Courtesy: UEFA.com


Spain's Torras treble ends Romania hopes

Monday 6 February 2012

Spain found Romania difficult to shake off but with a Torras hat-trick kept up their record of reaching every Futsal EURO semi-final.

Romania 3-8 Spain

by Paul Saffer from Arena Zagreb

Spain took nearly half an hour to shake off a series of Romania comebacks and eventually sail into the UEFA Futsal EURO 2012 semi-finals.

Twice Spain leads were cancelled out and even after that Romania kept responding to goals from the holders, but when Torras completed his hat-trick to make it 6-3 they had no response and immediately conceded again. Having still never failed to make the semis, Spain face one of the teams they beat in the last two finals, Italy or Portugal, here on Thursday.

It was 1-0 on four minutes when Kike's back-heel gave Alemao the chance to send in a low ball from the left which was turned in by Torras. Miguelín then broke through twice but blazed over and had another effort blocked by a defender.

An equaliser looked unlikely until Cosmin Gherman controlled a Vlad Iancu pass and swivelled to volley past Luis Amado. That was the cue for Robert Lupu to take over as a flying goalkeeper, and for a while Romania threatened, but Spain soon regained control and with Iancu back he was beaten from distance by Aicardo.

Gherman responded swiftly with another superb finish, curling in a strong shot from the right. Romania were not level for long, Alemao heading down for Rafael Usín to volley in, but Amado then did well to deny Dumitru Stoica. That proved vital, as just before the break Torras bent in his fourth goal of the finals.

After the break Spain still looked the more likely scorers until the ball was worked right to Gherman, who returned in for Florin Matei to shoot into an empty net. The holders again had a response, Aicardo turning in Ortiz's corner.

Torras then completed his hat-trick, rolling into an unguarded net to take the adidas Golden Boot lead on five goals, and Lin's strong finish 17 seconds later ended any comeback hopes. Ortiz got the eighth from the Spain half despite slipping as he passed in to the empty goal from his own half.




Courtesy: UEFA.com


Jukic the hero as Croatia pip Ukraine to semis

Monday 6 February 2012

MNK Split goalkeeper Ivo Jukic stopped three penalties on home turf as Croatia reached a EURO semi-finals for the first time.

Croatia 1-1 Ukraine (Croatia win 3-1 on pens)

by Wayne Harrison from Spaladium Arena

Croatia are through to the UEFA European Futsal Championship semi-finals for the first time after a 3-1 penalty shoot-out triumph over Ukraine.

Following a 1-1 draw over 40 minutes, in which Denys Ovsyannikov's own goal at a boisterous Spaladium Arena was cancelled out by Ukraine's Serhiy Chepornyuk, the game went into two goalless five-minute periods of extra time.

In the shoot-out, Ivo Jukic, who plays his club futsal for local side MNK Split, saved three of Ukraine's first four efforts, to delight the competition-record crowd of 9,800. The hosts can now look forward to a tie against Serbia or Russia in the first Arena Zagreb semi-final on Thursday.

Croatia wasted little time in trying to avenge the 4-1 defeat by their opponents in the FIFA Futsal World Cup main round in December, with local favourite Dario Marinovic flashing a shot wide inside six seconds.

Marinovic then whacked the outside of a post having been played down the line by club colleague Franko Jelovcic. Ukraine, though, were not letting the atmosphere affect them, as they patiently probed for a chink in Croatia's armour.

Yet, save for when Jukic slid out to dispossess Chepornyuk and Jelovcic took the ball off Ovsyannikov as he prepared to pull the trigger, Ukraine seldom gave cause for alarm before half-time. Indeed, they fell behind before it when Ovsyannikov deflected in Jakov Grcic's ball back from the goal line.

Roared on by chants of 'Hrvatska, Hrvatska' before the break, Croatia began the second period with Tihomir Novak firing wide. Warnings were never far away, however, and a few minutes after Chepornyuk hit the side netting, the same player found the bottom right-hand corner of Jukic's goal.

Temporarily silenced, the crowd soon rediscovered their collective voice as their side pushed again. It was Gennadiy Lisenchuk's charges who posed the greater threat as the game entered extra time, where Oleksandr Kondratyuk swiftly struck a post and Jukic blocked Valeriy Legchanov's free-kick.

From the spot, Jukic denied Kondratyuk, Serhiy Zhurba and Legchanov to seal a historic last-four place for the hosts.



Courtesy: UEFA.com


Spain successful in clipping Romania's wings

Spain's experience of Romania's flying goalkeeper tactics was the key to their 8-3 win according to José Venancio López, while opposite number Sito Rivera was pleased with their run.

Monday 6 February 2012

by Gonzalo Aguado & Paul Saffer from Arena Zagreb

José Venancio López, Spain coach
I have to congratulate Romania on reaching the quarter-finals and for having complicated the game in the first half. They showed boldness in the first half and initiated a game of one-on-one. The first half was very even. But in the second half we showed a lot of character, especially when we conceded the third goal. And then, at 5-3, we defended well against the flying goalkeeper. We kept it very quiet in those minutes, and we played to a very high standard in the second half.

They have scored three great goals. The first two were spectacular, and the third was also very nice. We had played against Romania before. The first experience we had was in Spain, where they surprised us with the flying goalkeeper. But this time we knew they were going to use it. We had worked hard on it.

Alemao, Spain winger
I think in the quarter-finals there are no easy games. All matches are very difficult from now on. You have to be at 100%. We relaxed a bit when we scored the first goal, and we allowed them to get into the game. But in the second half we were much better, and we defended very well against their flying goalkeeper. That was one of the keys. We managed to score early in the second half, and that was a positive for us. We knew they were going to use the flying goalkeeper to balance the game, because otherwise we are far superior. It was their weapon, but we knew it.

Kike, Spain defender
The result does not reflect what really happened. They played their cards, playing with a flying goalkeeper for a long time. They played the right game. It is true that we did not take advantage of the chances we had in the first half, so we suffered a little. But in the second half we were better and in the end we achieved a comfortable result.

We knew they were going to use the flying goalkeeper on many occasions, we had spoken about that. But we knew how to manage it, and eventually we won deservedly.

Sito Rivera, Romania coach
We played the best team in the quarter-finals and we played well in the first half. However, in the second half we were not able to keep pressing to the same extent and this was a big problem. We couldn't press like in the first half.

We tried to keep the game at the same level and we got back to 4-3 and in the last minutes we planned to play a flying goalkeeper. But Spain are a very strong team, they scored two goals from set pieces and from that moment, with a difference of three goals, it was impossible to come back.

In Romania we have only played futsal since 2003. This is a very good result, we are in the top eight in Europe, but if we had a little bit more luck we could have beaten Croatia in the first game, got to stay in Split and play Ukraine, I think that would have been a very close game. We knew it would be difficult against Spain, if we did not perform at our maximum level they would destroy us.

Emil Raducu, Romania forward
The match started well for us, the first half was very balanced. But in the second half we played the flying goalkeeper and it didn't go well. When you play against Spain it is tough, they're champions. In the second half we dropped physically. Normally we play very well with the flying goalkeeper, but against Spain it is not easy.




Courtesy: UEFA.com


Shoot-out success leaves Croatia on cloud nine

Croatia coach Mato Stankovic, goalkeeping hero Ivo Jukic and forward Dario Marinovic were proud to "be a part of history" after beating a distraught Ukraine to reach their first semi-final.

Tuesday 7 February 2012

by Wayne Harrison, Dmitri Mamykin & Bernard Jurisic from Spaladium Arena

Mato Stankovic, Croatia coach
It's hard to explain how I'm feeling right now. The players dreamt that this could happen [reaching the semi-finals] and now I'm so happy because we will last until the end of the tournament − we have two games left and I'm really happy that we will be playing in Zagreb. Ivo Jukic has done this before, many times. He's in extremely good shape and he did what every captain should do, so I'm so proud of him.

Is the momentum with Croatia? It's hard to say at the moment, but even if there's just a small chance we must go for it. Split has once again showed itself to be a very good host. Not only Split but also Dalmatia and all of Croatia too. I need to say 'thank you' to everyone who supported the team and helped us get through to the semi-finals.

If I had to choose who I want in the last four I would pick Serbia. If we compare the two teams Russia are better, but because of history it would be more complicated if we lost to Serbia.

Ivo Jukic, Croatia goalkeeper
Many of us aren't professionals and have other jobs, but we work and act like professionals and we give everything we've got during the match. We are very proud to play for our country and be a part of Croatian futsal history. We deserved to win tonight; we deserved some luck after a few close defeats in the last few years. Penalties? If I save the first kick, I usually make a few other stops − I'm that kind of goalkeeper.

Dario Marinovic, Croatia forward
This is one for the history books − Croatia have never gone so far in a Futsal EURO. We are so proud; we played until our last drop of our energy. The crowd were amazing. Now we move to Zagreb and I hope even more fans will come to help us in the semi-finals. I would prefer Serbia rather than Russia, but whoever we get we'll give them a hard time.

Gennadiy Lysenchuk, Ukraine coach
First of all I would like to congratulate Croatia on the biggest achievement in their history. This was a great match and I'm sure all the spectators had a lot of fun. This was the first game at this tournament with extra time and a penalty shoot-out, so this alone says how intense this contest was.

Unfortunately our stay here has come to an end at the quarter-final stage. For us this is too early, but nothing can be done about it now. I don't think we deserved to lose, so it's a very painful defeat. We put a huge amount of pressure on the hosts and after scoring the equaliser we created a lot of chances. It's just that we were not able to convert.

Valeriy Legchanov's injury in the second minute of the first half proved very costly for us. Not only did we lose our captain for the majority of the half, but also our first-choice four lost their key player. We need to recover quickly. We are going home now, the players will continue to play in the Ukrainian league, but we have two World Cup play-off matches at the beginning of April. We don't have much time left to prepare.

It's hard to accept the defeat, but there are a lot of positive things we can take from the tournament. We won the mini-tournament in Kharkiv during the qualifying round, scoring the highest number of goals of all. Then we confidently beat Slovenia at the final tournament. OK, we lost to Spain, but we have never beaten them.




Courtesy: UEFA.com


Paulinho's Portugal dream

Unused in Portugal's run to the 2010 final, Paulinho has made an impact this time and ahead of tonight's encounter with Italy, is dreaming of waking up on Sunday as a European champion.

Tuesday 7 February 2012

by Nuno Tavares from Zagreb

For one man, Portugal's run to the UEFA Futsal EURO 2010 final was bittersweet, as Paulinho – called up at the last minute to replace injured talisman Ricardinho – did not play a single second.

Two years on in Croatia, though, the Sporting Clube de Portugal defender has featured prominently, and with his bursting runs and uncompromising team spirit could be key to ending Portugal's run of never having beaten Italy in 13 attempts. Tonight in the Zagreb quarter-final they will attempt to set up a last-four showdown with Spain.

"In 2010, I was called up to replace Ricardinho and when something like that happens it is always very difficult to be used in a competition," Paulinho told UEFA.com. "I wanted to play and I do think I could have done, but unfortunately it was not to be.

"I sustained a serious injury last year but was able to recover well and I arrived at this tournament in a very confident mood," he added. "I have now made my debut in the European Championship finals and to top that I have been able to help my team achieve their objectives so far. It is almost impossible to ask for more."

Portugal topped a tough Group D with wins against Azerbaijan and Serbia, but 2003 champions Italy represent a step up in class. "We know Italy very well and they have a team with a lot of quality," Paulinho said. "They are physically very strong and also have dangerous individuals. We recently drew twice against them and we played really well in both matches so I think we will finally win at the third attempt. We will go though."

The 28-year-old, who describes playing at the Arena Zagreb as "truly a unique sensation" is dreaming of two more games there after tonight – and of a particularly happy ending. "To tell you the truth I have been thinking about that since 2010," Paulinho said. "I hope when I wake up on Sunday the first thing that comes to mind is: we are European champions. One thing is certain: we will do everything in our power to turn the dream into reality."



Courtesy: UEFA.com


Pula strike sends Russia past Serbia

Tuesday 7 February 2012

Pula's goal six minutes from time sent Russia through to the semi-finals and denied Serbia, who had led, a first appearance in the last four.

Russia 2-1 Serbia

by Wayne Harrison from Spaladium Arena

Pula landed the decisive blow as Russia recovered from a goal down to defeat Serbia and book a UEFA Futsal EURO 2012 semi-final date with Croatia.

Following a goalless first half, Vladimir Milosavac broke the deadlock five minutes after the restart. The lead was short-lived, though, as Aleksandr Fukin rifled in a leveller which paved the way for Pula to win a tight encounter and set up a last-four tie against the hosts in Zagreb at 18.30CET on Thursday.

Recalled between the posts, Russia's Sergei Zuev did well to tip behind a drive from Mladen Kocic seven minutes in. Prior to that, Serbia were fortunate to escape when Fukin curled a shot wide after the ball had reached him following a free-kick which initially led to Miodrag Aksentijevic blocking from Pula.

Serbia's four-goal top scorer at the finals, Vidan Bojovic, started on the bench, but when he did get on he soon suffered a heavy fall that limited his participation for much of the first half. Just before his return, Slobodan Rajcevic executed a goal-saving tackle on the marauding Cirilo as he seemed certain to score.

Konstantin Maevski rattled the crossbar at the end of a first period which threatened to lift off without ever doing so, while the second started with Aksentijevic denying Fukin. Gradually the 1999 winners started to push Serbia back but, seconds after Sergei Abramov rattled a post, Milosavac struck.

Seizing on Konstantin Maevski's loose pass across the face of goal, Slobodan Rajcevic teed up his team-mate for an easy finish. The lead did not last, though. Given possession by Nikolai Pereverzev, Fukin restored parity which a ferocious shot in off the crossbar.

Pula completed the comeback when, running on to Cirilo's lay-off, he scored at the second attempt after his initial effort was blocked. Kocic, deployed as flying goalkeeper, hit the bar in a late scare for Russia.



Courtesy: UEFA.com


Italy edge out Portugal in quarter-final

Saad Assis put Italy in front before Alessandro Patias rolled the ball into an unguarded net to set up a showdown with Spain in the last four.

Tuesday 7 February 2012

Italy 3-1 Portugal

by Paul Saffer from Arena Zagreb

Italy defeated Portugal in an encounter between the last two UEFA European Futsal Championship runners-up to establish a semi-final rematch of their 2007 decider with Spain.

Saad Assis, who had created Arnaldo Pereira's own goal early in the second half which gave the Azzurri the lead, then restored the advantage after Ricardinho equalised. Alessandro Patias clinched victory with Portugal committed to attack. The 2003 champions now face the holders here on Thursday.

Despite the stakes both teams started in positive mood, Pedro Cary creating the first Portugal chance for Cardinal, who forced Stefano Mammarella to save. At the other end Luca Ippoliti threatened from distance and Vampeta somehow turned over Humberto Honorio's cross-shot. Ricardinho's effort was tipped over by Mammarella and Joel Queirós curled wide before becoming the latest player to test the Italy goalkeeper.

Mammarella again kept Italy level after a superb flowing move and low Paulinho strike. Things were getting a little tighter but Mammarella had to dive low to stop Cardinal's header, while Cary made a superb sliding block when Assis looked certain to score. Mammarella remained Cardinal's nemesis following good work from Ricardinho, while in perhaps the chance of the half, Vampeta's cross was lifted over by Patias.

After that goalless half, it took only 49 seconds of the second period for the deadlock to be broken. And it was unfortunate for Arnaldo Pereira, who scored on his 150th Portugal cap on Sunday, as he turned Assis's shot into his own net. Portugal were spurred into action and less than four minutes later Gonçalo slipped Ricardinho clear to give Mammarella no chance.

Italy in turn responded and Benedito denied Patias from point-blank range before Assis had a goal of his own with a powerful finish after an exchange of passes with Sergio Romano. Having to push again, Portugal were vulnerable on the break and Fortino shot over. The 2010 finalists were beaten when, with Ricardinho acting as flying goalkeeper, Patias's clearance rolled slowly into an empty net.




Courtesy: UEFA.com


Russia recovery leaves Skorovich in good heart

Russia coach Sergei Skorovich "liked the way we responded" from a goal down to book a semi-final spot while his Serbian counterpart spoke of satisfaction at a successful campaign.

Tuesday 7 February 2012

by Wayne Harrison, Dmitri Mamykin & Bernard Jurisic from Spaladium Arena

Sergei Skorovich, Russia coach
I'm very pleased with the result and our performance. Yes, we made a mistake and conceded a goal, but I really liked the way we responded. Before Serbia scored we were playing well. We didn't allow them anything in front of goal, enjoyed the majority of possession and created chances.

Unfortunately we were not able to convert and our mistake proved to be costly as Serbia scored. After that we managed to raise the tempo. Our quick passing and movement without the ball forced Serbia into making a lot of mistakes. Chances were coming and it was important we drew level as soon as possible. Luckily, the timing of our goals was perfect.

Konstantin Maevski, Russia defender
Every match now is like a final for us, and that's how we treated this one. It was very important to score first. We had some chances but unfortunately we conceded. I'm very pleased that we were able to come from behind and win. We were a bit cautious in the first half because we didn't want to make mistakes – the game was too important.

Nikolai Pereverzev, Russia forward
After scoring the equaliser we started to believe we could win in normal time. We woke up after conceding. It gave us a new lease of life and helped us play at the level we can. We were very aggressive and effective up front and that's the main reason we made it 1-1.

Aca Kovacevic, Serbia coach
We took the lead and at 1-1 we had a couple of chances, but Russia are a very strong team, one of the best in the world. I'm proud of my players. We weren't very lucky with the draw. First we played Azerbaijan, semi-finalists at the last EURO, Portugal, finalists two years ago, and then Russia – these are three of the best teams in Europe.

We played three very hard games in the European Championship but, in the end, we are satisfied with our performance. Our goal before the tournament was to qualify for the next round. We achieved that – we almost got to the semi-finals – and for us this is success. Russia have very good players, the two Brazilians particularly, and they applied pressure throughout the game.

Bojan Pavicevic, Serbia captain
We played very well against one of the favourites. I'm sad because both of Russia's goals were scored after our mistakes. We have a pretty inexperienced team and we paid for that today. It's too bad that we didn't get the chance to play Croatia – it would have been a real futsal spectacle in Zagreb.

Mladen Kocic, Serbia forward
Russia had more quality players today. We didn't have enough strength to keep playing without making a mistake before the end. Everything could have been different if we had managed to keep our lead for a couple more minutes – Russia would have become nervous and we could have used that. All in all, they are a better team but we were not that far away from the biggest result in Serbian futsal history.




Courtesy: UEFA.com


Italy's joy matched by Portugal's despair

Roberto Menichelli was thrilled his Italy side laid the ghost of a 2010 quarter final loss with a 3-1 win over Portugal, which represented losing coach Jorge Braz's "biggest disappointment".

Wednesday 8 February 2012

by Francesco Corda, Paul Saffer & Nuno Tavares from Arena Zagreb

Roberto Menichelli, Italy coach
First of all I want to congratulate Portugal – they are a great team and our victory is worth more given the strength of the opposition. I'm very happy for my players – I think they deserve to play in a Futsal EURO semi-final for what they have done, especially in the last year.

Maybe there was no particular reason for this victory. Maybe the fact we continued to push even after they equalised. The players had the strength to believe they could win this game. They kept their concentration and determination – the basis for any success in sport. I think the motivational aspect carries a weight that you must pair with technical ability.

Two years ago there was sadness when we didn't get past the quarter-finals. This makes up for the last European Championship but I didn't think about that a lot. What counts in sport is what comes next. Tonight we will think of this beautiful day we have experienced, then tomorrow morning we will start work again for another contest. Fortunately, we will play five matches here – that is what we wanted.

Alessandro Patias, Italy goalscorer
This is a massive victory. We knew that our path would get even harder after being beaten by Russia to first place in Group C. We knew we had a very difficult game. We have faced Portugal many times and they are a great team. At the end, with pain, anger and will, we managed to get a positive result and reach the semi-finals.

We all had a lot of chances, not only me, but unfortunately we could not convert them earlier. In the end, after we had been through so much, I scored the third goal, and that was very important. I scored, but the most important thing is Italy won.

Stefano Mammarella, Italy goalkeeper
This is a great moment, achieving this result at the European Championship. This squad really deserves it. We were united and we had the power to beat Portugal. We played a great match even if we wasted too many chances. We really wanted this result. What happened on the pitch showed we were better than them – we won 3-1 and everyone's performance was exceptional. We were completely determined to reach the semis.

On Thursday we have Spain. This is a tournament played over ten days and we don't have time to rest, but beating Portugal in the quarter-finals will give us the confidence to face Spain and deliver another great performance. We have a chance to win, because we are together and we want to do well. It is a do or die game, 50-50, even if Spain have incredible talent.

Jorge Braz, Portugal coach
There were some mistakes at important moments in the game, that's the reason for this result. We could have scored again later on and it might have been another game – we would have been in control, gained confidence. That's too bad.

I'm the leader, I take the blame. There is no need to look for scapegoats. I'm the leader of this team, they've been a fantastic team, a great team over these three weeks – great behaviour, they did everything they could do. They prepared well and had two – three – good games. But it was not enough. I am very, very, very disappointed, the biggest disappointment of my life.

João Benedito, Portugal goalkeeper
There is not much to say and it is very difficult for me to try to analyse the match in a cold, rational way. We are very down and it is way too early for us to put aside what we are feeling and talk about what exactly went wrong. We had our chances to score and they had theirs.

It was a very even and tight game but unfortunately we failed once again. We are sad but we will learn from what happened here, we will lift our heads and start to think about our next battles. We will do everything in our power so this won't happen again.




Courtesy: UEFA.com


Ricardinho: Portugal will be back

"We are very sad but I'm sure our time will come," Ricardinho told UEFA.com after Portugal's 3-1 quarter-final loss to Italy which ended a campaign that promised so much.

Wednesday 8 February 2012

by Paul Saffer & Nuno Tavares from Arena Zagreb

At 26, Ricardinho should have plenty of other chances to win big tournaments but his dream of helping Portugal to UEFA Futsal EURO 2012 glory was very real until snatched away by Italy last night.

Having topped Group D with wins against Azerbaijan – a 4-1 victory in which Ricardinho made two and scored a beautiful chipped goal – and Serbia, 2010 runners-up Portugal were able to remain in Zagreb for Tuesday's quarter-final. However, their opponents switching from Split were a nation Portugal had not beaten in 13 encounters and that sequence is now 14 after a 3-1 loss. Ricardinho had cancelled out Arnaldo Pereira's own goal early in the second half, but his contribution was ultimately to no avail.

"When I first came into the national team [in 2003], Italy were one step higher than us but now I think we are at the same level," Ricardinho told UEFA.com. "We could see just that in the recent games we played against them. Matches like the one tonight are often decided on details and on some luck, but those factors seem to be working against us in recent times. Nevertheless, that can change. Too bad it wasn't today."

Still, there is reason for optimism, not least Portugal's display in this championship – arguably superior in quality to their 2010 run to the final. Ricardinho was injured for that tournament and his delicate touch and tireless effort justified those who believe him to be Europe's, if not the world's, foremost futsal talent.

It was not only the No10. The likes of Cardinal and Pedro Cary have come into their prime alongside the experienced Joel Queirós and captain Arnaldo, with coach Jorge Braz building on what he inherited when Orlando Duarte ended his decade-long reign a little under two years ago.

On Saturday, Portugal will discover their FIFA Futsal World Cup play-off opponents and the finals in Thailand this autumn give Ricardinho and his team-mates an immediate target. "Now we need to keep working hard and we can have a clear conscience regarding what we did in this tournament," he said. "Obviously we are very sad but I'm sure our time will come and we will win big things in the future.

"We could have reached the break [against Italy] two or three goals up but it is not only about luck. Like our coach likes to say to us, when you really believe in yourself and in the team, the ball goes in after hitting the post instead of coming out. People should continue to believe in the work of our coach because it has been excellent."





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