Courtesy: UEFA.com


Spain through after shoot-out drama

Tuesday 26 January 2010

Match report by Paul Saffer from Fönix Arena

Holders Spain are through to the UEFA European Futsal Championship semi-finals after defeating Russia in an epic penalty shoot-out following the first goalless knockout game in the tournament's history.

Czech tie
Thought by many to be a probable final rather than a last-eight tie, the match was as tight as could be expected between two sets of players so familiar with each other from club and national-team fixtures. Russia goalkeeper Sergei Zeuv was particularly impressive but in the end it was Spain No1 Luis Amado who made the decisive save in shoot-out sudden death, setting up a tie against the Czech Republic here on Thursday.

Early efforts
Having scored 15 goals in their two Group D wins here, Spain began full of confidence and threatened early, Fernandao's shot parried by Zuev but Kike putting the rebound narrowly wide. Zuev also did well to stop Borja's volley from close range while at the other end Amado saw Sergei Sergeev's drive late but still tipped it away.

Goalkeepers impress
That pattern remained that neither side was able to take control and the goalkeepers continued to live up to their respective reputations. Zuev used his legs to deny Javi Rodríguez and Fernandao's shot was deflected wide, while Cirilo nearly deflected in a Konstantin Maevski effort. Daniel and Borja also were unable to beat Zuev late in the first half and Amado kicked away a Pavel Chistopolov effort.

Deadlock
Spain continued to attack after the break. Daniel's back-heel was stopped by Zuev, who also dived to keep out a Jordi Torras long-range strike, and denied the same player one-handed from a free-kick before tipping over Kike's rising drive. Russia were having less possession and in the 34th minute conceded their fifth foul, but that seemed to spur them on and they ended regulation time in improved fashion despite Spain employing Kike as a flying goalkeeper and continuing to make Zuev work.

Shoot-out
At 4-4 after ten penalties, the shoot-out went into sudden death, where both sides scored twice more. Fernandao then converted to give Spain the initiative before the nerveless Amado saved from Konstantin Timoschenkov.




Courtesy: UEFA.com


Portugal glad to fulfil their promise

Tuesday 26 January 2010

Match review by Jim Wirth & Nuno Tavares from Budapest

Captain Arnaldo was proud that his side had "finally delivered what was expected of us" as Portugal beat Serbia 5-1 in Budapest to set up a tie with Azerbaijan in the UEFA European Futsal Championship semi-finals.

On song
After a 5-5 draw against Belarus and a 6-1 loss to Spain, Portugal barely scraped into the knockout stage, but were at their absolute best at the Papp László Arena, assailing Serbia with a dazzling array of speedy counterattacks and relentless pressing. "We finally delivered what everyone expected from us," Arnaldo told uefa.com. "This time we showed just how well we were prepared for our opponents.

'Perfect game'
"We had what I like to call the perfect game," he added. "We analysed Serbia exhaustively and there was always that extra will to prove our worth that is so important in tournaments like this. Now we must continue to push on and we can't only have one perfect game. Azerbaijan is next for us. We faced them in qualifying. If we play like we did tonight it will be very difficult for any team to beat us."

Final destination
Coach Orlando Duarte enjoyed a bus trip around the Hungarian capital during his brief stay in Budapest, but liked what he saw in the match even better, and said: "Our first two matches were like warm-up games. We were a little bit lucky to qualify, but now it is down to how well we can perform. We have not booked our flight home until 31 January and we want to go home having reached the final."

'That was it'
Serbia anchorman Marko Peric was "not that disappointed" to have lost, adding: "The only problem was the scoreline; the margin was too big. At 1-0 down we had a great chance to equalise and right away we conceded on the counterattack. Then another individual mistake made it 3-0 and I realised right away that was it for today and there was no coming back."

'David v Goliath'
While disappointed not to have reached the semi-finals, Serbia coach Aca Kovacevic conceded "before we came here our aim was the quarter-finals; this is a good result given the standard of our league". He will also be leaving Budapest with great memories of their 4-3 win against Russia "and the happiness of our players; we like the David v Goliath thing in Serbia".





Courtesy: UEFA.com


Portugal run Serbia to ground

Wednesday 27 January 2010

Match report by Jim Wirth from Papp László Arena

Portugal booked a UEFA European Futsal Championship semi-final meeting with Azerbaijan in Debrecen on Thursday after relentless pressure, astute tackling and sturdy defending late on earned them victory against an out-of-sorts Serbia.

Joel opener
Portugal took the initiative from the off: Vladimir Ranisavljevic was quick off his line to block Arnaldo's early shot, and no less effective in denying Pedro Costa as Portugal broke away. However, Slobodan Rajcevic had not long been booked for a chop on Joel Queirós when the injured party opened the scoring, steadying himself following an interception outside the box to score.

Last-ditch heroics
When Cardinal lifted the ball over the bar following a dizzying run of quick passes shortly afterwards, Serbia were in danger of being pulled apart by their quick, composed opponents. With Portugal throwing themselves on any loose balls and tackling no less fiercely, it was only down to some last-ditch heroics from Ranisavljevic that the score was only 1-0 at the interval.

Cool finish
A second goal came within three minutes of the restart, a long throw from Bébé, prefereed to João Benedito in goal, catching Serbia napping, with Cardinal sweeping up the left flank to cut the ball into Ranisavljevic's net. Bébé made a fine double save to deny Marko Peric and then Mladen Kocic but before long the game slipped further away from Serbia, Joel surging through on the break to finish coolly.

Opportunist lob
Serbia went further behind when Leitão won the ball from Vladimir Lazic and lifted it over stranded flying goalkeeper Peric from the halfway line. Serbia were handed a lifeline on 36 minutes when Zeljko Borojevic set up Vidan Bojovic to arrow a shot past Bébé from the right flank, but Arnaldo restored the four-goal lead with a neat touch and finish to confirm Portugal's second straight semi-final appearance.





Courtesy: UEFA.com


Positive Spain prove champion status

Tuesday 26 January 2010

Match review by David Baño & Oleg Sokol from Debrecen

Spain coach José Venancio López said his team deserved their UEFA European Futsal Championship quarter-final victory against Russia – despite the holders having to win on penalties after a goalless 40 minutes.

Shoot-out decisive
The champions had the better of the play throughout regulation time, but were continually frustrated by Russia goalkeeper Sergei Zuev. However, in an epic shoot-out Spain's Luis Amado was the hero, saving the eighth Russia effort to decide the game and earn a semi-final on Thursday with the Czech Republic.

Positive approach
"I want to congratulate my players, not only for the victory, but also all they have done on the pitch," Venancio López told uefa.com. "We have shown from the first minute until the last we are a winning team." Indeed, that positive attitude was shown late on when Amado was replaced by Kike as flying goalkeeper.

Taking risks
"We wanted to avoid penalties, as there is always a bit of luck involved," the coach added. "We have come to this tournament with humility, but we have also come to Hungary to become European champions. That is why we took a risk with the flying goalkeeper. In the end, we deserved the victory; it has gone to the team who looked for it the most."

Russia praised
That does not mean that Venancio López was unimpressed by Sergei Skorovich's side. "Russia were great opponents," he continued. "They have a great team, with very talented players, but we were able to control the match. We put a lot of pressure on them by defending in their half. We did not let them play. They only threatened with long-distance shots. We created more chances than them, but we were not able to take them. Their goalkeeper, Zuev, had a great match. He was their best player."

'Beautiful futsal'
Skorovich's first campaign as Russia coach has ended in an early exit but he had the consolation of going out in a top-quality game. "Everybody saw beautiful futsal," he said. "Both teams put on a great performance, there were nice combinations, passion and intensity. To sum up, there was everything that makes futsal better. Unfortunately, we could not score in normal time. As for the penalties, it is always a lottery and our opponents were more lucky this evening. I congratulate them."

Under pressure
While in the second half Spain had the better of the play, Skorovich disagreed they were overrun. "I don't think that after the break we played badly or our opponents had a huge advantage in possession," he said. "We were not dangerous in attack, but don't forget that we were playing against the European champions, who, probably, are the best team on the continent."




Courtesy: UEFA.com


Russia 'breathing down Spain's necks'

Wednesday 27 January 2010

by Oleg Sokol from Debrecen

Russia had been tipped as likely finalists before the UEFA European Futsal Championship kicked off but although their campaign was instead ended in the last eight on penalties by Spain, captain Konstantin Maevski said they were knocked out by the only side that stood in their way of the trophy.

Shoot-out loss
A 4-3 loss to Serbia in their last group game meant Russia did not go into the opposite half of the draw to the other final favourites but instead had to transfer from Budapest to Debrecen to play holders Spain. The 40 minutes were goalless but after an epic shoot-out, Russia lost 7-6.

Sole barrier
Maevski told uefa.com that although his side had their earliest exit since 2003, they were effectively within an ace of their first title in eleven years. "Maybe it is better that we have played Spain in the quarter-final, not in the final," the MFK Dinamo Moskva player said. "If we had won, than we would have had an easy road to gold. I don't want to offend other teams, but they are obviously weaker than Spain."

Single aim
Of course, that does not lessen the pain, as the experienced Maevski pointed out. "Those players who have never played at the European Championship are really shocked now," he said, "but I can tell you, that they would have been shocked in the same way if we had met Spain in the final. We came here with the goal of taking gold. And I knew that we had to beat Spain to achieve that. And I personally don't care when we played Spain – in the final or the quarter-final. Eighth place and second are the same for me."

Russian development
The 30-year-old, who helped Russia finish second and third in his previous EURO finals, is not planning an international retirement, and believes his side are nearing in on the title, not least with the victories of both Dinamo and MFK Viz-Sinara Ekaterinburg against Spanish sides in recent UEFA Futsal Cups. "Spain can feel us breathing down their necks," he said. "Moreover, at club level we are already better as Russian clubs have won two of the last three UEFA Futsal Cups. Futsal is developing in the right way. Good finances have helped to make the league better, the players are progressing and at the same time the national team is also becoming stronger. Moreover, we have drawn against Spain in normal time; the last time that happened was long ago."


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