Courtesy: UEFA.com

Note: due to the fact that this report has been written before the end of the past season, some indications will result as wrong

Team Profile: Belarus

The sport of mini-football, similar to futsal, was popular in the former Soviet Union and in 1990, when FIFA codified the sport, the first Belarussian national competition was organised, won by FC Pagonya-Mensk Minsk. The Belarus Futsal Association was founded two years later and the national team made their bow on 5 June 1994, losing 2-1 to Ukraine in a Minsk friendly.

They were rarely close to major tournament qualification until the 2001 UEFA European Futsal Championship, denied 4-3 by Italy, and for the 2004 FIFA Futsal World Cup they made the play-offs but lost to Ukraine, similarly in 2008 against Russia. Their wait has been ended this time around.

How they qualified
Belarus gave notice of their intentions in their Group 4 opener in Kaunas when they dispatched hosts Lithuania 6-0. They challenged Italy before losing 3-0 to the 2007 runners-up, but a 2-0 win against Georgia with goals from Aleksei Popov and Aliaksandr Haiduk ensured they were one of the four best runners-up to book places in Hungary.

Key players
Teamwork was the key to Belarus making it to the finals and they are not a squad of stars, but do have a solid backbone. Aleksandr Savintsev is their record cap-holder while FC Mapid Minsk colleague Vladimir Levus is the captain and top scorer. Sergei Kuznetsov, Aleksei Popov and Dmitri Eliseev are also among the key performers but Vadim Lushkovsk, the Belarus league's best player of 2008/09, is injured.

Tournament record
2007: Did not qualify
2005: Did not qualify
2003: Did not qualify
2001: Did not qualify
1999: Did not qualify
1996: Did not qualify



Coach Profile: Valeri Dosko

Date of birth: 17 June 1963

Coaching career: FC Stroyzakaz Minsk/FC Akademia Minsk, FC Dorozhnik Minsk, Belarus

Though 45-year-old FC Dorozhnik Minsk and Belarus coach Valeri Dosko never played at a professional level, he succeeded immediately as a coach. After taking charge of FC Stroyzakaz Minsk, later renamed FC Akademia Minsk, in 1992 Dosko led them to Belarussian title in his first season at the helm, and again in 1996/97.

Following that victory he moved to Dorozhnik securing title wins in 1998/99 and every season from 2001/02 until 2005/06. He has also led his current club in five UEFA Futsal Cup campaigns, making the eight-team second qualifying round in 2004/05. In 2002 he added the role of national coach to his Dorozhnik position, and has overseen a gradual improvement; the expansion of the UEFA European Futsal Championship finals to 12 teams for the 2010 edition proved an opportunity Belarus were more than willing to accept.


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