Courtesy: UEFA.com

Charleroi continue to conquer

Sunday, 11 September 2005

Action 21 Charleroi have stated their intent for the 2005/06 UEFA Futsal Cup with victory in the City of Porto international tournament.

Final triumph
The Belgian champions beat Italian side AS Roma 7-2 in the final at the Pavilhão Rosa Mota in Porto, with Alex Almedia stealing the show. AR Freixieiro took third place with a 2-1 victory against fellow Portuguese side Sporting Clube de Portugal, thanks to Ivan's powerful winner.

Four-goal haul
Roma had actually taken the lead in the final through Italian international Montovaneli but they were soon swept aside by Charleroi. Aside from Alex's four-goal haul, Robinho, Davi and Lúcio also found the net for the European champions. Eduardo managed a second consolation for Roma.

Earlier games
The competiton had begun on Thursday with a 4-4 draw between SL Benfica and Freixieiro, while Sporting were 6-0 winners against Boavista FC. Charleroi then cruised to an 8-0 victory against Boavista and Roma beat Freixieiro 6-5. Charleroi saw off Sporting 3-2 in the semi-finals, with Roma earning their final place with a 3-1 victory against Benfica.

Title defence
Charleroi began the defence of their Belgian crown earlier this month with a 5-5 draw against Minicup Lommel, thanks to a late Robinho equaliser. They enter the UEFA Futsal Cup in Group 6 of next month's first qualifying round and will be up against mini-tournament hosts Clearex Chorzow of Poland, Iberia 2003 Tbilisi of Georgia and FK Nautara Kaunas of Lithuania.



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