After the tournament...Courtesy:
FIFA.comSpain confirm their status(FIFA.com)Wednesday 28 November 2007During ten days of hotly-contested UEFA European Futsal Championship action, the continent's traditional hierarchy were barely disturbed. Two years ago, Spain emerged as winners of the title, defeating Czech Republic 2-1.
On Sunday, in the 2007 final at Porto's Multiusos Gondomar Coracao de Ouro, it was Italy's turn to come unstuck against the reigning world champions, who secured their fourth European title with a 3-1 win. By defeating the Italians, Jose Venancio's team underlined their dominance of the sport by becoming the first side to retain the European Championship since its first finals were played in 1996.
Over the last seven years, the Spaniards, guided by the legendary Javier Lozano until his recent departure, have won every title possible. In addition to their back-to-back European titles, LaRoja have won the FIFA Futsal World Cup twice during this period. And they will head for the 2008 edition in Brazil as the hottest possible favourites.
"While we perhaps didn't take the tournament by storm, little by little we demonstrated that Spain were the best team," said new coach Jose Venancio after lifting the trophy. "I'd like to thank my players for this great joy. But more than anyone else it is time for me to thank the man who taught me everything, the man who was, in every respect, my mentor: Javier Lozano. I worked alongside him for 15 years and all the good things I was able to do at this tournament, I learnt from him."
In Sunday's final, Italy also confirmed their status as one of the top futsal nations not just in Europe, but the world. The third-place finish they achieved in 2005 was seen as a disappointment, but this time around defeat was deemed acceptable, given that the team had made it to the final. "I would like to congratulate Spain who are worthy European champions," said Italy coach Alessandro Nuccorini after the final.
"We were very tired in the second half, and when you come up against that kind of armada you have to be at 200 per cent all the time. I think that my team has the talent to win a major trophy in the near future. But if that's going to happen, we'll have to hope Spain falter."
After finishing third, Russia confirmed that they too have no shortage of talent. Nonetheless, their 3-2 victory over Portugal, who had been impressive throughout the competition, was a considerable surprise. "For me, Portugal were far and away the best team at this tournament," said Spain's captain Javi Rodríguez after he and his team-mates defeated their Iberian neighbours 4-3 in a penalty shootout following a 2-2 finish to their semi-final.
The sentiment was echoed by Italy's Adriano Foglia: ''Being completely objective, Portugal deserved to win the title. They should have beaten Spain in the semi-final."
With less than a year to go until the FIFA Futsal World Cup Brazil 2008, the host nation face a real test. Despite being one of the giants of world futsal, the hosts will have to proceed with extreme caution given that Spain, and many other European sides, are continuing to make real progress.
before the tournament...Courtesy:
FIFA.comSpaniards looking to extend reign(FIFA.com)
Thursday 15 November 2007 For three years now, Spain have been the team to beat - and the team to fear - on the world Futsal stage. Their reign stretches back to 2004, when Javier Lozano guided the side to FIFA Futsal World Championship glory in Chinese Taipei with a 2-1 victory over Italy in the final.
The following year, it was Russia who fell at the last hurdle, as the Spaniards clinched the European title in Czech Republic with another 2-1 win. So, on the eve of the 2007 UEFA European Futsal Championship, it would be no exaggeration to paint the defending champions as the hot favourites to leave with the trophy once again.
Lozano may have recently stepped down after 15 years of loyal service as coach and mentor, but the talent within the squad did not disappear overnight. Since achieving global domination in Asia, the make-up of the team has barely changed and new trainer Javier Venancio Lopez has identified that as crucial to his stewardship. "We're going to try to keep the continuity going with the same core of players, plus a few little changes because naturally you have to keep progressing," he told FIFA.com a few weeks ago.
"Europe has moved on: Italy, Russia and Portugal all have potential and the competition is getting tougher and tougher at the international level. We can't allow ourselves to stand still."
As proof of stability, the world's best goalkeeper Luis Amado will continue to defy opponents between the posts, while fearsome forwards Andreu, Javi Rodriguez and Daniel will pose as an attacking threat as ever. Spain have been drawn in Group B alongside Serbia, Ukraine and Russia and they will settle for nothing less than top spot. Only the Russians seem capable of causing them trouble.
That said, it could easily be argued that first or second place in Spain's pool will count for little. Whoever they face in the semi-finals, the champions can expect to face a test of the highest order. Both Italy and Portugal can be found lurking in Group A and any list of the best Fustal teams on the planet would be incomplete without the European duo.
The Azzurri finished runners-up in Chinese Taipei in 2004 and came third in Czech Republic a year later, while the Portuguese will make up for any technical weaknesses with the raucous support they will enjoy from the local crowds. Of the two, Alessandro Nuccorini's Italians look slight favourites to come out on top and therefore avoid a meeting with Spain in the last four, but everything will surely depend on their opening-day showdown on 16 November.
That is set to be a fantastic game, and it could hardly be anything else given the excellent level of organisation behind the scenes. The tournament will be held in two venues in Porto and attendance records appear destined to tumble. With 5,000 places, the recently-built Multiusos Gondomar Coracao de Ouro is noticeably bigger than the 2,000-seater Pavilhao Desportivo Municipal de Santo Tirso, but both will be packed with fans swaying to the rhythms of the continent's finest.
Many talented players will be on show, of course, but expectation levels are particularly high around Ukraine striker Serhiy Koridze, top scorer at the same tournament in 2001 and 2003, and Italy's Sandro Zanetti, who netted more times than anyone else in the qualifiers.
Every last nut and bolt is in place, so all that remains now is for the action to get started. All eyes will be on Spain, of course, but for those worried that the competition may lack suspense, consider this statistic for a minute - the mighty Spaniards failed to defend their crown on the two previous occasions they ruled Europe.
UEFA European Futsal Championship16-25 November 2007 in Porto, PortugalGroup A
Italy
Portugal
Romania
Czech Republic
Group B
Spain
Serbia
Ukraine
Russia
The top two teams in each group qualify for the semi-finals, with the Group A winners taking on the Group B runners-up and vice versa.
Posted by
Luca Ranocchiari -->
luca.ranocchiari@futsalplanet.com 
