Courtesy: UEFA.com

Litija face daunting challenge

Monday, 24 October 2005

by Martin Pavcnik & Paul Saffer

Slovenian champions KMN Svea Lesna Litija stage UEFA Futsal Cup first qualifying round Group 4 this week hoping their much-changed side will take them into a truly daunting pool in the next stage.

Holders await
With the seven other mini-tournaments having been played, the rest of the second qualifying round lineup is known - and the teams in Litija will play off for a place in Group B, against holders Action 21 Charleroi, last season's runners-up MFK Dinamo Moskva, and FC Shakhtar Donetsk.

Difficult period
Litija are up against Athina '90 Athens, KMF Marbo Beograd and preliminary round runners-up Dinamo Tirana in what is a much-anticipated event in the small central Slovenian town. However, it has been a difficult period from the club since gaining their seventh domestic title last term.

Squad changes
It was indeed a fine season, as for the first time in their four UEFA Futsal Cup entries Litija finally made it past the first qualifying round, although in the next stage they found holders Boomerang Interviú FS, eventual winners Charleroi and Sporting Clube de Portugal too tough a proposition. Since then, though, the squad has been radically transformed and they currently lie fifth in the league having lost three of five games.

Morale-boosting win
None the less, coach Andrej Vrhovec can have some optimism, as captain Borut Kristan, Saša Ignjatovic and Miha Osojnik are back from injury and showed fine spirit in a 7-1 win against SD Extreme on Friday. Their campaign begins on Tuesday against Athina, who have made a winning start in Greece this season but who have gone out at this stage twice before, before a Wednesday fixture with Tirana and Friday encounter against Beograd.

Beograd promise
The Serbo-Montenegrin champions, who like Athina have shown fine form this season so far, entered this competition for the first time last term, winning their first two games before holding Boomerang to 3-3 for 29 minutes, though they succumbed to four late goals.

Tirana progress
Tirana came through a tight preliminary round group in England on their tournament debut, finishing second behind Tal Grig Yerevan but ahead of London White Bear FC in the closest of three-way tie-breaks. Team manager Lysien Nurishmi can take heart from the fact Yerevan drew two of their first qualifying round matches and only lost 3-2 to SL Benfica, and the Albanian champions do fancy their chances.

Coach's hope
Nurishmi told uefa.com: "In this group there are one or two teams at the same level as us, so we hope we qualify. We will see. It is the second year of the national championship, Albanian Futsal is moving up, and we hope to improve in the future."



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