Courtesy: UEFA.com

Arzignano aim high in Europe

by Paolo Menicucci

from Milan

With the Elite round of the UEFA Futsal Cup to take place from 4 December, uefa.com will over the coming four weeks take a closer look at each of the 16 sides involved. Today, we check out Arzignano Grifo C/5, the Italian champions who are enjoying their second campaign in Europe's premier club futsal competition and who will act as hosts for Group A.

High hopes
Arzignano have been handed the honour of hosting the four-team mini-tournament at their noisy Palatezze home, a venue that can house up to 1,300 fans. They will be grateful for the support after being paired with two-time champions Boomerang Interviú, while they are also up against perennial challengers MNK Split from Croatia and the Czech side CC LKW Jistebnik. Arzignano have high hopes although, despite the national-team's success, an Italian club side has yet to really make a mark in Europe.

'Incredible season'
Fabián Sergio López is the man who has given the club every chance of bringing the trophy back to Italy for the first time, with the 44-year-old Argentinian coach having taken them to the domestic title last season. "It was an incredible season for us," he said in praising a determined group of players he has led since replacing Lucio Solazzi in 2004. "It was a victory of the whole group, who showed a great hunger for success. Now we want to do well in the UEFA Futsal Cup."

Creditable draw
Unlike Boomerang, who are entering the competition at this stage, Arzignano had to come through the Main round, namely Group 1 which included Kairat Almaty, hosts KMF Partizan Sarajevo and Slov-Matic Fofo Bratislava. On route to winning the section, Partizan and Bratislava were brushed aside 5-0 and 3-0 respectively. However, in between, Arzignano had to settle for a 2-2 draw against Kairat Almaty but it was no mean feat considering the Italian club conceded two early goals and their opponents from Kazakhstan reached last year's semi-finals.

Humble beginnings
Arzignano were founded in 1994 by a group of friends from the small town close to Vicenza who shared the same passion for futsal when this sport was still called "calcetto" – literally small football - in Italy. Starting from a Serie C2 regional league, the side worked their way up until finally winning promotion to Serie A1 in 2001/02. They won their first Scudetto in 2003/04, a season which also saw Arzignano winning the Italian Super Cup and the Under 21 title - although they then failed to make an impact in the UEFA Futsal Cup.

Title triumph
In 2005/06, Arzignano won their second title by beating AS Nepi in the play-offs. This despite finishing the regular season in fourth, something that will encourage them this time around as they are again off the pace. Key to that success was prolific finisher Fabrizio Amoroso, who finished 19th in the European Golden Shoe race - the highest ranked Italian and also the leading representative from Serie A1. He was naturally also a steady scorer in the Main round, striking once in each match.

Baresi inspiration
The captain of the team is the 39-year-old defender Marcio Brancher, a FIFA Futsal World Cup winner in 1996 with Brazil and the heart and soul of the team. The Arzignano fans call him Franco Baresi after the former AC Milan libero. "He was the best defender I have ever seen so I’m obviously happy with this comparison," said Brancher. Looking to the Elite round, Arzignano have also acquired Italian international Edgar Shurtz, a 27-year-old renowned for his fierce shot. Boomerang beware.



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