Courtesy: UEFA.com


Azzurri and Ukraine want win to stay put

Saturday 23 January 2010

Match preview by Francesco Corda & Paul Saffer from Debrecen

Italy and Ukraine may be going into their UEFA European Futsal Championship Group B decider on Saturday already assured of quarter-final berths, but there is plenty to play for.

First-place race
Both sides opened their campaigns by defeating Belgium, Italy's 4-0 victory on Tuesday outdoing Ukraine's 4-2 triumph two days later. That means that the Azzurri need only a point to top the group and stay in Debrecen for a quarter-final against the Czech Republic or Hungary on Monday, while the runners-up must travel to Budapest to take on impressive Group A winners Azerbaijan.

Staying put
Azzurri coach Roberto Menichelli, for whom Vinicius Bacaro has shaken off his knee problem, told uefa.com: "To finish first in the group is definitely important. By winning we could perhaps have an easier game, moreover if we finish second we would have to transfer to Budapest and that would be a further difficulty, because it unsettles things a little."

Upper hand
These two traditional futsal forces have met many times but Italy currently hold the upper hand with five straight wins – the first of those their 1-0 defeat of Ukraine in the 2003 final on home soil, when Menichelli was assistant coach. "Historically Ukraine are a very physically strong team, but also with technical qualities," he said. "They are strong and dangerous, have done well in the past and they were our opponents in the final in Caserta in 2003. It is a top-level game."

Trailing
Ukraine coach Gennadiy Lysenchuk adopted a positive approach on Thursday in an attempt to overtake Italy on goal difference, employing a flying goalkeeper with the score at 4-1 only to concede at the death. "We wanted to beat Belgium by more than Italy did," he said. "We needed to score the fifth goal, but two mistakes at the end meant we didn't. The chance of being able to play for a draw against Italy would have been great, but now we have to prepare ourselves for a win."

Italian strength
Lysenchuk, able to call on Mykhaylo Romanov following suspension, knows that will not be easy. "We watched the game between Belgium and Italy, and we saw that Italy were strong, but we will try our best," he said, before adding of their first result: "I'm sure a lot of people watched this game in Ukraine and were pleased with our win. It is a difficult time in Ukraine right now and I hope with this win we can help in our own way."





Courtesy: UEFA.com


Karembeu thrilled by futsal show

Saturday 23 January 2010

by Paul Saffer from Debrecen

Christian Karembeu is no stranger to futsal; he has played the sport around the world in recent years in a team of France '98 winners including Zinédine Zidane. However, he has been enjoying his role as spectator this week as a UEFA European Futsal Championship tournament ambassador in Hungary.

Hungarian travels
The 1998 UEFA Champions League winner with Real Madrid FC took in the Azerbaijan against Czech Republic game in Budapest on Thursday and then travelled to Debrecen the next day to see Portugal and Belarus play out a thrilling 5-5 draw. In both venues he performed a ceremonial kick-off – in Debrecen passing the ball to the mascot, who promptly scored from the halfway line to huge applause – and took time out to sign autographs and pose for photos with fans.

Atmosphere
"I am enjoying the tournament," Karembeu said. "I have to congratulate the organisers because I was very surprised; I enjoyed the games and have seen many impressive things. In particular, the noise of the crowd. I like the atmosphere. When it is indoors, the fans are right on top of the players – it puts pressure on them for sure, but also gives them pleasure."

France hope
Karembeu's own career path took him into the outdoor game, but he believes "if I had started very young, I could have been one of the best futsal players". However, the French futsal team has not matched the feats of their football counterparts, losing – though only narrowly– in EURO qualifying to the more established Russia, Slovenia and Montenegro, but Karembeu concluded: "I hope that France can have a great futsal team because we have the facilities."




Courtesy: UEFA.com


Hosts Hungary look to upset old order

Saturday 23 January 2010

Match preview by Jim Wirth from Budapest

Coach Mihály Kozma is backing Hungary to create an upset as they bid to beat the Czech Republic to earn a last-eight place, saying: "It will be an upset if we get a result against them, but we believe we can do it."

Bruising encounters
The UEFA European Futsal Championship hosts lost 3-1 to Azerbaijan in the opening game of the tournament, but the Czech Republic had an even more bruising encounter with the Group A winners, going down 6-1 on Thursday. Hungary know that a draw in the sold-out Papp László Arena will guarantee them a last-eight meeting with the Group B winners – Italy or Ukraine – in Tuesday's second quarter-final in Debrecen.

Upset target
While Hungary are only in their second final tournament, the Czech Republic are playing in their fifth in a row. They beat Hungary 4-3 in their only previous competitive meeting, a 1999 EURO qualifier, but more recently won 1-0 in a friendly in Budapest. They are a more established force in the world of futsal, but Kozma believes his side have a chance. "The Czech Republic are always in the finals of European Championships," said the coach. "They are an experienced team and big fighters; very focused. It will be an upset if we get a result against them, but we believe we can do it."

Missed chances
Forward Zsolt Gyurcsányi hopes his side have learned the lessons of their defeat to Azerbaijan, when chances went unconverted, telling uefa.com: "We made a lot of mistakes especially close to the goal. We had the chances, but we lacked the killer touch, and our play was not quick enough. On Saturday, I expect a completely different match in which the task for the team is to score half of our chances."

'Played terribly'
For the Czechs' part, coach Tomas Neumann may choose to recall captain Martín Dlouhy, rested for tactical reasons in the opening game. Captain David Fric said: "We missed Dlouhy very much. He's a very good player who scores a lot of goals. Against Azerbaijan we kept hitting the post or the bar; he would have scored with chances like those." Neumann, meanwhile, believed the two sides' mental strength would be tested to the limits. "Both teams played terribly against Azerbaijan," he said. "We will see which team deals with that defeat better."




Courtesy: UEFA.com


Portugal plan to show true face to Spain

Saturday 23 January 2010

Match preview by Paul Saffer & David Baño from Debrecen

Just two days after their sapping 5-5 draw with Belarus, Portugal take on UEFA European Futsal Championship holders Spain seeking a big improvement.

Consolation
Spain opened Group D with a record 9-1 defeat of Belarus, but Portugal had to come back from 4-2 down against the same opponents, who then struck a last-gasp equaliser for a surprise point. Despite that, Portugal will reach the quarter-finals unless they lose to Spain by more than Belarus did, and that is a consolation for coach Orlando Duarte, for whom a victory would mean staying in Debrecen for Tuesday's last-eight game as group winners rather than having to travel to Budapest to potentially play Russia.

Improvement needed
"It was not a positive result but Belarus are in a worse position than us as they lost 9-1 to Spain and I don't think we will suffer a similar result," Duarte said. "No two matches go the same way. Belarus played differently against us because it was a decisive game for them but I don't think this result will affect the team. We still have it in our hands to finish top but we have to think about what went wrong and try to put it right against Spain."

Spain plans unchanged
The holders now are assured a quarter-final berth, but know full well the strength of Portugal as in the last four in Porto in 2007, Spain trailed the hosts 2-0 late on before a comeback saw them level the scores and then win the game on penalties. This year Spain have beaten their neighbours 1-0 and 4-1 in friendlies but despite Friday's slip-up for Portugal, coach José Venancio López – who may be missing Fernandao through injury – is taking the challenge seriously. After watching the draw between Portugal and Belarus from the stands, he told uefa.com: "This result does not change our plans; we will play them the same as we did against Belarus. Portugal are a great team and they have pretty much qualified, so that will free them to play without pressure."

Ricardinho factor
Defender Kike, a veteran of many encounters with Portugal, believes the injury absence of perhaps the most important player from their opponents' ranks could actually help their cause. "They are missing Ricardinho and everybody says it will be negative for Portugal, but I think it will very positive for their team spirit; it will get all the players closer and they will have more responsibility, which will be good for their self-confidence," he argued.




Courtesy: UEFA.com


Kovacevic eager to avoid Spain barrier

Saturday 23 January 2010

Match preview by Jim Wirth from Budapest

Defeats in their three previous competitive meetings with Russia will not deter Serbia as they bid for top spot in UEFA European Futsal Championship Group C on Sunday, with the desire to stay in Budapest – and avoid playing Spain – motivating coach Aca Kovacevic.

World-beaters
Russia beat Serbia 5-2 in a qualifier for the 2005 edition, and then 5-3 in the 2007 finals before edging out Kovacević's side 3-2 in 2008 FIFA Futsal World Cup qualifying. The margin of victory has been reducing by one goal with every game, implying that Serbia are slowly closing the gap. "We know Russia very well," said Kovacevic, whose team trail Russia on goal difference after both defeated Slovenia to book quarter-final places. "They are one of the best teams in the world at the moment but we have to do our best to finish top of the group and maybe stay in Budapest."

Spain imperative
The group winners will get to play their last-eight tie back at the Papp László Arena on Tuesday, and seem more likely to avoid Group D powerhouses Spain, who are expected to beat Portugal to top spot in their section to earn the right to face the Group C runners-up over in Debrecen. "Our dream for the quarter-finals is to avoid Spain," said Kovacevic. "They are the reigning European champions and they were fantastic in their first game. We would rather face Portugal. No team in this tournament wants to play Spain."

'Full throttle'
A 2-0 win against Slovenia in their opening game of the tournament has ensured that Serbia – like Russia – are guaranteed a knockout berth regardless of the result of the game against Russia, but like his coach, MFK Dina Moskva forward Marko Peric knows that they can ill afford defeat. "Trying to avoid Spain the play-offs by beating Russia is very important," he told uefa.com. "However it will be equally hard against Russia and Spain. We need to play at full throttle; it's going to be exciting."

Skorovich promise
Serbia's Vladimir Lazic and Russia captain Konstantin Maevski are both within a booking of a one-match ban after receiving yellow cards in their opening fixtures. Russia coach Sergei Skorovich, meanwhile, is promising an improvement on the form that saw them beat Slovenia 5-1 in their opener. "We allowed Slovenia to score once, which is a bit unfortunate, but it is what it is," he said. "We will try to improve in quality with each match. We cannot think not about the quarter-finals, but only about the match against Serbia."


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