Courtesy: The FA.com


Helvecia give England pride in Europe

By Simon Walker

Monday, 24 August, 2009

FA Futsal Cup winners were in UEFA action in Finland this weekend.

English Futsal has rarely had much to shout about in UEFA Cup exploits – both internationally and in club competitions but this year has seen a marked improvement with Helvecia, the English Futsal national champions following on from where the England team left off in March.

England surprised the rest of Europe by finishing second in their UEFA European Futsal Championship qualifying group in Dublin, narrowly missing out on a place in the next round. And this shock turn-around in English Futsal fortunes has been replicated by Helvecia. This weekend witnessed Helvecia competing in the UEFA Futsal Cup Preliminary round in Helsinki, competing against the national champions from France, Finland and Scotland, with the winner progressing to the main round of the competition.

The general consensus outside of England was that this contest was between the French and Finnish sides, with the England and Scottish teams fighting it out for last place. Helvecia soon put the sword to this notion, with a devastatingly effective performance in their opening match against Roubaix from France. A 6 – 4 scoreline flattered the French team; admittedly they were strong in the first half but struggled to maintain their intensity into the second period. Helvecia, guided by the influential performances of their captain Raoni Pinto and their playmaker Elizandro de Lima, never look overly troubled and indeed should have finished the game with a more commanding scoreline.

This opening performance from Helvecia soon had every Futsal fan in Helsinki reconsidering the dynamics of the group. The Finnish club, Golden Futsal Team (GFT), had looked well organised and strong tactically in their stroll to victory against the Scots, but they didn’t seem to possess the same electric dynamism or attacking fervour of Helvecia. The match between GFT and the English champions would surely determine who would qualify to the next round of the competition.

Helvecia started the game confidently, controlling the tempo and rhythm of the match and having significantly greater possession. In the opening ten minutes of the game, Helvecia had a number of presentable opportunities to take the lead in front of the largest crowd of the tournament. But GFT, against the run of play took their first presentable chance to give them a 1-0 lead. This settled GFT, who began playing with greater assurance, and ruffled the composure of Helvecia. GFT, tactically astute, with a solid defensive line sitting deep in their half and allowing Helvecia time with the ball, patiently waited for Helvecia’s mistakes. And mistakes aplenty Helvecia made in the following five minutes before half-time. Rushing to get back into the game, Helvecia time-and-again squandered possession to allow GFT to explode into exhilarating counter-attacks; Helvecia did not heed this dormant GFT threat, and paid with conceding two further goals before half-time.

At 3-0 down, surely the game was finished – this was the confident murmurings of the crowd. Helvecia had other thoughts. A reinvigorated Helvecia charged back at the Finnish team, scoring within 13 seconds of the re-start. Helvecia played with an incredible intensity that soon cost them. Their passion and commitment soon saw them rack up an incredible five fouls in the space of the opening four minutes of the second half. For the remaining sixteen minutes of the game they would need to play with the ever-present threat that the next foul Helvecia conceded would result in a penalty. At 4-2 to GFT, with Helvecia looking the dominant force, a needless foul was committed by Bruno Ferrage which allowed the player of the tournament, GFT’s Panu Autio to smash home the resulting penalty.

Although Ferrage atoned for his error with a goal of his own, Helvecia wasted a number of glorious opportunities including a penalty to get themselves back level with the Finnish team. At 5-3, Autio sealed the game for GFT with his fourth goal of the game. The game finished 6-4 and Helvecia could have no complaints. Although there was little to differentiate between the teams, the tactical maturity of GFT saw the game swing in their favour.

GFT confirmed their place in the next round with a convincing win against the French, but Helvecia still needed to address the traditional Anglo-Celtic rivalry in their final game when they played FC Santos. Helvecia obliged by smashing the Scots 11-2, with eight different goalscorers and giving Santos a masterclass in Futsal.

Although this barnstorming victory and second place in the group does not alleviate the feeling and pain that perhaps Helvecia could have gone one further by winning the group, the progress that English Futsal teams have made this year should not be underestimated. England are beginning to make big strides in the Futsal world, and winning these UEFA qualifying groups both for the national team and for the English representative club’s should be a realistic target in future years. Look out Europe!








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