Courtesy: UEFA.com

Kazakh clubs point to futsal future

Wednesday, 17 January 2007

by Timur Kamashev

from Almaty

Kazakhstan's club teams have been impressing on the international futsal stage in recent years - and this week the national side return to action after a long absence hoping to emulate that success.

European switch
The last time Kazakhstan played an international was in January 2004, when they lost 5-1 to Romania and saw their UEFA European Futsal Championship hopes end, their first attempt at that title since switching from Asia, where they had been runners-up to Iran in 2000, earning a trip to the FIFA Futsal World Cup. The set-up was revived in November, when former football international Boris Glushkov, appointed as coach, assembled the squad for a training camp, amid criticism from some that the break had been too long.

Kairat success
However, the game in Kazakhstan has not been dormant. The dominant club Kairat Almaty have emerged as a real force in the UEFA Futsal Cup, notably reaching the 2005/06 semi-finals to national acclaim, and FC Aktubrentgen Aktobe have followed that up by qualifying for next week's Recopa Cup, futsal's unofficial UEFA Cup Winners' Cup equivalent, in which the four other leagues represented are Spain, Russia, Portugal and Italy. But when Kazakhstan take on Georgia, hosts Malta and Cyprus in EURO preliminary round Group C from tomorrow until Sunday, they be without the foreign players that have aided their club in international competition, notably Kairat's talented Brazilians.

Skill training
"Compared to Brazilians, Kazakh players are less technically gifted," admits Glushkov, who like several footballers from his nation took up futsal at the end of his career and now also coaches his former club, mid-table FC Cementnik Semei. "This difference is even bigger if we are talking about finishing. That's why we spend so much time on skill training during our practice sessions."

Club focus
Glushkov has turned to the club game for his strategic selection; he will start with four outfield players from his Kairat choices Yuriy Butrin, Maksim Batov, Denis Samokhvalov, Alexandr Bondarev and Aleksandr Terentyev, and later will bring on FC Alem Almaty trio Alibek Karimov, Dinmuhambet Suleimanov and Dulat Abdrahmanov. Two players each from FC Ansar Almaty and Aktubrentgen will form the third lineup.

Self-belief
Although Glushov recognises that his squad are unlikely to match the achievements of Kairat, he is hopeful of reaching next month's qualifying round. "I don't think we are playing the best teams in the world at this stage of the tournament, so we believe in ourselves," he said. "While there is even a slim chance of success Kazakhstan will try to take it. Our goal is to reach the next round."



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