Courtesy: FIFA.com


Lobelle snatch Boomerang's crown

(FIFA.com) 24 Jan 2006

A mere three years after climbing out of the Second Division, Autos Lobelle Santiago completed their fairytale rise to the top this weekend when they defeated the mighty Boomerang Interviú in the 17th Spanish Futsal Cup final. After a hotly contested final had ended all square at 2-2, the Galician side prevailed 5-4 on penalties to claim their first ever national title.

Lobelle coach Venancio López was understandably jubilant afterwards, saying: "It was a fantastic end to a fantastic final. We are worthy champions, and we fully deserve the title. We won thanks to our mental strength."

With their speedy counter attacks repeatedly thwarted by a well-drilled Lobelle defence, favourites Boomerang were forced to come from behind twice during normal time. From the off the underdogs showed they were far from overawed by their illustrious opponents, although it was the "Green Machine" who came closest to opening the scoring when Schumacher's drive was deflected wide. Lobelle dramatically took the lead on the stroke of half-time when Daniel picked up the ball in midfield and fed Ciço, who finished clinically. However, straight from the restart Andreu levelled for Boomerang to send the sides in level at the break.

The relentless end-to-end action continued in the second half, and within five minutes Betao and Ciço combined to conjure up Lobelle's second. Still Boomerang kept their heads and, after waiting patiently for their opportunity, Schumacher pulled them level once more with a shot from inside the box. The pace dropped off as full time approached and, with neither side able to break the deadlock, the game moved into extra time and on to the inevitable penalty shootout.

After Lobelle keeper Toni denied Andreu in the seventh round of penalties, it was the veteran Pitu who became the hero of the night when he converted to give the Galicians their first cup triumph.
Jesús Candelas, the Boomerang coach, sportingly congratulated his rivals on their success before analysing his team's shortcomings at the end of an agonising evening. "We couldn't finish the game off in normal or extra time, and that was the key. We didn't put away our chances, either in the semis or today," he lamented.

Hope springs eternal for the minnows
Founded in 1975, Autos Lobelle Santiago had to wait until the final game of 1999-2000 season before finally clinching their place in the Second Division of Spain's futsal league. Three years later they found themselves in the country's top flight after clearing the play-off hurdle at the first time of asking.
Last weekend in Zaragoza, the club rounded off the most amazing adventure in its 31-year history. The season's surprise package thrillingly disposed of Polaris World Cartagena 7-4 in an action-packed quarter-final, with an inspired Ciço supplying five of the goals, before seeing off ElPozo Murcia Turística 3-2 in the semis. They then capped it all off in the final by bringing Boomerang crashing back down to earth, denying them their third consecutive cup success in the process.

The coach of the Galician outfit spoke afterwards of the scale of his side's achievement: "We deserved to win the title because we've beaten three big names - Polaris, ElPozo and Boomerang. Winning the cup is a landmark in the club's history and it just goes to show that even the smaller teams are always in with a chance." It was the third taste of cup glory for a proud and ecstatic López, who had previously won back-to back titles in 1999 and 2000 with Caja Segovia, the first of them also against Boomerang.

Nevertheless, the coach is not about to get carried away. He believes continued hard graft will be the key to Lobelle consolidating their position in the elite, and knows that while the cup triumph is a big step forward much work still needs to be done.

As for Jesús Candelas, his side suffered a severe case of goal shyness over the weekend. Despite dominating possession in their semi-final against a Martorrel side that overturned a 2-0 deficit against MRA Gytarra Navarra in the quarters, Boomerang needed extra-time strikes from Daniel and Schumacher to advance to the final. The Brazilian's hat-trick in the quarters against hosts DKV Seguros Zaragoza the day before took him into second place in the goalscoring charts on five, two behind top scorer Ciço.

Current league leaders ElPozo Murcia Turística also came up short. After putting Playas Castellón to the sword in the last eight, they found a motivated Lobelle too hot to handle in an exciting semi-final tussle that went to extra time.

The Spanish Futsal Cup is one of the sport's premier tournaments and pits together the country's top eight sides in the first half of the league season (or seven in the event that the host city's team plays in the Second Division), with the leading quartet going into the draw as seeds. The Spanish league now attracts star players from all over the world, a factor that has helped the tournament establish itself as one of the main events in the futsal calendar.


Results:

Quarter-finals
19.01.2006
Playas Castellón 2-4 ElPozo Murcia Turística
Polaris World Cartagena 4-7 Autos Lobelle Santiago

20.01.2006
DKV Seguros Zaragoza 3-8 Boomerang Interviú
MRA Gytarra Navarra 2-3 Martorell FS

Semi-finals
21.01.2006
ElPozo Murcia Turística 2-3 Autos Lobelle Santiago
Martorell FS 0-2 Boomerang Interviú

Final
22.01.2006
Autos Lobelle Santiago 2-2 Boomerang Interviú (aet). Autos Lobelle Santiago win 5-4 on penalties.



Spanish Futsal Cup Winners

2006 Autos Lobelle Santiago
2005 Boomerang Interviú
2004 Boomerang Interviú
2003 ElPozo Murcia Turística
2002 Valencia Vijusa
2001 Antena 3 Boomerang
2000 Caja Segovia
1999 Caja Segovia
1998 Caja Segovia
1997 Maspalomas Sol de Europa
1996 Interviú Boomerang
1995 ElPozo Murcia
1994 Marsanz Torrejón
1993 Sego Zaragoza
1992 Penzoil Marsanz
1991 Caja Toledo
1990 Interviú Lloyd's



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