Courtesy: UEFA

Final four agreed for Futsal Cup

Friday, 24 March 2006

The UEFA Futsal Cup is to get a face-lift for next season with the approval of a 'final four' format for the closing stages of the prestigious club competition.

Proposal accepted
From the 2006/07 campaign, which begins in September, the two semi-finals, third-placed play-off and final will all be played in a one-off tournament staged by one of the four teams still involved at that stage. The proposal was put forward by the UEFA Futsal Committee to the UEFA Executive Committee at its meeting in Budapest this week, and subsequently approved.

'High expectations'
Speaking to uefa.com, Petr Fousek, the UEFA Futsal Committee chairman, said: "We try at UEFA to be interactive in the exchange of information. We had feedback from the clubs and it was the majority view of the committee members to adopt the final four. This is based on the model of basketball and other indoor sports. It should contribute to the attractiveness of the games and we have quite high expectations."

Past editions
This season, for the first and only time, two two-legged semi-finals have been played to decide the finalists. In the three previous editions, the last eight sides in the competition were divided into two groups, with the two winners going on to contest the final. Prior to that, in the inaugural 2001/02 event, an eight-team finals tournament was held in Lisbon.

June deadline
The list of entries for the 2006/07 edition will be confirmed in June with the preliminary round draw to follow on 6 July. Depending on the number of entries, one or several sides will advance from that stage, played in September, to the main round, which will feature 24 teams, in October. They will be split into six groups of four, with the top two clubs from each pool going on to the élite round, comprising four groups of four and with the leading four sides in the rankings being seeded, in December. The four section winners will then make up the first-ever UEFA Futsal Cup 'final four' with the matches taking place on 26/28 April 2007.



Courtesy: UEFA


Boomerang identify final chance

Friday, 24 March 2006

Boomerang Interviú are more than confident they can finish the job against FC Shakhtar Donetsk and confirm their place in the UEFA Futsal Cup final.

Stylish display
The Spanish champions have a 6-1 advantage heading into the semi-final return at the Pabellón Caja Madrid on Saturday night, after turning on the style in the first leg in Ukraine on 11 March. Boomerang won this competition in 2003/04 but then failed to defend their title last season, as Action 21 Charleroi claimed the trophy.

'Main objective'
Jesús Candelas's side are not having things all their own way in domestic action, with Tuesday's 4-4 draw against Martorell FS leaving them level on points with leaders El Pozo Murcia, having played a game more. "The UEFA Futsal Cup is our main goal this season and we couldn't be at a better moment, especially in terms of morale," the coach said. Luis remains sidelined with a broken toe while Julio should be fit after a hip injury kept him out in midweek.

Key men missing
For their part, Shakhtar have not given up hope and they left for Spain determined to improve on their first-leg showing. Coach Oleh Solodovnik said he will still be without Fedir Pylypiv and goalkeeper Vasyl Sukhomlinov, with the latter's absence meaning Vladislav Korneyev should deputise.

Squad strength
"We have analysed the first game and learned our lessons by looking at the mistakes we made," Solodovnik said, adding that he has identified that Boomerang paid particular attention to his first four starters last time out and, in turn, gave more space to those entering later in the game. "We're going to Spain to play a decent match. We want to avoid making as many mistakes this time.

Chances spurned
"We were shocked after the first leg because we hoped for a completely different result. The 6-1 scoreline did not reflect the match," he continued. "We didn't take our chances, but Boomerang, who are more skilful and experienced, took almost every opportunity they had.

Domestic high
"Judging by our domestic form, we have recovered from the psychological shock," Solodovnik concluded. Shakhtar are ten points clear in the Ukrainian Premier League and won 5-2 at TVD Lviv in their last outing. A similar showing on Saturday might not take them through but it would go a long way to restoring pride.



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