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UEFA.comKairat edge out Benfica to claim third placeSunday 1 May 2011Kairat Almaty 3-3 SL Benfica (Kairat win 5-3 on pens)The tournament hosts claimed the consolation of third place with a shoot-out win after an exciting draw with the deposed champions.
by
Patrick Hart from Baluan Sholak Sport Palace
Kairat Almaty claimed the consolation of third place at the UEFA Futsal Cup finals in Kazakhstan with a 5-3 penalty shoot-out win after an exciting 3-3 draw with SL Benfica.
The tournament hosts were pushed all the way for their bronze medal, however, after the first-half lead given them by Leo Santana and Sidnei Silva was overturned by strikes from Benfica's Joel Queirós, Gonçalo and César Paulo. Kairat equalised late on through Felipe, then prevailed on spot kicks thanks to Anderson's penalty after Marinho's miss for the outgoing champions.
João Carlos Barbosa's valiant team duly equalised their third-place finish of 2009 while sending Paulo Fernandes's men home empty-handed.
Santana – whose two goals had revived Kairat in the semi-final – also ended the early stalemate here, being perfectly placed for an easy finish after Anderson's surge and centre. And just as Benfica's pressure was building, Sidnei doubled the lead on a one-man counterattack, seizing on a misplaced pass to burst forward and slot past Bébé.
Undeterred, Benfica cut the deficit as Joel Queirós, this competition's 12-goal top scorer last season, punished Kairat indiscipline with a cool ten-metre penalty. Pedro Costa twice threatened to level matters though was denied by magnificent Santana blocks before Kakata cleared off the line.
Joel fluffed his lines at the beginning of the second period, yet when his next attempt was parried by Jeronimo, Gonçalo turned in the equaliser. Kairat then gained the initiative from Davi's red card, leaving Benfica a man short for two minutes. However, the Portuguese side emerged unscathed from the ensuing game of cat and mouse. When the scenario was reversed, after home captain Kelson received a second yellow card, César Paulo's deflected strike put the visitors ahead.
If Kairat missed the inspiration of Kelson as they chased their own third goal, Lady Luck filled in as another deflection, from Felipe's shot, restored parity. Sidnei subsequently hit the underside of the crossbar, yet penalties would decide the outcome.
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UEFA.comMontesilvano crowned Futsal Cup championsSunday 1 May 2011Sporting Clube de Portugal 2-5 ASD Città di Montesilvano C/5A superb first-half performance set the Italian titleholders on their way to their first UEFA Futsal Cup final success.
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Patrick Hart from Baluan Sholak Sport Palace
ASD Città di Montesilvano C/5 is the new name on the UEFA Futsal Cup after the Italian tournament debutants beat their fellow first-time finalist Sporting Clube de Portugal 5-2 in Sunday's final in Almaty, Kazakhstan.
Having eliminated holders SL Benfica in the semi-finals, Fulvio Colini's men turned their weapons of dogged defending and clinical finishing on to a second Lisbon team. Goals from Hernan Garcias, Adriano Foglia (2), Fabricio Calderolli and Leandro Cuzzolino meant Leitão's late double for Sporting made no impression on the result at the Baluan Sholak Sport Palace.
Perhaps it was down to the long injury absence from which he returned in the semi-final but Sporting left Garcias unmarked to ghost in and convert Marcio Forte's corner for the opener. Even before the goal, Sporting had rattled the post through Pedro Cary; after it, Alex's turn and volley deserved marks for artistic merit.
That was no consolation when Montesilvano made it 2-0. Foglia just about had the finish to match his surge upfield, his shot trickling apologetically over the line via Cristiano's hand. Foglia's next strike was more pronounced, low and precise into the bottom right corner. All the while, Sporting's near misses were taking them further away from their first futsal title.
It was a telling vignette when, after Leitão's effort was cleared off the line, the side from the Italian Adriatic almost added a fourth through Fabricio Calderolli. The latter player did exactly that on the stroke of half-time, finishing smartly from Garcias's assist.
More Sporting possession marked the start of the second half, and with it more frustration. Montesilvano keeper Stefano Mammarella did sterling work denying the likes of Déo, Caio Japa and Derlei – when, that is, they found a way through the massed ranks in front of him.
The reigning Italian champions also had the unerring knack of picking opposition pockets and coming away with the ball. Hence they spurned clear chances on the break, notably through Cristian Borruto and captain Forte, before Cuzzolino – who also struck against Benfica in the semis – crashed in a penalty given for Marcelo Silva's foul on Borruto.
It was at this point, with Sporting keeper Cristiano pushed as far forward as possible, that a fissure appeared in the Montesilvano wall and Leitão found a way through twice, first with a shot then with a header. There would be no wider escape route for Orlando Duarte's team, however, even though Cristiano and Divanei tested the woodwork during Sporting's late siege.
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UEFA.comCoach Colini salutes Montesilvano's winning spiritSunday 1 May 2011ASD Città di Montesilvano C/5's final triumph against Sporting Clube de Portugal was the result of their steadfast "head, hearts and legs", according to team coach Fulvio Colini.by
Patrick Hart from Baluan Sholak Sport Palace
ASD Città di Montesilvano C/5 coach Fulvio Colini attributed Italy's first UEFA Futsal Cup win to his team's strong "heads, hearts and legs".
Montesilvano became the sixth club to lift the trophy in what was the competition's tenth final – and in the process put Italian futsal on a roll of honour already including Spain, Belgium, Russia and Portugal.
Typical of his performances in front of the media during this tournament, Colini downplayed the tactical achievement of outwitting first holders SL Benfica in the semi-finals and then Sporting Clube de Portugal in Sunday's decider in Almaty. However, Sporting coach Orlando Duarte conceded that the better organised side had prevailed, making no excuses for the Portuguese outfit's 5-2 defeat at the Baluan Sholak Sport Palace.
Fulvio Colini, Montesilvano coachIf you get to a final, you have to try to win it. We were brave in our performance and we are delighted with the result. Yes, we were a bit tense, not scared, to begin with, and yes they hit the post in the first minute. However, we scored out of nothing and before we knew it, it was 3-0. We were lucky a few times with Sporting hitting the post but we did really well to contain them. In the end, we ran out deserved winners.
When we got the three quick goals, it was through playing intelligent football. We prepare for every opponent and we have a great mentality – look at man of the match, Hernan Garcias, who hadn't played for five months until the semi-final but turned in a great display.
We had great strength in our heads, heart and legs, and winning a championship by three goals, arguably against the favourites, is a great achievement. We play man to man, so when the opposition attacks there's never a free man for them to play to. We press teams individually and every one of our boys is very strong one on one. It's hard to break us down.
Orlando Duarte, Sporting coach As a team you always have to act rationally and not emotionally, and in the first half we were all over the place. We were more emotional than we should have been and gave them too much space. But they scored five goals from very few opportunities, whereas we had lots of chances and scored only two. That was the main difference between the teams.
They were very well organised. We don't make excuses – simply, they played well, they were better organised, they were more efficient and they deserved it. While they were superbly organised and strong defensively, we didn't do as well as we could have done up front.
I would say Montesilvano have great tactical merit defensively. It's not necessarily a way of playing I like, but it was highly efficient. The better team won on the day; it was a fair result. As coach, you take responsibility for your decisions, good or bad. I didn't manage to get my team, which normally plays rationally, to stay disciplined.
Hernan Garcias, Montesilvano playmakerNobody in Italy expected us to win a tournament of this stature – it's only the second time an Italian team has reached the last four. But maybe now people will start to believe that they, and not just Spanish, Russian or Portuguese clubs, can win major futsal events.
It has been a difficult year in the league and we didn't come here thinking we'd win; we just wanted to play well against Benfica. We also thought the Sporting game would be really tough because they're a good team. But so many things have happened that you start to think we were destined to win this.
Although we were ambitious and although we believed in our strengths and in ourselves as a group, we weren't sure how we'd get on against such strong opponents. This victory, though, has been won through the heart and through togetherness.
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UEFA.comKairat's Santana wins futsal finals goal rushSunday 1 May 2011Kairat Almaty's Leo Santana top-scored at the UEFA Futsal Cup finals with three while the season's overall biggest haul was the 16 qualifying goals notched by Chimel Vita Nzaka. Kairat Almaty earned a second honour on the last day of the UEFA Futsal Cup in Kazakhstan after their No4 Leo Santana finished as the final tournament's leading marksman.
Santana claimed his third goal of the finals with the opener in Kairat's 3-3 third-place play-off draw – and eventual penalties victory – against SL Benfica at Almaty's Baluan Sholak Sport Palace. The dynamic Brazilian player had also contributed both the host team's goals in their semi-final defeat by Sporting Clube de Portugal.
His surging runs and powerful shooting put him one score above two players each from Sunday's finalist clubs. Leandro Cuzzolino and Adriano Foglia were both on target to help ASD Città di Montesilvano C/5 beat Sporting 5-2 and claim the European crown, also finishing on two goals apiece. Sporting's Leitão got two late consolations in the decider, while Caio Japa's double had taken the competition runners-up past Kairat in the semi-finals.
However, the ultimate accolade of UEFA Futsal Cup top scorer for 2010/11 goes to a player whose participation ended in the main round of qualifying in October, namely Chimel Vita Nzaka from French side Kremlin Bicêtre United. Their early exit did not prevent the 27-year-old making his mark with a remarkable 16 goals in five games. All those strikes came in the preliminary round group, with two registered against Club Futsal Eindhoven, six against FC Keflavík and eight against Vimmerby IF.
The record for a single campaign remains 19 by André Vanderlei for Action 21 Charleroi in 2003/04. He is also the only player to have top-scored in two different seasons and his career tally of 49 still stands as the competition record after this tenth edition.
Final tournament top scorersLeo Santana (Kairat Almaty) 3
Leandro Cuzzolino (ASD Città di Montesilvano C/5) 2
Adriano Foglia (ASD Città di Montesilvano C/5) 2
Caio Japa (Sporting Clube de Portugal) 2
Leitão (Sporting Clube de Portugal) 2
Season top scorersChimel Vita Nzaka (Kremlin Bicêtre United) 16
Cleyton Baptistella (ASD Città di Montesilvano C/5) 10
Anderson (Araz Naxçivan) 8
Nijaz Mulahmetovic (MNK Orlic Sarajevo) 8
Previous season top scorers2009/10: Joel Queirós (SL Benfica) 12
2008/09: Samir Makhoukhi (FC Blok Beverwijk) 9
2007/08: Karim Bali (Futsal Topsport Antwerpen) 13
2006/07: Serhiy Sytin (FC Shakhtar Donetsk) 10
2005/06: Predrag Rajić (KMF Marbo Beograd) 12
2004/05: Sergei Ivanov (MFK Dinamo Moskva) 14
2003/04: André Vanderlei (Action 21 Charleroi) 19
2002/03: André Vanderlei (Action 21 Charleroi) 15
2001/02: Joan (Playas de Castellón FS) 13
All-time top scorersAndré Vanderlei (Action 21 Charleroi) 49
Lúcio (Action 21 Charleroi) 45
Schumacher (Interviú Madrid) 41*
Leo (Action 21 Charleroi) 40
Marquinho (Interviú Madrid) 39
*Excludes four goals in forfeited game
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UEFA.comMammarella retraces Montesilvano's steps to glorySunday 1 May 2011Stefano Mammarella, No1 of new European champions ASD Città di Montesilvano C/5, tells UEFA.com the debutants were not as green as they seemed going into these finals.by
Patrick Hart from Almaty
From listening to Stefano Mammarella, goalkeeper of ASD Città di Montesilvano C/5, you would think perhaps it was not such a surprise that the Italian club went and won the UEFA Futsal Cup at the first attempt.
Last season's futsal Serie A1 champions they may be, but Montesilvano came into this week's finals in Almaty with the least pedigree of the four participating teams. According to Mammarella, though, Fulvio Colini's side already had good reason to believe in their potential on European club futsal's highest stage.
For the 27-year-old, a key moment in their development from competition debutants to continental champions was beating MFK Sinara Ekaterinburg, who had won this tournament in 2008, in Russia in the elite round. That decisive 2-1 success, Mammarella told UEFA.com, was the prelude to their back-to-back triumphs over Portuguese heavyweights SL Benfica – whose crown they have taken – and Sporting Clube de Portugal at the Baluan Sholak Sport Palace.
"When we went to Russia in qualifying, we didn't think we could win the Futsal Cup," he said. "It is always difficult when you make your debut. But once we got here, and especially after the Benfica match, yes we thought we could win in a one-off game.
"Against Sinara in Ekaterinburg we played really well, and we've done the same against Benfica and Sporting. To play so well in a semi-final and a final, to brush aside Benfica 3-0 and Sporting 5-2, is unbelievable. We always believed in ourselves. It's just brilliant."
The winning margins achieved by the Adriatic outfit in Friday and Sunday's fixtures belie the huge amount of energy spent in containing and then outscoring such formidable opponents. However, there is a precedent for Montesilvano performing so lethally when medals are at stake. Mammarella, whose own championship was notable for the goal he lobbed over Benfica's replacement keeper to seal the semi-final victory, revealed: "When we won the Italian league last season, it was by 6-1, so we've taken that form, that rhythm, into this tournament. We have worked really hard so it hasn't been easy, but we have won these games by three goals."
The yellow-shirted custodian was man of the match against the deposed champions, and followed up that stellar show with another unyielding display that frustrated Sporting to the point of despair. By the time Leitão scored the Lisbon outfit's second-half double, Montesilvano were sat on a five-goal cushion. Not surprisingly, the director of the competition's outstanding defence said: "It is a pleasure to play with these boys who do everything to stop the ball getting through to my goal. Ultimately, this victory has been all about the heart."
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Luca Ranocchiari -->
luca.ranocchiari@futsalplanet.com
