Courtesy: UEFA.com

Contenders line up in Charleroi

Friday, 11 March 2005

By Greg Demetriou

The UEFA Futsal Cup second qualifying round gets under way on Monday with four teams vying to clinch top spot in Group A and a place in April's two-legged final.


Belgian hosts

The action takes place on 14, 15 and 17 March with the mini-tournament being hosted by Action 21 Charleroi, and also featuring reigning champions Boomerang Interviú FS of Spain, Sporting Clube de Portugal and KMN Litija of Slovenia. The winners will then face the top team from Group B, which will be played in Moscow on 19, 20 and 22 March.

Proud record

Charleroi have a proud record, reaching the finals of the 2002 and 2003 editions. The Belgian club failed to get beyond this round last year, having finished second in their group. They have been domestic champions for the past five seasons and, in the 2004/05 domestic season, boast an eleven-point advantage on their nearest rivals.

Brazilian stars

They are in fine goalscoring form, having found the net 49 times in their past four matches, conceding just two goals. Brazilian forward Alex has scored 17 of those goals and will be one of the men to watch, along with compatriots André Luis and Wilson, when Charleroi meet Sporting at 20.30CET on Monday.

Inaugural hosts

The Portuguese champions are back in the competition for the first time since reaching this same stage in the inaugural edition. Then, when the last eight was played as a one-off finals tournament hosted by the Lisbon club, Sporting reached the semi-finals before losing 4-0 to eventual winners Playas de Castellón FS. The nucleus of that team remains with Miguel Fernandes, Bibi and João Marçal hoping to put their experience to good use.

International class

In domestic form, they have just been eliminated at the last 16 of the Portuguese Cup although remain in contention in the league as they trail leaders SL Benfica by four points but with a game in hand. The team is based around internationals João Benedito, Israel, Zezito and Gonçalo Alves, with the latter scoring four goals at the recent UEFA European Futsal Championship.

Second appearance

Litija are another team riding high in their domestic league, with just one defeat from their 17 matches this season and a five-point lead. However, they were surprisingly beaten in the semi-finals of the Slovenian Cup earlier this month. The six-time Slovenian champions have plenty of Futsal Cup experience, having been participants in every edition.

Narrow defeat

In 2001/02, they enjoyed a particularly memorable involvement. Although they failed to get beyond qualifying Group 6, they only lost 4-2 to eventual winners Castellón before beating FK Vetadzoka of F.Y.R. Macedonia 5-1. This time around, they will have the honour getting the mini-tournament started at 17.30CET on Monday - against the might of holders Boomerang.

Tough league

The Spanish side won the 2004 Futsal Cup with a 7-5 aggregate victory against Benfica last spring. However, they are currently not having things all their own way in the highly competitive Spanish league, as they are eight points adrift of leaders El Pozo Murcia FS who are in Group A of this tournament. Boomerang have already won some silverware this season, though, clinching the Spanish Cup back in January.

Players back

Part of the reason for their slight dip in league action could be attributed to the recent absence of players like Daniel, Julio, Andreu and world No1 goalkeeper Luis Amado. All were on international duty recently, helping Spain win the 2004 FIFA Futsal World Championship and the 2005 European Championship, but are back to boost their club's chances.