Courtesy: UEFA.com


Pride at stake for beaten pair

Saturday 24 April 2010

Although disappointed to have missed out on a UEFA Futsal Cup final place, the Araz Naxçivan and Luparense C/5 coaches said their sides will do everything to win Sunday's bronze medal match.

by Paul Bryan from Lisbon

Although disappointed to have missed out on a place in the UEFA Futsal Cup final, the coaches of Araz Naxçivan and Luparense C/5 said both sets of players are ready to give their all in order to triumph in Sunday's bronze medal match.

Angry after witnessing his side "making too many mistakes" in their 8-4 semi-final defeat to hosts SL Benfica, Sito Rivera said his team now needed to respond so that the Serie A1 side could leave the Portuguese capital with their heads held high.

"We are certainly going to have to be a lot more clever than we were against Benfica on Friday," the Luparense coach said. "We have to play for our pride and to show we are a better team than we were against Benfica. We know Araz have good players like Thiago and Serjão so it won't be an easy or straightforward game."

Araz coach Alecio said he was preparing to spend long periods in the screening room to learn all he can about Sunday's opponents. "We will study Luparense's recent games to see what we can do but after our [5-2] loss to Interviú Madrid the most important thing will be to work on the psychological side of things as that result hurt us."



Courtesy: UEFA.com


Costa awaits Benfica destiny

Saturday 24 April 2010

Captain Pedro Costa said he and his SL Benfica side are "reaching a decisive moment in our careers" as they look to defeat Interviú Madrid and win the UEFA Futsal Cup for the first time.

by Paul Bryan & José Nuno Pimentel from Lisbon

SL Benfica captain Pedro Costa believes now is the time for O Glorioso to prove they deserve their place among the elite of the Futsal world as the hosts look to win their first UEFA Futsal Cup at the expense of holders Interviú Madrid.

Spurred on by a passionate home crowd at Lisbon's Pavilhão Atlántico on Friday, the Eagles swept past Luparense C/5 to set up a repeat of the 2004 final in which the Spanish side triumphed over two legs. This time the teams will meet just once to decide the winners and Costa is determined not to let the moment slip by.

"Many of us are reaching a decisive moment in our careers and we want to prove we are a top team on a world and European level," the 31-year-old defender told UEFA.com. "We have much more experience now and we are eager to win; just taking part in finals doesn't interest us anymore."

Along with coach André Lima, Costa played for Benfica during that 2004 final which the Portuguese side lost despite enjoying a second leg home victory. Playing as hosts in the final phase of this season's tournament the Portugal international believes is the inspiration his team needs to lift the trophy.

"We don't know when we will have another opportunity like this so we absolutely must play well and win," Costa said. "We are a team that plays free-flowing Futsal and we have players who can decide a game in any given moment. It's going to be a balanced match with Interviú but we will look to help each other out on the pitch and to unbalance our opponents."


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