montovanelli rattled the post.

Gustavo saves
Gustavo's one-handed save from Cirilo prevented an equaliser from the first attack of the second half, and as Dinamo's bid for a goal continued, Kairat began to pick up vocal support from the spectators filing in to watch the final. Pica Pau, suspended for Kairat's 5-0 semi-final loss to Interviú Madrid, fell awkwardly 12 minutes from time and was withdrawn in some pain and his side thereby lost a good part of the attacking thrust they had.

Kairat prevail
What they retained was a determination in defence and coach João Carlos Barbosa was pumping his fists in celebration after every crucial tackle. Gustavo got his body in the way of a point-blank volley by Konstantin Maevskiy, replacing the suspended Joan, and also saved from Badretdinov, while Rafael ensured Stepanov also had to work and on the break Fabricio's shot somehow rolled past the post. Dinamo ran out of time, and Kairat can take confidence from this result having already secured their 2009/10 European berth as Kazakh champions.




Makhoukhi takes top scorer honour

Sunday 26 April 2009

by Paul Saffer from Ekaterinburg

FC Blok Beverwijk player Samir Makhoukhi finished as the top scorer for this season's UEFA Futsal Cup, while Schumacher of victorious Interviú Madrid took that honour for the finals in Ekaterinburg, which concluded on Sunday.

Makhoukhi feat
Like his club, Dutch international Makhoukhi was making his competition debut in 2008/09 and struck four times in Beverwijk's first appearance, a 10-2 Preliminary round win over UFC Münster. He also contributed a hat-trick in the 14-0 defeat of FC Betoon Tallin and in the Main round claimed both goals in the 2-1 victory over MVFC Berettyóújfalu which gave Beverwijk their only points and took his tally to nine.

Ricardinho pipped
Makhouki finished one goal ahead of SL Benfica's Ricardinho, runner-up in the ranking for the second year running. Among the players in joint third was André Vanderlei of Action 21 Charleroi, the only man to finish top scorer twice when he set record marks of 15 and 19 in 2002/03 and 2003/04 respectively.

Schumacher mark
In the finals themselves, Schumacher led the way with three goals, two in the last-four meeting with Kairat Almaty and a penalty in the 5-1 showpiece defeat of MFK Viz-Sinara Ekaterinburg that took his seasonal haul to five. Celebrating a third win with Interviú like Schumacher and goalkeeper Luis Amado, Daniel struck twice against Viz, matching the last-four feat of team-mate Neto. Seven other players claimed a goal in the finals.

2008/09 UEFA Futsal Cup top scorers
9 - Samir Makhoukhi (FC Blok Beverwijk)
8 - Ricardinho (SL Benfica)
7 - André (Charleroi Action)
7 - Nuno (Alter Ego Luparense)
7 - Marian Guermanov (FC Nadin Sofia)
7 - Ian Iacovenco (CSC Dinamo Chisinau)
7 - Namig Mammadkarimov (Araz Naxçivan)
7 - Costas Polyviou (Parnassos Nicosia)
7 - Ibrahim Saidi (Roubaix Futsal)
7 - Serjão (Araz Naxçivan)


2008/09 UEFA Futsal Cup finals top scorers
3 - Schumacher (Inter Movistar)
2 - Daniel (Inter Movistar)
2 - Neto (Inter Movistar)
1 - Konstantin Agapov (Viz-Sinara Ekaterinburg)
1 - Vinicius (Inter Movistar)
1 - Pavel Chistopolov (Viz-Sinara Ekaterinburg)
1 - Juanra (Inter Movistar)
1 - Aleksei Mokhov (Viz-Sinara Ekaterinburg)
1 - Carlinhos (Kairat Almaty)
1 - Torras (Inter Movistar)


Previous season top scorers
2007/08 - Karim Bali (F.Topsport Antwerpen) -> 13
2006/07 - Serhiy Sytin (Shakhtar Donetsk) -> 10
2005/06 - Predrag Rajic (Marbo Beograd) -> 12
2004/05 - Sergei Ivanov (Dinamo Moscow) -> 14
2003/04 - André (Charleroi Action 21) -> 19
2002/03 - André (Charleroi Action 21) -> 15
2001/02 - Joan (Playas de Castellón) -> 13




Barbosa looks to future after memorable win

Sunday 26 April 2009

Match review by Eugene Ravdin from Ekaterinburg Palace of Sport

Kairat Almaty clinched third place in the UEFA Futsal Cup courtesy of a hard-fought 1-0 win over MFK Dinamo Moskva, but despite the euphoria of a surprise result for many, victorious coach João Carlos Barbosa warned his team that they still have a lot of work to complete if they hope to one day reach the final. In the opposition camp, Dinamo trainer Yuri Rudnev admitted that his team's semi-final loss to MFK Viz-Sinara Ekaterinburg had deflated them for today's encounter.

João Carlos Barbosa, Kairat coach
First of all, we need to get back down to earth. Kairat are an average team just trying to find their level. Kairat have the right conditions to progress further. From season to season we are trying to improve our technical abilities and infrastructure to reach our ultimate goal, which is to win the UEFA Futsal Cup. This is our fourth season in the UEFA Cup. When I signed my contract [last summer], I said it would take three or four years to reach that goal. That's why I am sure that if we keep our feet on the ground and know what we are capable of, we will reach it.

The hero of the match was our [club] president, who guides the team and believes in it. As for me, I've always thought of a team as a single entity, ever since the very first day of my coaching career. And if you saw the match, what you saw was a collective display. I believe that when you work to reach a certain goal and then reach it, it can't be unexpected. When we lost 5-0 against Interviú [in the semi-finals], it was a catastrophe. Our team were wounded heavily deep down. But we worked on that.

Yuri Rudnev, Dinamo coach
This team set itself the goal of coming first. That is why today we obviously lacked motivation. We tried to give the players that in the first half and during the break. Of course, you can understand them. But, on the other hand, Dinamo have a name and we had to perform at a different level. Given our results in recent years, given the fans and the level of the competition, we had to play decently despite all our troubles.

Judging by the second half, we managed to get to the players' heads and it was a completely different matter after the break, both in terms of chances and performance. But Kairat played very well with regards to the scoreline, packed their defence and with the help of their top-class goalkeeper managed to hold us out. But I cannot blame my players for the second half. We were maybe unlucky or lacked skill, but all credit to their goalkeeper. [Pavel] Stepanov had a great match and I do not blame that goal on him; that was just a stupid deflection. Of course we will play until the very end of the league season and will try to win every match.






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