Courtesy: UEFA.com


Belarus aim to 'play out of our skins'

Thursday 14 January 2010

by Oleg Sokol

Belarus could not have asked for a tougher draw on their UEFA European Futsal Championship debut, matched with holders Spain and 2007 semi-finalists Portugal in Group D in Debrecen. They take on the holders first up on Wednesday, but although coach Valeri Dasko will be without key players in Hungary, he promised to uefa.com that they would "give a good account of ourselves".

uefa.com: Did the expansion of the finals from eight to 12 teams make a difference to your team, knowing you had a much better chance of qualifying?
Valeri Dasko: Definitely. The change is a step forward in futsal's development and popularity. Teams like Belarus have more chance of qualifying and the attitude to our teams has improved. Right after we passed through qualification we were invited to play against strong teams like Brazil and Libya. That had not happened in the past. As for inside the country, futsal was and is a huge sport. We have 16 teams in the top league, which represents every region. More than 100 teams are based in Minsk.


uefa.com: You have very strong opponents in the group. What can you say about them?
Dasko: Spain are the titleholders and undoubtedly the best team in Europe at the moment. They are tournament favourites. The last time they lost to European opponents was in 2005. Portugal were semi-finalists in the last tournament. They have a strong squad. Despite the fact that Ricardinho is injured, they should finish in the top four, but, of course, we will do our best to upset them.


uefa.com: What is the aim of your team in Hungary?
Dasko: To gain experience and to give a good account of ourselves. If we play out of our skins, we can reach the knockout phase. But unfortunately, we have big problems with the squad. Our best player - Vadim Lushkovski, the Belarus league's best player of 2008/09 - as well as Ilya Gorin and Aleksei Yuraga are injured, and they are very experienced players. Moreover, talented striker Vladimir Zhdanovich also will not be with us. We will have several young players. We are in the process of generational change.


uefa.com: Do you think that some of your players will be afraid of the names of your opponents?
Dasko: No, I don't think that there will be any fear. However, some of them may have the jitters. We are working on that, talking to the players. Despite everything, still we have enough players with European experience, so I hope it will all be fine.


uefa.com: Do you think your opponents underestimate Belarus?
Dasko: Yes. I don't think that Spain will take us seriously. Portugal, however, should remember our last meeting in Portugal, which was in 2003. We lost just 4-3, conceding the fourth goal in the last minute. They still have the same coach – Orlando Duarte – who, I think, will not have forgetten that encounter.



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