Courtesy: UEFA.com


'United' Latvia plan upset

Tuesday 22 February 2011

Latvia have a tough task against Italy, hosts Slovenia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina in qualifying round Group 6 but coach Artūrs Šketovs thinks his side's "unity" could lead to an upset.

by Alexey Mamykin from Riga

Latvian futsal has been improving steadily for many years and now national coach Artūrs Šketovs is keen for his team to move up another level.

Last month his squad progressed from the UEFA Futsal EURO 2012 preliminary round, beating Iceland, Armenia and Greece, to emulate their feat of two years ago in reaching the main qualifying phase. It will be much harder against former champions Italy, hosts Slovenia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina in qualifying round Group 6 from Thursday – but Šketovs believes his team's stability and unity could help engineer an upset.

UEFA.com: Now you have the challenge of the tournament in Slovenia, which will be tougher than the last round ...
Artūrs Šketovs: Of course. We have Italy in our group, one of Europe's big hitters. Slovenia are also dangerous and they are at home too. We have already defeated Bosnia and Herzegovina, but it is clear they are no underdogs. But we do not intend to give up. We will set the highest goals and to try to qualify for the next stage. Nothing is impossible. We can play against any team – remember, there was only a small difference [in 2010 qualifying] between Latvia and the Czech Republic, who finished third at the finals.


UEFA.com: Can the Latvian national football team learn something from your side?
Šketovs: No, that's a bit premature. Rather, I use our football team as an example to my boys. The Latvian football team achieved a miracle when they qualified for the [2004] UEFA European Championship in Portugal. It was a real achievement. We need to have the same ambition. If they can do it, why can't we?


UEFA.com: Is it already a big success for Latvia to get to the qualifying round?
Šketovs: Definitely. We had quality opponents in our group in the form of Greece, Armenia and Iceland. It was a serious achievement to take maximum points and claim first place in such company. We thought Greece were the favourites but they finished third, which says it all about the strong competition.


UEFA.com: Were you not surprised, though, that your team managed to win all three matches?
Šketovs: To tell the truth, I was not really surprised. We tried to win every game – even our last match against Armenia, when we were already through. We had an additional boost that day as Aleksandrs Žukovs celebrated his 30th birthday.


UEFA.com: What is the secret of your side's success?
Šketovs: We played as a team and our strength lies in unity. We have experience in our squad, some of the lads have been playing together for ten years. We were ready for any eventuality, so it was hard to surprise us. Even Dmitrijs Dobrovoļskis's injury during the warm-up for our first match did not affect us.


UEFA.com: Can you single out individuals or did everyone play their part?
Šketovs: Exactly. There were different players taking responsibility in different games. For example, Dmitrijs Jakovļevs scored some important goals to become our leading goalscorer. It was not just his achievement, though, but that of his team-mates.


UEFA.com: Is it fair to say Latvian futsal is now at a decent level?
Šketovs: That is a hard question. We have three strong clubs fighting for the domestic title. We also have several players who are playing abroad and with them we have a competitive national squad. At the same time, we do not have professional futsal clubs in Latvia. When we get them, we will be more successful on the international stage.




Courtesy: UEFA.com


Kaner talks up Turkey chances

Tuesday 22 February 2011

Ex-Fenerbahçe SK striker Ömer Kaner is now the champion of futsal in Turkey as national coach and he tells UEFA.com that they can pull off a "phenomenal" qualification in Ukraine.

by Türker Tozar from Istanbul

Ömer Kaner made his name as a striker with Fenerbahçe SK, one of 16 football clubs he later coached, but since 2006 the 59-year-old has had a new task – leading Turkey's national futsal side and promoting the sport throughout the country.

For the second time he has guided them into the UEFA European Futsal Championship qualifying round, where they travel to Kharkiv for a tough Group 5 from Thursday. Yet before Turkey take on Hungary, hosts Ukraine and Belgium, all of whom competed in the 2010 finals, Kaner gives a progress report to UEFA.com.

UEFA.com: Turkey have reached the qualifying round for the second time. Does this mean futsal is making progress in Turkey, and will it increase interest in the sport?
Ömer Kaner: There was already a base for futsal in the universities, but now we're trying to make the sport more popular. There are 120 clubs in our futsal league, although the competition goes back just two years. Actually, when we first formed the futsal national team, our aim was to increase interest in the game – and it was a top-down attempt.
After the preliminary round in Izmir [last month], a man stopped me in the street and said: "Your team played very well today." I was surprised, but that is an indicator of the significant interest in futsal in Turkey. If we can reach a level of interest similar to basketball, we'll be successful. Following an agreement between the Turkish Football Association (TFF) and the ministry of education, 600 schools will have futsal training. I believe these efforts will bear fruit.


UEFA.com: How did you judge the preliminary round matches in Izmir?
Kaner: We played our first match against the most powerful team in the group, Montenegro [winning 5-1]. Opening games are crucial because when you win the first, drawing the second can then take you into the next stage. The players concentrated and did what they were asked, and we got a decisive victory.
Our second opponents were Switzerland who are quite new to futsal. Despite our warnings, my players underestimated them and we lost [3-2] because of the dip in concentration. Moldova were a tough team too but we won [4-2] after a decent display. Overall I was satisfied with our performances.


UEFA.com: How do you rate your opponents in the qualifying round?
Kaner: All of them are strong but we are by no means inferior. Anything is possible in the group. We'll be one of the 12 best teams in Europe if we qualify and that is a significant achievement. We have played both Hungary and Belgium twice. We lost every game by a small margin. But then we didn't have an ideal squad. Ukraine will have home advantage. Our chances of reaching the finals are as high as Hungary and Belgium's. If we can win the first game, we'll most probably go through. It would be a phenomenal achievement.


UEFA.com: The TFF is considering becoming a candidate to host UEFA Futsal EURO 2014; what would be the impact?
Kaner: There's great interest in the finals. Last year I was in Hungary and saw 1,000 people attending each game. It could be a huge experience because we would qualify directly for the finals as hosts. It would produce a boom in interest and the TFF would be honoured to stage the event.


UEFA.com: What does futsal have that football doesn't?
Kaner: There are nicer moves, goals and goal attempts. There is an average of eight goals and 50 shots per futsal game. It is a spectacle but one without mud, rain or snow. It's good entertainment for the family. When people realise that, a lot will change.




Courtesy: UEFA.com


Loosveld plots Netherlands revival

Wednesday 23 February 2011

The Netherlands have not qualified since 2005 and have a difficult group at home to Russia and Serbia, but coach Marcel Loosveld believes their "new generation" is giving them hope.

by Maciej Malczyk

The Netherlands, once a world force in the game, have not qualified for the UEFA European Futsal Championship since 2005 but three years later did make it to the continental Under-21 finals – and the coach that took them there, Marcel Loosveld, is about to embark on his first campaign in charge of the seniors. Loosveld's side host 2010 quarter-finalists Russia and Serbia, plus preliminary winners Finland, in a tough qualifying round Group 2, and the coach told UEFA.com: "We knew it would be a difficult group."


UEFA.com: What do you think of your draw?
Marcel Loosveld: We knew it would be a difficult group but, on the other hand, it's quite a good challenge if we want to improve. We have to get results and we have to get past some very good countries – Russia and Serbia.


UEFA.com: Does playing at home give you an advantage?
Loosveld: I hope so. It's quite a good group, we will have good accommodation and I hope the people will come to the games and get behind our team.


UEFA.com: What is the current state of Dutch futsal?
Loosveld: It's not like the old days but we have fans and I expect people in Rotterdam to support us.


UEFA.com: You coached the U21s to the European finals in 2008; have many players come through from that squad?
Loosveld: Around five or six players have come into the A team. We have a lot of talent, I enjoy working with them and they want to improve, so I am very satisfied with that. They are a new generation and hopefully they are keen to get results for us.


UEFA.com: After 2010 qualifying you succeeded long-time coach Vic Hermans. What was his legacy?
Loosveld: He did a lot of good work for futsal in Holland and I am going to try to continue that and do my best to make futsal more popular in Holland and more professional.


UEFA.com: How professional is Dutch futsal?
Loosveld: It is increasing. Team and clubs now train three or four times a week and they have to specialise in futsal. That is what is needed for players to be physically at their best.

We always had a combination of outdoor and indoor players but when you see what the demands of the game are, they are quite different. You have to specialise. What is necessary for a good futsal player? What is his profile? What does he need to do in the three or four minutes he is playing? A football player can run 60 or 80 metres, a futsal player needs only a maximum of 30 and how many times do they make that run? We have to investigate it.


UEFA.com: What is your aim for EURO 2012?
Loosveld: First, we have to make one step to qualify. Then we have to see what we can do in Croatia. When you hope, it is out of your hands. I have to work hard, the players have to work hard.


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