Courtesy: UEFA.com


Strong rivals stand in Murcia's way

Tuesday 17 November 2009

Four established UEFA Futsal Cup forces will be in Italy for Elite round Group 1 from Thursday until Sunday. ElPozo Murcia FS have twice reached the four-team finals but the Spanish side face a real threat from their last opponents, hosts Luparense Calcio A5. Former winners Action 21 Charleroi have a young team but a great European tradition and Iberia 2003 Tbilisi, competition ever-presents, will look to upset the odds.

Luparense Calcio A5
Having won the last three Scudettos, Luparense are aiming to make the most of home advantage at the Zoppas Arena in Conegliano and become the first Italian team to reach the UEFA Futsal Cup finals. Unbeaten at the top of Serie A1, they are being coached this season by Federico Montaldo Vidal. Jairo Manoel scored eight goals in their Main round Group 1-clinching 10-0 defeat of Hungarian hosts MVFC Berettyóújfalu. The coach told uefa.com: "An Italian team has never qualified for the finals; this is a chance for us to make history. To speak about ElPozo Murcia means to speak about one of the best futsal teams in the world. They have the same basis of players every year and they play from memory. But if we want to reach the finals, we must compete with a side of this quality."

Main round: SC Tornado Chisinau 10-0, FC Time Lviv 3-3, MVFC Berettyóújfalu 10-0 (Group 1 winners)

Key players: Jairo Manoel, Anderson Pellegrini, Humberto Honorio


ElPozo Murcia FS
Having been beaten on penalties in the 2008 UEFA Futsal Cup final and in the last second as hosts in the semis the year before, Murcia are back in Europe as Spanish champions and aiming to win their first UEFA Futsal Cup. Duda's side are two points behind Interviú Madrid this season after a 3-3 home draw against their arch-rivals on Saturday, a game Murcia led 3-0 after eleven minutes, and the coach knows it is tricky to balance a tough domestic campaign with a European bid. "I don't see winning the trophy as some kind of obsession but the fact is that the management team must keep this Elite Round in mind," he said. "We will compete in Europe with three games in just four days and we can't afford to slip up because the Futsal Cup is one of our objectives this season."

Main round: bye

Key players: Kike, Álvaro, Vinicius Elías


Action 21 Charleroi
Charleroi, runners-up in 2002 and 2003 and winners in 2005, have been building a new young team but that does not mean that they are not aiming to reach the semi-finals for the first time since 2007. Coach Pedro Medina, whose side lie sixth in Belgium, told uefa.com: "I hope that we'll have a good tournament and it will help the team to acquire more experience because they are young. We've had a lot of changes in the team this year and I've a team in formation, so our goal is to play good games and to gain experience, but we always play to win."

Main round: Athina '90 Athens 4-2, Golden Futsal Team 3-0, Skövde AIK 10-1 (Group 3 winners)

Key players: Sebastiano Canaris, Liliu, Lúcio Rosa, Valentin Dujacquier


Iberia 2003 Tbilisi
Iberia are the only team to have entered every edition of this competition but the perennial Georgian champions made it through a round for the first time this season. They warmed up for the trip to Italy with a 4-3 win against Azerbaijan's Ekol Baku but since the Main round, when they were under the command of president Vakhtang Tsereteli, Brazilian Adriano Roberto Salomão has been appointed coach. "We have already achieved our minimum goal," player Aleksandr Dzabiradze said. "It'll be extremely tough to reach the semi-finals because of the strong opposition including 2005 UEFA Futsal cup winners Action 21 Charleroi, but we'll try and see."

Main round: Erebuni Yerevan 5-0, FC Marlène 2-0, FC CIP Deva 3-5 (Group 6 runners-up)

Key players: Everson Bohm (goalkeeper), George Altunashvili, Duda



Courtesy: UEFA.com


Ekaterinburg begin bid at Benfica

Tuesday 17 November 2009

MFK Viz-Sinara Ekaterinburg begin their bid to regain the UEFA Futsal Cup on Thursday in Elite round Group B, hosted by former finalists SL Benfica. Those two meet in the last game on Sunday, but challenges also come from Dutch champions FC Marlène and European debutants MNK Potpićan 98 of Croatia.

SL Benfica
Benfica clinched their fifth Portuguese title since 2002 last season, their third in a row, and are now aiming to match their run to the 2004 UEFA Futsal Cup final. Unbeaten in the league, they trail CF Os Belenenses by two points but their dominant Main round display has given them high hopes in this mini-tournament. "We are going to the Elite round with many dreams," said coach André Lima. "We faced the Main round matches with great determination and professionalism as we are in a good period. We could also improve in the near future."

Main round: Montenegro Stars Budva 15-1, Viten Orsha 7-1, KMN Puntar 4-1 (Group 4 winners)

Key players: Ricardinho, César Paulo, Joel Queirós, Pedro Costa.


MFK Viz-Sinara Ekaterinburg
UEFA Futsal Cup winners at their first attempt in 2007/08, Ekaterinburg were beaten in the final as hosts last season but had the consolation of a maiden Russian championship and since then have strengthened with the signing of experienced forward Oleg Kazakov from MFK Mytischi. In the finals in April they were missing the talented Dmitri Prudnikov, but he is back from his ankle injury and Viz are yet to drop a point in the Russian league, which is experimenting with 50-minute games this season. "We want to reach the maximum, to win every game," sais coach Sergei Skorovich ,who has a full-strength squad. "Of course, Benfica are our main opponents. They have outstanding players like Ricardinho and they're playing at home. Obviously, Croatia champions Potpićan will show extreme commitment, while the Netherlands have always been good at futsal, so we should approach the Marlène game at full alert."

Main round: bye

Key players: Sergei Zuev (goalkeeper), Dmitri Prudnikov, Damir Khamadiev


FC Marlène
Marlène are at this stage for the first time and coach Kenneth Goudmijn is well aware they are up against it. "I think Benfica and Ekatarinburg have the best chances of winning the group, and that we are pretty much equally matched with Potpićan," he told uefa.com. Goudmijn's side are struggling in the Topdivisie, in eighth place with six points from five games. "It is true that until now we have had a difficult season," the coach added. "We have played pretty well but we have failed to hit the target. So the Elite Round comes at the right moment, because it will be good to be in another environment for a while and play against the absolute best."

Main round: FC CIP Deva 3-0, Iberia 2003 Tbilisi 0-2, Erebuni Yerevan 9-0 (Group 6 winners)

Key players: Roy Huisman, Jeroen Kossen, Amir Mokarai, Sander de Zwart


MNK Potpićan 98
The Croatian representatives also accept outsider status but are determined to do themselves justice. "We already achieved something big for our club," secretary Ivan Stanić said. "Although we are going there as an underdogs, we will try to prove we have quality. The other clubs have spent a lot more, also they play better opposition than us, that's why they have a big advantage." Potpićan are hoping defender Alen Lalić will be back from injury to play in Lisbon.

Main round: KMF Kolubara 4-3, AC Omonia 3-3, Araz Naxçivan 4-4 (Group 5 runners-up)

Key players: Robert Funčić (goalkeeper), Patrik Drndić, Alen Lalić






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