Courtesy: UEFA


Italy cruise to second success

Tuesday, 15 February 2005

By Greg Demetriou at the CEZ Arena

Italy 5-0 Hungary
Italy have taken a giant step towards the semi-finals of the 2005 UEFA European Futsal Championship with this convincing victory.

Never looked back

Alessandro Nuccorini's men were in front within 30 seconds and never looked back, with the coach taking the opportunity to rest key players while affording valuable playing time to the rest of his talented squad. For Hungary, it was always going to be a difficult proposition for the amateur side against the reigning champions.

Bacaro missing

The Azzurri had been the biggest winners on the first matchday, taking control of Group B with their 8-3 success against Portugal. They were without the ill Vinicius Bacaro while Hungary were missing Zoltán Szabó following his red card in their opening-day 4-2 defeat by Spain.

Foglia first

Italy took the lead with virtually their first attack when Adriano Foglia struck his first goal of the finals. The diminutive No10, one of the stars of their 2003 European Championship triumph, received the ball from Nando Grana before shooting beyond Zoltan Balász.

Exciting play

Hungary were struggling to break down their opponents although Balász was again in fine form after his wonder show against Spain. Pál Baranyai did get a rare chance but missed from a tight angle before Nando Grana struck his fourth goal of the competition with a superb long-range drive in the 13th minute.

Quickfire double

The goal prompted a Hungarian time-out but there was little coach Mihály Kozma could do to stop the imperious Italians. It was 3-0 when Carlos Scala squeezed a shot through the legs of Balász in the 17th minute. A great breakaway from Sandro Zanetti allowed Scala to get his second two minutes later, with just his third shot of the game.

Similar strike

Grana scored a carbon copy of his first goal for Italy’s fifth, with the Hungarian defenders failing to close him down in time. Hungary kept going with Tamás Lódi unlucky with one low shot that just went wide – but despite the score their fans kept singing.

Morgado denied

A sixth goal would have equalled the record winning margin from the 2001 European Championship, set by Spain when they beat Poland 8-3. Eduardo Morgado did his best to get it with a cheeky back-heel and then a delicate lob that was headed off the line.

Starting lineup
Italy: Alexandre Feller, Nando Grana, Montovanelli, Jocimar and Adriano Foglia.
Hungary: Zoltán Balázs, Szabolcs Tóth, Pál Baranyai, Tamás Frank and János Madarász.