Courtesy: SHEFFIELD FA

All on UEFA Futsal Cup!
Wednesday, 15 September 2004


The Sheffield & Hallamshire County Football Association staged it’s first ever UEFA Futsal Cup Preliminary round over the weekend and the event received the official seal of approval from UEFA.

The tournament which saw teams competing from Bulgaria, Albania and England has received over whelming praise from UEFA.


Match Report

Sheffield Hallam had to endure some tough lessons in their first appearance in the UEFA Futsal cup over the weekend – September 10 - 12. Facing opposition from FC Tirana (Albania) and Mag Varna FC (Bulgaria) the Sheffield Team learnt the hard way that English Team will have to improve their tactical awareness of this FIFA and UEFA approved version of 5 a side football before they can begin to compete on the European stage.

The competition was staged at the impressive English Institute of Sport and featured the national champions of Albania and Bulgaria as well as Sheffield Hallam - winners of the FA Futsal Cup in 2003.

The competition opened with the game between Tirana and Hallam. Watched by Geoff Thompson – The Chairman of the FA and delegates from UEFA - the game unfolded predictably with Sheffield Hallam’s direct approach contrasting with the patient possession play of their opponents. Futsal is a game of attack and counterattack and Sheffield were unable to make use of their opportunities in the first half, seldom penetrating behind the Tirana defence or being able to counter attack at speed.

The Albanians demonstrated how it should be done with decisive quick breaks lead by Ami Mullai – the player of the tournament. His ability to run with the ball and beat back-pedalling opponents in one – on – one situation was the major factor behind the four – nil scoreline in Tirana’s favour at half time.

The half time Team talk by Sheffield manager Jon Grey must have been inspirational, for his Team emerged for the second half reinvigorated. A 0-4 score line was restored to 4-4 as Sheffield attacked with greater aggression, speed and invention. What had threatened to be a whitewash now became an absorbing game as the local crowd sensed a remarkable comeback.

Shocked by the transformation Tirana roused themselves and once again were able to rely on Mullai to lead two counterattacks in the final five minutes that sealed the match 6-4 to the Albanians.

The second game of the Tournament featured Mag Varna and Tirana and followed a very similar pattern as the first. By half time Tirana were leading 3-1 with Mullai having scored a first half hatrick matched only by a thunderous strike from Hristov Tsvetam. Further goals for the Albanians seemed assured. However Tirana tired rapidly in the second half and the fragile confidence of the Bulgarians began to grow as they enjoyed more possession and then a second and third equalising goal.

The Final five minutes of the competition provided a poor advert for the game as both teams settled for the 3 – 3 scoreline and a point each.

With two teams qualifying to the next round of the competition in Poland or Hungary the last match of the Tournament still had everything to play for. Whilst winning a point the previous evening the Bulgarians had also lost their impressive goalkeeper Hadjiev Ismet whilst Sheffield Hallam felt that they could learn the lessons from their first match and exploit the depleted squad of their opponents.

The match started well for Sheffield Hallam as four clear chances were created but then missed and it was only a matter of time before the Bulgarians began to take their own opportunities. Hallam were repeatedly guilty of giving the ball away in key defensive positions and were decisively punished. A 5-1 scoreline in favour of Mag Varna was an illustration of the necessity to take your chances in this free scoring game. If Hallam had hoped for a second half revival they were soon discouraged by further early goals from their now confident opponents.

What made matters worse was that the supposedly weak link in the Bulgarian team - the replacement keeper, Atamas Atanasov was having an outstanding game. As Sheffield pressed forward to try to achieve respectability to the scoreline they left further holes in defence and the Bulgarians continued to exploit the tactical naivety of their opponents.

As the score mounted Sheffield exceeded their five accumulated fouls and conceded three 10 metre penalties all of which were saved by the outstanding Smith in the Hallam goal. The final score of 13 – 6 to Mag Varna confirmed that the Bulgarians would finish as winners of the group and travel onto the next round of the competition in Hungary. It also confirmed that such aspirations are currently premature for this Sheffield team who have much work to do if they wish to progress in this competition in future years.

The staging of this UEFA Tournament provided an opportunity to showcase Futsal in England and contribute to an increased awareness of the game that will be required for the sport to develop. It also demonstrated to UEFA that high quality tournaments can be staged in excellent facilities in this country.

The performances of Sheffield Hallam could not be faulted for effort but the absence of a National Futsal League providing high quality challenges to Hallam on a regular basis was a clear disadvantage. In comparison the Bulgarian and Albanian Champions both play in established elite leagues of 10 Teams.

The difference in tactical understanding of the game was also clear with both the Albanians and Bulgarians far superior in their adaption of formation and speed of movement. A gap in Futsal technique and skill was also apparent. Realistically this will only be bridged when the game is introduced to young players and they have the chance to master its skills as part of their overall football education.

The FA will need to look at all of these issues as part of its forthcoming full development plan for the sport. In the meantime English teams can only look on enviously at the mastery of an exciting skilful game by others.