Courtesy: UEFA.com

Portugal plotting to reach peak

Tuesday, 8 May 2007

by Hugo Pietra

from Lisbon

Portugal are in fine fettle on and off the futsal court as they prepare to stage the 2007 UEFA European Futsal Championship at the end of the year.

Getting ready
While it is full steam ahead for the organisers ahead of Saturday's draw in Porto for the eight competing nations, the Portuguese national team have been making sure they will be ready for action come the first day of the finals on 16 November. Having qualified automatically, Orlando Duarte's men have not had to play a competitive fixture since they beat Hungary 5-3 in the group stage of the previous tournament in February 2005.

Promising signs
Despite that victory, Portugal failed to reach the semi-finals - although few were surprised given they were also in a group with eventual winners Spain and defending champions Italy. Fast forward more than two years and there are promising signs for the nation that will host the fifth edition of the continental championship. Last month, Portugal staged a double friendly with fellow finalists the Czech Republic and Duarte's men proved to be at another level - winning 4-1 and 6-0 in the two matches.

Confidence high
Duarte said: "We are getting better. We are stronger in defence as we have only conceded an average of one goal per match in the last year. We have improved our attacking play as well and we feel we can hold our own against any team in the world." The coach has also been keeping a close eye on the latest developments, travelling to Murcia last month to see the UEFA Futsal Cup final four which was ultimately won by a MFK Dinamo Moskva team boasting several players likely to be on view for Russia at the finals.

High quality
"Our main goal is to prepare for the European Championship and to create a winning spirit," Duarte added. "The team has created more and more goal attempts and our gameplay has improved a lot. We now have a group of 18 to 20 high-quality players." Those burgeoning talents will get another chance to impress when Portugal participate in a friendly outdoor futsal tournament in July in the Algarve against two other national teams. More matches will follow in September and October, all to ensure the Portuguese reach their peak as the Porto finals roll around.




Courtesy: UEFA.com


Scolari backing for futsal EURO

Tuesday, 8 May 2007

by Paul Saffer

Portugal coach Luiz Felipe Scolari will switch codes on Saturday to conduct the draw for the UEFA European Futsal Championship finals, with the action getting under way at 13.30CET in Porto.

Scolari makes draw
Hosts Portugal will be challenged by holders Spain, former winners Russia and Italy, two-time runners-up Ukraine, the Czech Republic, Serbia and newcomers Romania from 16-25 November. UEFA futsal manager Laurent Morel is optimistic about the tournament, the first since European football's governing body moved the small-sided sport into the same department which runs the UEFA Champions League and UEFA European Championship.

Emerging nations
"It's really good," Morel told uefa.com. "Scolari will do the draw, which is great for us. And we will be able to see the first EURO since the move to UEFA's professional division." He is also pleased to see Romania, a nation where futsal has only been played for a few years, joining the giants of the game. "It's good because some emerging countries are showing up and can be a part of the last eight, which is great," Morel added.

Expansion
There will be more chances for nations like Romania when the competition expands to a dozen finalists from 2009. "If you look at the previous editions there are five countries who have always qualified, which leaves only three more places," Morel said. "With 12, some countries who are now always close can qualify." That includes a quartet of nations who have missed out on these finals but one of which will be the hosts in 2009. "The four bidders are Turkey, Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Hungary," Morel said. "In the futsal rankings these are middle countries. Turkey are newcomers but they are working hard on their bid. It is good these countries are bidding to be under the futsal spotlight."

Draw format
In the draw, the teams have been divided into three pots. Pot 1 will feature Portugal and Spain, meaning the two countries cannot play each other during the group stage. Pot 2 will boast Italy and Ukraine, the next two leading nations in the UEFA rankings and they will also be kept apart. Pot 3 will include the four remaining teams - the Czech Republic, Romania, Russia and Serbia. These countries will be the first to be allocated to Group A and B, with two going into each section to be joined in turn by a team apiece from Pot 1 and Pot 2.



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