Futsal/Indoor Soccer World News
April 3, 2002

News and information on Futsal/Indoor Soccer from around the world


EUROPE

SPAIN'S GOLDEN GOAL EARNS 4-3 VICTORY OVER BRAZIL
A golden goal by midfielder Joan, 10 minutes into the
overtime period boosted Spain's Futsal National Team
to a 4-3 victory over Brazil in the final match of
the four-nation invitational tournament to commemorate
the "Centenario del Real Madrid" (Real Madrid's Centenary)
on Mar. 31. The competition was held at the Polideportivo
Parque Corredor de Torrejón in Madrid, Spain. Prior
to the final match, Spain opened the event with a 16-0
blanking of Japan on Mar. 29, while Brazil topped Egypt
4-2 in the nightcap. Egypt rebounded on Mar. 31, to
post a 2-1 win over Japan in the third-place consolation
game, while Spain closed out the tournament with the
4-3 overtime victory over Brazil.

BRAZIL CAPTURES 2002 MUNDIALITO IN ITALY
Prior to competing an invitational in Spain, Brazil's
Futsal National Team added another title to its trophy
case after capturing the 2002 Mundialito held in
PalaPentimele Arena in Reggio Calabria, Italy with a
3-1 victory over the host Italy in the championship
final on Mar. 25. After the Italians took a 1-0 lead
in the 14th minute of the first half, the Brazilians
leveled the score at 1-1 with a goal by midfielder
Vinicius three minutes later. In the second half,
both squads pressured to search for the go-ahead tally,
but it was Brazil that made it 2-1 with a goal by
defender Junior in the 35th minute. Forward Rogerio
ended Italy's chances to tie the match after scoring
Brazil's third tally with 60 seconds remaining in the
game. In an earlier match, Russia took the bronze
medal after topping Argentina in the third-place game
5-3.

2002 Mundialito - Reggio Calabria, Italy
Final Groups Standings, Results
* Advance to Semifinals

Group A (GP, W-L-T, GF:GA, PTS)
Italy (3, 2-0-1, 9:2, 7) *
Brazil (3, 2-0-1, 7:3, 7) *
Slovenia (3, 0-2-1, 2:6, 1)
Belgium (3, 0-2-1, 3:10, 1)

Group B (GP, W-L-T, GF:GA, PTS)
Argentina (3, 2-0-1, 9:5, 7) *
Russia (3, 2-0-1, 8:5, 7) *
Czech Republic (3, 1-2-0, 8:10, 3)
Iran (3, 0-3-0, 8:13, 0)

Mar. 19
Russia 4, Czech Republic 2
Argentina 5, Iran 3
Italy 5, Belgium 0
Brazil 2, Slovenia 0

Mar. 20
Czech Republic 5, Iran 3
Belgium 2, Slovenia 2
Italy 2, Brazil 2
Russia 1, Argentina 1

Mar. 22
Brazil 3, Belgium 1
Argentina 3, Czech Republic 1
Russia 3, Iran 2
Italy 2, Slovenia 0

Mar. 23
Semifinals
Brazil 2, Argentina 1
Italy 5, Russia 1

Mar. 24
Placement Matches
Seventh/Eight Place - Iran 9, Belgium 2
Fifth/Sixth Place - Slovenia 4, Czech Republic 3 (OT)

Mar. 25
Third Place Match - Russia 5, Argentina 3
Championship - Brazil 3, Italy 1

HOLLAND PLAYS HUNGARY TO BACK-TO-BACK DRAWS
Holland's Futsal National Team hosted Hungary to back-to-back international friendly ties played in the Netherlands from Mar. 19-20. After a 1-1 result in the first game in Zwaag, both squads battled to a 3-3 draw in the second match the following day (Mar. 20) in Almere.

POLAND TRAVELS TO HUNGARY FOR TWO-GAME SERIES
Poland's Futsal National Team will travel to Hungary
to face the host in a two-game international friendly
series from Apr. 10-11. The first match will take
place in Eger on Apr. 10, while the second game will
have Mezokovsed as the venue. The last time these two
teams met was in Jaworzno, Poland in a two-game series
from Oct. 4-5, 2000, in which both games ended in draws
(5-5, 4-4).

FINLAND, GREECE, LITHUANIA TO COMPETE IN FOUR-NATIONS
CUP IN LATVIA
The Futsal National Team's of Finland, Greece and
Lithuania will travel to Riga, Latvia to join the host
in a "Four-Nations Cup" that will run from Apr. 12-14.
The round-robin event will begin of Apr. 12, with Finland
taking on Greece in the opener, while Lithuania meets
Latvia in the nightcap. The tournament continues the
following day (Apr. 13), when Lithuania squares off
against Greece in game one and then Finland battles
Latvia in game two. The competition ends on Apr. 14,
with Lithuania facing Finland in the opener, while the
host Latvia takes on Greece in the nightcap.

ITALY TO HOST YUGOSLAVIA
Italy's Futsal National Team will host Yugoslavia in
an international friendly on Apr. 23, in Padova. Italy
is coming off a second-place performance at the 2002
Mundialito in Reggio Calabria (Italy), while Yugoslavia
is playing their first international match since a 3-3
tie against the host Holland on Nov. 21, 2001, in Lenk.
This is the first meeting between the two squads since
Oct. 28, 1995, when Italy topped visiting Yugoslavia in
Turin, in the final game of the UEFA qualifying round
for the 1996 FIFA World Championships in Spain.

NORTH AMERICA

CANADIAN WOMEN EARN SPLIT AGAINST U.S. SELECT
The Canadian Women's Futsal National Team split a two-game
series with the U.S. Women's Futsal Select played on Mar.
20 in Baltimore, Md. and then on Mar. 23, in Washington,
D.C. After Canada took the first game 2-1 on Mar. 20,
the USA Select won the second match three days later
(Mar. 23) 8-3. Defenders Alison Panocetti, Jennifer
Medina and forward Lisa Santi led the Americans each
scoring twice, while midfielder Anne Luprano notched two
goals in the loss for Canada.

USA WIN FIRST-EVER INTERNATIONAL TOURNAMENT OF HOME SOIL
The U.S. Futsal National Team won their first-ever
three-nation invitational tournament played on American
soil after posting a convincing 10-0 win over Canada in
Baltimore, Md. on Mar. 20, then battling Mexico to a 1-1
tie in Washington, D.C. on Mar. 21. Mexico defeated Canada
7-1 in the final game of the triangular competition on Mar.
23, in Washington, D.C., giving the U.S. the title on the
goal differential tiebreaker (+10 to Mexico's +6). Forward
Bernie Lilavois led the offense against Canada on Mar. 20,
in Baltimore, notching three goals (hat trick) and dishing
out two assists, while defender Pat White also had three
tallies and forward Mark Thomas added a goal and two
assists for the USA. The 10-0 result was the largest
margin of victory by the Americans since the program's
inception in 1986. It was also the most goals scored by
the U.S. since Nov. 28, 1996, in the 10-2 victory over
Malaysia during the FIFA World Championship in Spain.
The U.S. concluded the home stand the following night
(Mar. 21) with a 1-1 draw against Mexico in Washington,
D.C. Mexico had a chance to win the match with 34 seconds
remaining as midfielder Victor Huerta fired a low shot
from six-yards out that was deflected by a U.S. defender
and toward the goal space between the legs of U.S. 'keeper
Dan Green, who was just able to get his left foot on the
ball to make the crucial save to preserve the draw. With
the two results, the USA improves their overall record
against CONCACAF teams to 8-2-1.

Final Results, Standings
Teams (GP, W-L-T, GF:GA, PTS)
USA (3, 1-0-1, 11:1, 4)
Mexico (3, 1-0-1, 8:2, 4)
Canada (3, 0-2-0, 1:17, 0)

Mar. 20
USA 10, Canada 0

Mar. 21
USA 1, Mexico 1

Mar. 23
Mexico 7, Canada 1

U.S. HEAD FOR 2002 GENK CUP IN BELGIUM
After winning the three-nation tournament on home soil,
the U.S. Futsal National Team will head to Genk, Belgium
to compete at the 2002 Ford Genk Cup from May 8-11.
The annual futsal tournament sanctioned by FIFA and
Belgium's Football Association will feature 24 invited
teams from around the world. The invitation criteria
is done by the following process:
1) Top eight teams from the Belgium Futsal League
2) Automatic bid for the host club - Zvk Ford Genk
3) Top team from each of the Futsal Leagues in Holland,
Italy, Poland, Spain
4) 11 Wildcards - Futsal Clubs or National Teams.
The first round will feature eight groups of three.
Similar to the 2001 Singapore Tiger 5's International
Tournament, the Genk Cup will have three award winners.
The first-place group winners will advance to the "Cup
Quarterfinals," while the eight-group runners-up will
move onto the "Plate Quarterfinals." The third-place
group finishers will compete in the "Bowl Quarterfinals."
The quarterfinal winners will face off in each
competition's semifinals, with the surviving teams
moving onto their respective "Cup, Plate or Bowl"
Finals.

KANSAS CITY, MILWAUKEE, PHILADELPHIA CLINCH MISL PLAYOFF
BERTHS
With two weeks remaining in the 2001-02 Major Indoor
Soccer League (MISL) regular season, the Kansas City
Comets, Milwaukee Wave and Philadelphia Kixx have all
clinched playoff spot, while the Baltimore Blast and
Cleveland Crunch are battling for the final post-season
berth. Only four of the six teams advance to the MISL
playoff, where the teams will play a one-game semifinal
at the squad's higher seed. The semifinal winners will
meet for the 2001-02 MISL Championship in a best-of-three
final series. The Wave (30-10), who are currently in
first-place in the MISL standings, can clinch home-field
advantage throughout the playoffs if they win two out
of their four remaining regular season matches. The
Kixx (27-13) trail the Wave by three games in the
standings, while the Comets (23-16) are third and 6.5
games back. With 13.5 games behind the leading Wave,
the Blast's (16-23) magic number to clinch the final
playoff spot is only two. For more information check
the MISL website at www.misl.net.

2001-02 MISL Standings Thru Apr. 3
* Clinched Playoff Berth

Teams (GP, W-L, .PCT, GB, PF:PA)
Milwaukee Wave (40, 30-10, .750, -, 602:424) *
Philadelphia Kixx (40, 27-13, .675, 3, 515:454) *
Kansas City Comets (39, 23-16, .590, 6.5, 591:563) *
Baltimore Blast (39, 16-23, .410, 13.5, 495:523)
Cleveland Crunch (40, 13-27, .325, 17, 508:568)
Harrisburg Heat (40, 10-30, .250, 20, 408:587)

TOZER THREE WINS SHY OF 500-MILESTONE
Head Coach Keith Tozer is only three victories shy of
reaching the 500 career-win milestone after the Milwaukee
Wave have a current record of 30-10 in the 2001-02 MISL
standings. Tozer, who is the all-time winningest coach
in U.S. indoor soccer history, has 497 total victories
(includes regular season and playoffs) with four games
remaining in the MISL regular season. The current U.S.
Futsal National Team Coach surpassed former all-time leader
Kenny Copper (465) and legendary indoor coach Ron Newman
(464) last year for the top spot with 467 wins.

All-Time Winningest Coaches - U.S. Indoor Soccer
Coach (Record, Era)
1. Keith Tozer (497-331, 1984-Present)
2. Kenny Cooper (465-370, 1979-1997)
3. Ron Newman (464-264, 1980-1995)

FUTSAL® COMES TO DISNEY'S WIDE WORLD OF SPORTS™ IN ORLANDO
The United States Futsal Federation (USFF) will host
the inaugural "The Futsal® Challenge" at Disney's Wide
World of Sports™ complex outside of Orlando, Fla. from
May 17-19. Youth and adult teams from around the USA as
well as the rest of the world will come to Florida to
compete in this prestigious tournament, while also enjoying
the magic of the Walt Disney World® Resort. The
tournament, designed to promote the growing sport of
futsal, will feature the following age divisions - boy's
and girl's U-10, U-12, U-14, U-16, U-19 and "Open" men
and women's divisions. For more information on the
tournament check USFF website at www.futsal.com.

SOUTH AMERICA

FIRST OF TWO CONMEBOL CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP TO BE HELD IN URUGUAY
CONMEBOL (Confederation of South America) will sanction
two futsal club championships in 2002, as the first one
will take place in Montevideo, Uruguay from Apr. 8-15,
while the second will be held in Venezuela at a later
date. The format will feature the CONMEBOL countries'
respective futsal club winners and runners-up competing
in a North and South Regional Championships. For this
year only, the North Zone (Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador,
Peru, Venezuela) will only have the nation's respective
club champions competing, while Uruguay will host the
South Regionals (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay,
Uruguay) that feature the countries' winners and runners-up.
The two regional winners (North, South) will meet later
in the year in a best-of-three series to crown the overall
2002 CONMEBOL Futsal Club Champion.

2002 CONMEBOL Futsal Club Championship - South Regional
Montevideo, Uruguay - Apr. 8-15

Group A
Banco República-URU
Franja de Oro-ARG
Adolfo Rojas Silva-PAR
Banespa-BRA
Socol-CHI

Group B
Atlético Peñarol-URU
Boca Juniors-ARG
Universidad Autonoma de Asunción-PAR
Carlos Barbosa-BRA
Profetal-CHI

2002 CONMEBOL Futsal Club Championship - North Regional
TBD, Venezuela - TBD

Futsal Club Champions
Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela

PARAGUAY TO STAGE 2002 COPA AMERICA
Paraguay will stage the first-ever CONMEBOL Copa America
for Futsal in 2002. Similar to the Copa America for the
outdoors' Soccer National Teams, the continent's ten
countries will participate in the competition that will
be held every two years starting in 2002. CONMEBOL also
announced that the 2004 Copa America will serve as the
qualifying tournament for the next FIFA Futsal World
Championships.



Next issue will be sent on May 1, 2002


Futsal is a sport that is a derivative of soccer and
played with five-man teams on a basketball style court,
with no walls and a low bouncing ball, unlike the
traditional sport of U.S. indoor soccer played with
six-man squads and walls. Great soccer superstars such
as Pele, Zico, and Ronaldo grew up playing the game and
credit Futsal with developing their skills.