Futsal/Indoor Soccer World News
February 26, 2003

News and information on Futsal/Indoor Soccer from around the world

EUROPE

2002-03 UEFA FUTSAL CUP SECOND ROUND GROUP MATCHES TO TAKE PLACE IN BELGIUM, ITALY

Belgium and Italy will host the second round group matches for the UEFA Futsal Cup that will run from Mar. 14-24, 2003. Charleroi, Belgium will host Group A, from Mar. 18-21, that includes Antena Boomerang (Spain), MNK Split (Croatia) and Norilsky Nickel (Russia) joining last year’s UEFA Futsal Cup runners-up Action 21 Charleroi (Belgium). Prato, Italy is the venue for Group B from Mar. 21-24, that is composed of FC Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukraine), KMF Nis (Yugoslavia), Prato C/5 (Italy) and the defending champion Playas de Castellón (Spain). Each group winner will advance to a two-game final, with the first one taking place between Apr. 14-20 and the second from Apr. 28 – May 4.

2002-03 UEFA Futsal Cup Second Round Groups – Mar. 17-23, 2003

Group A (Charleroi, Belgium)
Action 21 Charleroi (BEL)
Norilsky Nickel (RUS)
MNK Split (CRO)
Antena Boomerang (ESP)

Group B (Prato, Italy)
FC Shakhtar Donetsk (UKR)
Prato C/5 (ITA)
Playas de Castellón (ESP)
KMF Nis (YUG)

ITALY CROWNED 2003 UEFA CHAMPIONS

Italy’s Futsal National Team became the first host nation to be crowned UEFA (European) Champions as they topped the Ukraine in the 2003 finals 1:0 at the Palamaggiò Hall in Caserta on Feb. 24. Italian forward Vinicius Bacaro scored the only goal of the match in the 30th minute of the second half for the victory, as the Ukraine lose for the second consecutive time at the UEFA Futsal Championship Finals. Prior to the 2003 championship match, Italy advanced to the finals after stunning the defending UEFA Champion Spain 2:1 in the semifinals on Feb. 22. Italy used two tallies by forward Adriano Foglia to jump out to a 2:0 edge with eight minutes left in the game. An own goal by the host cut the lead to 2:1 in the 35th minute of the sec ond half but the Italians held on for the win. In the other semifinal, two goals by forward Igor Moskvychov paced the Ukraine to a 5:1 victory over the Czech Republic on Feb. 22.

2003 UEFA Futsal Championship
February 17-22 in Caserta and Aversa Italy

* Advance to Semifinals

Group A
GP W-L-T GF:GA PTS
Italy * 3 3-0-0 8:2 9
Czech Republic * 3 2-1-0 11:9 6
Russia 3 1-2-0 5:6 3
Slovenia 3 0-3-0 7:14 0

Group B
GP W-L-T GF:GA PTS
Ukraine * 3 2-1-0 14:6 6
Spain * 3 1-0-2 7:4 5
Portugal 3 1-1-1 10:12 4
Belgium 3 0-2-1 5:11 1

Feb. 17
Italy – Slovenia, 2:1
Czech Republic – Russia, 2:1
Portugal – Spain, 3:3
Ukraine – Belgium, 7:2

Feb. 18
Italy – Czech Republic, 5:1
Russia – Slovenia, 4:3
Belgium – Spain, 1:1
Ukraine – Portugal, 7:4

Feb. 20
Italy – Russia, 1:0
Czech Republic – Slovenia, 8:3
Spain – Ukraine, 3:0
Portugal – Belgium, 3:2

Feb. 22
Semifinals:
Italy – Spain, 2:1
Ukraine – Czech Republic, 5:1

Feb. 24
Final: Italy – Ukraine, 1:0

MOLDOVA’S FC CAMELOT WINS LOUGHNANE SPORTSWEAR CUP IN DUBLIN

FC Camelot of Moldova’s Professional Futsal League won the 2003 Loughnane Sportswear Cup in Dublin, Ireland with a 6:1 victory in the final over the Birkenhead side’s Tranmere Victoria on Feb. 22. Prior to the final, FC Camelot opened the one-day event with a 2:1 win over the youthful Lancashire side of Santos in Group A play. After trouncing the Grimsby team of Grainthorpe 12:0, the Moldovan club concluded group play with a 1:0 victory over the Dublin Select Team. FC Camelot advanced to the semifinals and posted a convincing 4:1 win over Scotland’s Futsal National Team. For more information check www.futsalireland.com.

2003 Loughname Sportswear Cup
February 22 in Dublin, Ireland

* Advance to Semifinals

Final Groups, Results

Group A
GP W-L-T GF:GA PTS
FC Camelot * 3 3-0-0 15:1 9
Dublin Select * 3 2-1-0 10:1 6
Santos 3 1-2-0 7:4 3
Grainthorpe 3 0-3-0 0:26 0

Group B
GP W-L-T GF:GA PTS
Tranmere Victoria * 3 3-0-0 6:1 9
Scotland * 3 2-1-0 12:3 6
Northern Ireland 3 0-2-1 2:8 1
Midlands 3 0-2-1 2:10 1

Feb. 22
Group A
Camelos - Santos 2-1
Dublin - Grainthorpe 8-0
Camelot - Grainthorpe 12-0
Dublin - Santos 2-0
Camelot - Dublin 1-0
Santos - Grainthorpe 6-0

Group B
Scotland - Tranmere Victoria 0-2
Midlands - Northern Ireland 1-1
Scotland - Northern Ireland 4-0
Midlands - Tranmere Victoria 0-1
Scotland - Midlands 8-1
Tranmere Victoria - Northern Ireland 3-1

7-8 Place
Grainthorpe - Midlands 3-7

5-6 Place
Santos - Northern Ireland 3-2

Semi-finals
Camelot - Scotland 4-1
Tranmere Victoria - Dublin 3-1

Final
Camelot - Tranmere Victoria 6-1

FUTSAL PLANET’S (www.futsalplanet.com)
“2002 WORLD PLAYER OF THE YEAR”
RESULTS

MANOEL TOBIAS WINS THIRD FUTSAL PLANET “WORLD PLAYER OF THE YEAR" AWARD

Brazilian midfielder Manoel Tobias Da Cruz Jr. won his third consecutive Futsal Planet “World Player of the Year” on Feb. 16, 2003. The website, which is based in Italy, crowned Manoel Tobias for a third time in as many years as “World Player of the Year” after receiving 282 points in the final voting. Spain’s midfielder Daniel Ibañes Caetano took second with 251 points, while Brazilian forward Schumacher finished third with 210 points. The 2002 edition of the Futsal Planet’s website voting featured Futsal experts (Coaches, Federation Presidents, Journalists, Press Officers, etc.) from around the globe.

SPAIN LEADS EUROPEAN BATCH

Along with the second spot, Spain also had 12 more players receiving votes. The 13 total, with seven in the top 25, are the most by any European team on the 2002 ballots. With Daniel Ibañes Caetano at the runners-up position in the 2002, midfielder Kike Boned Guillot took the fourth spot, while forward Javi Rodriguez finished sixth. Here are the remaining Spanish players with their respective places: Paulo Roberto # 7, Joan Linares Rodriguez #8, Javi Sanchez Franco #11, Luis Amado #18, Oscar Redondo Olivencia Tied #36, Jesus Claveria Dominguez T#36, Edesio Rodrigues Das Gracas #40, Javier Orol Sanchez #42, Javier Lorente Penas T#45, Felipe Hernandez Yague T#62.

Remaining UEFA Players and Final Results (#Place on Ballot):

Azerbaijan – Azimov T#75; Belgium – Tim Vergauwen T#50; Croatia – Nikola Tomicic T#36, Bozidar Butigan T#50, Robert Grdovic T#58, Mico Martic T#75; Czech Republic – Michal Mares T#45, Roman Mares T#45; France – Jean Pierre Sabani T#62; Georgia – David Sologashvili T#75; Greece – Takis Lioutas T#75, Elias Bousmpouras T#75; Holland – Edwin Grunholz #31, Henny Lettinck T#62, Pascal Langenhuijsen T#62; Hungary – Ivan Toth T#75; Italy – Adriano Foglia #19, Daverson Franzoi T#2 3, Darley Fernando Grana T#25, Andrea Bearzi Piccinini T#29, Andrea Rubei T#62, Fabrizio Amoroso T#75, Luca Ippoliti T#75, Leandro De Martini T#75; Macedonia – Goran Mitev T#75; Portugal – Pedro Alexandre Silva Da Costa #34, Joao Benedito T#50, Arnaldo Augusto Rodrigues Pereira T#58, Ivan Almeida Dias T#62, Joel Ricardo Ribeiro Queiros T#75; Russia – Sergey Ivanov #43, Igor Dassaev T#25, Gennady Ionov T#50, Serguei Malychev T#62, Denis Agafonov T#62, Oleg Denisov T#62, Alexander Verizhnikov T#62; Slovenia – Milivoje Simeunovic T#45; Serbia & Montenegro (formally Yugoslavia) – Predrag Rajic T#50; Ukraine – Serhiy Koridze #9, Igor Moskvytochov #29, Olexandr Kosenko #49

BRAZIL DOMINATES SOUTH AMERICAN CONTINGENT

Brazil dominated the South American contingent at the 2002 Futsal Planet.com “World Player of the Year” balloting with 21 total players receiving votes. Argentina was second with five players, Paraguay was third with two and Colombia was fourth with one.

South American Players Final Results (# Place of Ballot):

Argentina – Carlos Sanchez #16, Leandro Planas T#36, Fernando Ariel Wilhelm T#62, Diego Giustozzi T#75, Massimo Quattrini T#75; Brazil – Manuel Tobias Da Cruz Jr. #1, Lenisio Teixeira Jr. #5, Vander Caricoa #10, Marco Aurelio Dos Santos T#13, Fininho P.S. Lira Goes T#13, Alessandro Rosa Vieira #17, Choco Carlos Roberto da Silva #22, Dovenir Domingues Neto T#23, Julio Cesar Simonato T#27, Euler Coelho Marques #29, Lucio Carlos Rosa Lima T#32, Pablo De Almeida Ribeiro T#42, Vinicius Elias Teixeira T#50, Claudio Leandro T#50, Luiz Claudio Costa T#50, Lavoisier Freire Martins T#58, Robson Fernandes T#58, Andre Luiz De Oliveira Vanderlei T#62, Gustavo Marques Da Costa T#75, Adalberto Nunes Da Silva T#75; Colombia – John Ja iro Pinilla #35 ; Paraguay – Luis Gonzalez #21, Carlos Villalba T#27.

EGYPTIAN CARRIES BANNER FOR AFRICA

Mahmoud Abdelhakim Mohamed of Egypt was the sole representative of Africa at the Futsal Planet.com “World Player of the Year” earning a tie for the 75th spot in the ranking. The Egyptian led the squad to fourth place at the 2002 Pyramids Cup in Cairo.

IRANIAN STRIKER FINISHES 41ST IN VOTING BALLOT

Iran’s Futsal National Team forward Vahid Shamsaee finished 41st in the Futsal Planet.com ballot. Shamsaee, who led Iran to their fourth consecutive Asian Futsal Championship in 2002, was the only Asian on the list.

THREE AMERICANS MAKE THE LIST

Three U.S. players made the 2002 Futsal Planet.com “World Player of Year” balloting list as defender Pat White was the highest finisher, tied for the 42nd spot. Goalkeeper Dan Green was ranked 74th, while defender Sean Bowers made the list for the second consecutive year as he finished tied for 75.

NORTH, CENTRAL AMERICA

FORMER STRIKERS LEAD GUATEMALA TO 2003 CONCACAF GOLD CUP BERTH

Former futsal strikers Freddy Garcia and Carlos Ruiz help lead Guatemala’s National Team to second-place at the UNCAF Copa de Naciones (Central American Nations Cup) in Panamá City, Panamá with a 3-1-1 overall ledger. Garcia and Ruiz, who played at the 2000 FIFA Futsal World Championships, produced half of Guatemala’s tallies during the event that also qualified the squad to the 2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup to be held in the USA in July. Ruiz notched three goals, while Garcia added two for Guatemala. The six-team Central American tournament, which ran from Feb. 9-23, also earned Costa Rica and El Salvador berths to the Gold Cup after their first and third place finishes, respectively.

MISL SELECTS COACHES FOR 2003 WEST, EAST ALL-STAR TEAMS

The Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) announced on Feb. 18, the respective coaches for the Western and Eastern Conference Teams for the 2003 MISL All-Star Game at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee, Wis., on March 9. The Western squad will be led by current Milwaukee Wave and U.S. Futsal National Team Head Coach Keith Tozer, while the East will have the Cleveland Force head coach and former U.S. Five-A-Side (now Futsal) Team defender Andy Schmetzer (2 goals, 10 caps) at helm. Also 10 current U.S. Futsal National Team players highlight the 2003 MISL All-Star rosters, as each conference has five U.S. players. The 2003 MISL All-Star Weekend will feature three days of professional indoor soccer celebration, including a Commissioner’s Dinner, the MISL Youth and All-Star Skills Competitions and a Legen ds' Game featuring forme r indoor soccer greats. For more information on the 2003 MISL All-Star Weekend check the League’s official website, at www.misl.net.

2003 MISL All-Star Teams

Western Conference – GOALKEEPERS: Victor Nogueira* (Milwaukee Wave), Nick Vorberg (San Diego Sockers); DEFENDERS: Lovelace Ackah (Milwaukee Wave), Alejandro Cardenas (San Diego Sockers), Jeff Davis* (Kansas City Comets), Troy Dusosky* (Milwaukee Wave), Gaston Pernia (San Diego Sockers), Alex Zotinca (Kansas City Comets); FORWARDS: Nino DaSilva (Kansas City Comets), Dino Delevski (Kansas City Comets), David Doyle (Dallas Sidekicks), Todd Dusosky * (Milwaukee Wave), Carlos Farias (San Diego Sockers), Greg Howes * (Milwaukee Wave), Joe Reiniger (Milwaukee Wave), Tatu (Dallas Sidekicks)

COACH - Keith Tozer

Eastern Conference – GOALKEEPERS: Peter Pappas (Philadelphia Kixx), Jim Larkin (Cleveland Force); DEFENDERS: John Ball* (Cleveland Force), Sean Bowers* (Baltimore Blast), Glenn Carbonara (Philadelphia Kixx), Genoni Martinez (Harrisburg Heat), Chris Morman* (Harrisburg Heat), Pat Morris* (Philadelphia Kixx); FORWARDS: David Bascome (Harrisburg Heat), Denison Cabral (Baltimore Blast), Don D’Ambra* (Philadelphia Kixx), Ato Leone (Harrisburg Heat), Marco Lopez (Harrisburg Heat), Giuliano Oliviero (Cleveland Force), Joel Shanker (Philadelphia Kixx), Kevin Sloan (Philadelphia Kixx)

COACH - Andy Schmetzer

* Member of the U.S. Futsal National Team

FC TROIS-RIVIERES ACHIEVES 2003 QUEBEC FUTSAL CHAMPIONSHIP

Four goals each by player/coach Frédéric Soubrier and defender Sébastien Poulin-Vallières led FC Trois-Rivières to a 13:5 victory over FC Dynamites Laval in the finals of the 2003 Quebec Futsal Championship in Laval (Province of Québec), Canada on Feb. 16. Midfielder Jean-Louis Bessé and forward Nicolas Moussavou-Nzamba each scored twice for FC Trois-Rivières, while forward Kyt Selaidopoulos had four tallies in the loss for FC Dynamites. FC Trois-Rivières advance to the annual Canadian Futsal Clubs Championship from Mar. 15-16, in Waterloo, Ontario.

SAN DIEGO SPIRITS ADDS FORMER U.S. PLAYER TO COACHING STAFF

Women’s United Soccer Associations’ (WUSA) San Diego Spirit announced on Feb. 14, the addition of Charles "Chugger" Adair to the franchise coaching staff. Adair, who had a goal in four international appearances with the U.S. Futsal National Team in 1996, will assist current Spirit head coach Omid Namazi in the upcoming 2003 WUSA campaign. Namazi is also no stranger to futsal having scored twice in two games with the USA in 2002.

BEACH SOCCER

BRAZIL CAPTURES EIGHTH BEACH SOCCER WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

The host Brazil captured their second consecutive and eighth overall title after an easy 8:2 victory over Spain at the IX Beach Soccer World Championship finals held at the Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro on Feb. 23. Brazil concluded tournament play with a perfect 5-0 record, while outscoring their opponents 41-10. Three goals each by midfielder Júnior Negão and forward Neném paced Brazil to the victory against Spain in the 2003 finals. In an earlier encounter, Portugal, who is the only other nation to win a beach soccer world title in 2001, settled for the bronze medal at the competition with a 7:4 win over France in the third-place match. Midfielder Ramiro Figueiras Amarelle was named the tournament’s MVP (Most Valuable Playe r) after leading Spain t o second-place, while scoring 10 goals. Neném won the competition’s top scoring honors with 15, while Brazilian teammate Robertinho was selected as the tournament’s best goalkeeper. Rounding out the 2003 awards was Spanish midfielder Eloy Souto Barreiro who won “Best Rookie” accolades. For more information on the IX Beach Soccer World Championship check www.beachsoccer.com.

IX Beach Soccer World Championship, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – Feb. 16-23, 2003

Final Groups, Results * Advance to Semifinals

Group A
GP W-L-T GF:GA PTS

Brazil * 3 3-0-0 26:6 9
Spain * 3 2-1-0 19:13 6
Italy 3 1-2-0 11:19 3
USA 3 0-3-0 8:25 0

Group B
GP W-L-T GF:GA PTS
France * 3 2-1-0 20:14 6
Portugal * 3 2-1-0 14:10 6
Uruguay 3 1-2-0 8:10 3
Japan 3 0-3-0 4:14 0

Feb. 16
Brazil – Spain, 6:3

Feb. 18
Spain – USA, 8:3
Uruguay – Japan, 2:1
France – Portugal, 8:6
Brazil – Italy, 7:2

Feb. 19
Uruguay – France, 6:5
Italy – USA, 5:4
Portugal – Japan, 5:1

Feb. 20
France – Japan, 7:2
Spain – Italy, 8:4
Portugal – Uruguay, 3:1
Brazil – USA, 13:1

Feb. 22
Semifinals
Brazil – Portugal, 7:2
Spain – France, 5:4

Feb. 23
Third Place
Portugal – France, 7:4
Final
Brazil – Spain, 8:2