Courtesy: FIFA.com

Favourites Brazil claim Grand Prix title

(FIFA.com) 30 Sep 2005

Brazil justified their tag as pre-tournament favourites for the 2005 Americas Futsal Grand Prix with an emphatic 7-3 win over Colombia in the final. Argentina, for their part, took third place on the podium after defeating Uruguay 3-1. The tournament, which was hosted by the Brazilian Futsal Confederation in the city of Brusque, produced consistently high quality action and provided a stern test out for South America's leading national sides.
Victory on home soil gave Brazil their first title since Paulo Cesar de Oliveira took the reins of the national team in April of this year. Speaking after last week's success, which took his tally of consecutive wins with the verdeamarelha to 15, the new coach explained how much victory had meant to his country: "As I've said before, I'm aiming for long-term change but with immediate results. In that context I'm satisfied. What we've achieved here is significant even though there are still improvements to be made. Furthermore, the win means this generation of players will no longer have to deal with the stigma of being dubbed, unfairly in my opinion, a 'quality side destined to be losers'."

The team's pivot Betao, who finished as tournament top scorer with six strikes, particularly impressed de Oliveira with his performance in the Final against Colombia. "I'm delighted that he spoke well of me. However, I'm only top scorer because of all the work he has done with us. The important thing was that we kept our composure after conceding two goals in the opening five minutes and managed to turn the game around," said the striker who plays for Spanish club Lobelle Santiago.

Franklin, Brazil's goalkeeper, captain and most experienced player at 34, also highlighted his side's ability to dig deep and respond despite having "several young and relatively inexperienced players" in their side. "The future is very promising," the captain added. One player who made a name for himself in Brusque and looks to have a bright future ahead of him is Valdin. "I gained more confidence as the tournament wore on and just hope I did enough to earn a regular place in the side," said the pacy winger.

The Colombians were another side pleased with their week's work. As well as taking the runners-up spot, the cafeteros left with the satisfaction of knowing that only Brazil had been able to find a way past Juan Miguel Lozano in goal. John Pinilla, Colombia's leading player and top scorer in the tournament with three goals, summed up the mood in the camp afterwards: "Our aim was at least to get to the final. We always knew that beating Brazil would be a very tall order. Even though we took a two-goal lead against them early on in the final, they had so many attacking options that in the end we simply couldn't contain them. Nonetheless, our performance will help accelerate the growth of futsal in our country, and so we're leaving here contented."

Argentina took bronze after a hard fought 3-1 win over Uruguay in the 3rd and 4th place game. Speaking afterwards, the albiceleste coach Fernando Larrañaga had this to say: "On the whole it's been a positive experience for us. We have seen once again that when players are not full-time professionals, physical exhaustion takes a significant toll on them in a tournament like this. This was brought home to us when we played Brazil in the semi-final. The tempo in international competitions is at another level, and that's something we need to work on to ensure we have that bit extra next time round."

The Paraguay coach Juan Carlos Orihuela was another sounding upbeat after the final reckoning. "We made a lot of mistakes here, especially in our group game against Argentina. However, if you take into account that the team we had here was our third-string side and full of very young players, the mistakes were understandable. We're on the right track."
Even Álvaro Guevara, coach of bottom-placed side Venezuela, refused to be downcast. "We have to work not only on our football but also on the psychological side of things. The need for the former was clear from our strike rate: we created innumerable chances but scored just once, while the latter will help give the players the belief they are currently lacking. Against Brazil we were losing by four goals but still in line for a place in the semi-finals. But then they got a fifth and we lost all our intensity. We intend to work on both those aspects of our game so as to continue improving," said the vinotinto coach.

Tournament summary

Group A
Brazil
Uruguay
Venezuela

Group B
Argentina
Paraguay
Colombia

MATCHES
Day 1 - 20/9/2005
Venezuela 0-0 Uruguay
Paraguay 0-3 Colombia

Day 2 - 21/9/205
Argentina 0-1 Colombia
Brazil 5-1 Uruguay

Day 3 - 22/9/205
Argentina 4-3 Paraguay
Brazil 7-0 Venezuela

POSITIONS:
Group A: Brazil 6 points (+11); Uruguay 1 (-4); Venezuela 1 (-7)

Group B: Colombia 6 points (+4); Argentina 3 (0); Paraguay 0 (-4)

Day 4 - 23/9/205
5th and 6th place game
Venezuela 1-5 Paraguay

Semi-finals
Colombia 3-0 Uruguay
Brazil 2-0 Argentina

Day 5 - 24/9/205
3rd and 4th place game
Uruguay 1-3 Argentina

Final
Colombia 3-7 Brazil




Tournament Introduction

Courtesy: FIFA.com

Brazil plays host to the cream of South American futsal

Tuesday sees the start of the Americas Futsal Grand Prix 2005 organised by the Brazilian Futsal Confederation (CBF) in the picturesque Brazilian city of Brusque. Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, Colombia and Venezuela will all be hoping to lift the coveted trophy come Saturday 24 September.
Paulo César de Oliveira, coach of a very strong host nation side, is relishing the task ahead: "We have selected the very best players available and will be going all out to take the trophy. However, that's not our only objective, as we are also looking to build a balanced team for the future." César de Oliveira and his fellow coaches are only too aware of the stern challenges looming on the horizon, including the Pan American tournament and the 2007 FIFA Futsal World Championship qualifiers. The finals of the latter are also just round the corner in 2008, although the exact venue has yet to be decided.

For Brazil however, there is a very real need to find a successful formula in the here and now. Having been denied victory at the hands of Spain in both Guatemala 2000 and Chinese Taipei 2004, added to the shock defeat against Argentina in the Copa America Paraguay 2003, the CBF saw fit to secure Oliveira's services in an attempt to get back to winning ways.

Argentina find themselves in quite different circumstances as they arrive in Brusque. They have given the cold shoulder to their foreign-based players, only selecting players from the local league. Albiceleste coach José Fernando Larrañaga spoke to FIFA.com about his side's chances. "It's a real test for us going to a big tournament without 'foreign' players. It's the only way we can find out if we can completely overhaul the squad or if we'll need to keep depending on foreign clubs to release their players."

The Argentine tactician is also pleased to be sharing a group with Paraguay and Colombia. "We would obviously love to come up against Brazil, and maybe we will, but before that happens we've got to face two very good teams. Like ourselves, Paraguay haven't called up their international players, but they're still a tough opponent thanks to their improving domestic league. Colombia on the other hand are taking all the big guns. They've even selected John Jairo Pinilla, who in my opinion is one of the most technically gifted players in the world," Larrañaga explains.

Pinilla himself is the perfect example of how seriously Colombia are taking the Grand Prix. The player is currently strutting his stuff in the Italian league and was in fact due to play a game last Sunday. However, the Colombian Football Federation (FCF) stepped in and managed to have the game moved forward, thus allowing Pinilla to make the trip to Brazil a day early, ready for Wednesday's opener with Argentina.


Brazil's Falcao, winner of the Golden Ball and the Golden Boot at the FIFA Futsal World Championship Chinese Taipei in 2004 will be one of the main attractions at the American Grand Prix 2005.
(ACTION IMAGES)
Brendon Malone
Confidence is high in the Colombian camp on the back of Pinilla's arrival. The Cafeteros held three training sessions a day in the Coliseo El Camping in Bogota in the run up to the tournament. Coach Jairo Díaz has this to say: "We come into the tournament in great shape and we're eager to test ourselves against the best."

In marked contrast, Rubén Subeldía and Cesar Robido, coaches of Paraguay and Uruguay respectively, will have to do without their internationally based players. They have opted to call up several players fresh from playing for their clubs in the Southern Zone of the South American Championship (Zona Sur del Campeonato Sudamericano ) in Asuncion, Paraguay. In fact, half the players in each squad took part in that very tournament and although international level is obviously a step up, the idea is to blood these players on the highest stage.

Last but not least, Larrañaga is full of respect for Venezuela. "Their professional league is getting more and more competitive and in general they are modernizing their facilities. They have good young players, and if they can improve tactically then it won't be long before they're a force to be a reckoned with in the region."

The Grand Prix sees the six national teams separated into two groups. Each team plays each other once in the first round, with the top two sides from each group progressing to the semi-finals. The third-placed sides will then play off to decide fifth and sixth place.

Group A
Brazil
Uruguay
Venezuela

Group B
Argentina
Paraguay
Colombia

MATCH SCHEDULE (local time)

Day 1 - 20/9/2005
18:30 Venezuela - Uruguay
20.00 Paraguay - Colombia

Day 2 - 21/9/2005
18:30 Argentina - Colombia
20:00 Brazil - Uruguay

Day 3 - 22/9/2005
18:30 Argentina - Paraguay
20:00 Brazil - Venezuela

Day 4 - 23/9/2005
5th and 6th place play-off
17:00 3rd Group A - 3rd Group B

Semi-finals
18:30 1st Group B - 2nd Group A (Game 1)
20:00 1st Group A - 2nd Group B (Game 2)

Final Day - 24/9/2005
3rd and 4th place play-off
20:00 Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2

Final
22:00 Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2



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