Courtesy: UEFA.com

Familiar referees for futsal finals

Tuesday, 24 April 2007

by Paul Saffer

from Murcia

Four referees with experience of previous UEFA Futsal Cup finals will take change of this week's event in Murcia - which will feature a female timekeeper for the first time.

Experience
The first semi-final on Thursday between MFK Dinamo Moskva and Action 21 Charleroi will be handled by Italy's Massimo Cumbo and Portuguese official António Cardoso. Cumbo was in charge two years ago when these teams met in the first leg of the final and was also refereeing when Dinamo took on Boomerang Interviú in the second leg of the 2006 final. He also teamed up with Cardoso in the inaugural final between Charleroi and Playas de Castellón FS in 2002 in Lisbon, the only previous decider on neutral soil.

Familiar faces
Boomerang's subsequent encounter with hosts ElPozo Murcis FS will come under the auspices of Croatian referee Ivan Novak and Hungarian Karoly Török. Both were in charge of the first leg of the 2006 final between Boomerang and Dinamo while Novak also officiated at the second leg of the previous year's decider in Moscow. He also handled the 2003 final first leg between Charleroi and Castellón, the return of which was refereed by Török, who teamed up with Cumbo in the 2005 UEFA European Futsal Championship final involving Spain and Russia.

Timekeeper
Those four referees will also be teamed up in the third-place match and final on Saturday. Keeping time in all four matches in Murcia will be Irene Zurdo, the first woman to have the honour.




Courtesy: UEFA.com

Vavadio plays down Charleroi chances

Tuesday, 24 April 2007

by Berend Scholten

from Diest

Action 21 Charleroi are no strangers to the latter stages of the UEFA Futsal Cup, but that they are in this week's final four in Murcia is no mean achievement.

Rebirth
European champions in 2005, and having played in three of the five finals in this competition's history, Charleroi were wound up last summer, unable to pay their debts. A week later they were saved, but the budget was slashed and the coach and key players departed, leaving Christian Vavadio to build a new team of youngsters, rather than the Brazilian-infused squad that had won seven Belgian titles in a row.

Domestic priority
But in December a dramatic 3-3 draw with Clearex Chorzów took Charleroi into the UEFA Futsal Cup semi-finals at the Polish side's expense, and they have now also reached the Belgian Cup final and climbed to the top of the league, closing an eleven-point gap to Forcom Antwerpen Elite that existed in January. Vavadio, though, is keeping a level head before Thursday's fixture with MFK Dinamo Moskva - their victims in the 2005 final. "We might not be at the right level yet for the final four, but that was not even our goal," he told uefa.com. "Our goals for this year were the Belgian Cup and league."

'New team'
The coach explained: "This is a new team, with seven departures from 2006 [including coach Sérgio Benatti]. We had to replace them with young players from our youth department, assisted by some experienced players. Adjustment time was necessary form everyone, as well as for the players, as for me. Do not forget that half the team are still schoolboys."

Injured duo
Two of those experienced players, André Vanderlei - a veteran of the 2005 side that returned this summer - and Liliu are currently out, however, with knee and hip problems respectively, and may struggle to return to face Dinamo. "It would be a big loss, because our choice is not so big," Vavadio said. "But our goals are the domestic competitions this year, and we won't take any risk with injured players. It's always disturbing for a coach to lose an experienced player, and still more if it is two! But that's sport. If we have to play without them, we will do it, without complaining. It's maybe an opportunity for some young players to show their qualities."

Outsiders
Certainly, the coach is not ashamed to admit that Dinamo, hosts Boomerang Interviú and hosts ElPozo Murcia FS are more likely to lift the trophy than Charleroi. "Boomerang, Murcia and Moscow are the favourites," Vavadio said "We are well informed about their strength. But the truth on one day is not the truth on every day...."




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