All reports are courtesy: UEFA.com


Fantasy becomes reality for recalled Bordignon

Saturday 13 December 2008

by Francesco Corda from St Petersburg

Andrei Bordignon watched Italy's last two UEFA European Under-21 Futsal Tournament group stage matches from the stands. Last night he scored the only goal to give the Azzurrini a memorable 1-0 semi-final victory against Spain in St Petersburg.

Winning goal
Bordignon's strong shot late in the first half proved to be all Italy needed to defeat many people's favourites for the title and earn a Sunday final against hosts Russia. Having played in the disappointing Matchday 1 draw against Slovenia and then been dropped for the subsequent group encounters with Croatia and Russia, Bordignon earned a recall for the semi-final and more than justified his selection.

'Dream come true'
"A day like today is a dream come true," Bordignon told uefa.com. "After two years of work this squad deserves to go to the final. What were the secrets of defeating Spain? In my opinion they were above all the heart, the head and the will."

Keeping the faith
The Brillante C/5 player looked back at his roller-coaster week and revealed that he never lost heart after being dropped. "In the first match I didn't play very well in my opinion," Bordignon said. "But I remained calm and kept concentrating because I knew that my moment could come again. I trusted the squad and I knew I would have to give my best when I was recalled to the cause. Against Spain I expected to play, like all the others: I only thought about doing well, like all my team-mates."

Final task
Russia await now, a team Italy held 2-2 in Bordignon's absence on Thursday, not that he is bothered about who the Azzurrini face. "Now we don't have to think about our opponents," he said. "We must gain the European title."




Thumbs up for players and St Petersburg

Saturday 13 December 2008

by Paul Saffer from St Petersburg

The first UEFA European Under-21 Futsal Tournament comes to a conclusion on Sunday after an exciting week of action in St Petersburg and UEFA futsal manager Laurent Morel has been impressed with the job done by the players, coaches and Russian organisers.

Interest
A total of nearly 10,000 fans watched the group stage at the Yubileyny Sports Palace and it was close to full on Friday night when Russia beat Ukraine for a place in the final against Italy, the conclusion of a tournament that attracted an impressive initial entry of 28 nations. Morel, whose department is also responsible for the long-established senior UEFA European Futsal Championship and UEFA Futsal Cup for clubs, is happy with what he has seen in the event, which also involved Spain, Slovenia, Croatia, the Netherlands and, for the first time in any UEFA national-team final tournament, Kazakhstan.

High standard
"I was not expecting such a standard from the teams," he told uefa.com. They are very well prepared physically, tactically and technically. They are much closer to senior standard than I expected. Another positive point is that the teams are quite close, there is not a big gap. The weaker teams have shown potential so there is promise for the future from those associations."

Future bright
With a view to the expansion of the next senior European finals to 12 teams in Hungary in 2010, Morel added: "When you see the potential of the likes of Croatia and Slovenia it means those associations are working from top to bottom and preparing for the future. That gives us hope for the senior national-team events where the risk of increasing to 12 teams is that the standard will fall but that is not the evidence here."

Organisation
St Petersburg is used to staging international U21 events at the Yubileyny Sports Palace with the long-established annual Autumn tournament, but staging a UEFA competition is a different matter and Morel is delighted with how the venue was improved for the finals and the work of the Russian Football Union (RFU) and Russian Futsal Union. "The organisation was good, because a year ago we were prepared to accept a lower standard," he said. "Looking at the hall now, what we have provided to the teams is good. The company hired by the RFU [to be the local organising committee] has achieved that and have set standards as high as we could expect."



De Luca delighted to lead Italy in decider

Saturday 13 December 2008

by Paul Saffer from St Petersburg

On Sunday afternoon Massimo De Luca will lead Italy into the Yubileyny Sports Palace for the first UEFA European Under-21 Futsal Tournament final against Russia in St Petersburg and even at his tender age he knows he will experience one of the high points of his career.

Highs and lows
The Azzurrini captain has had highs and lows in the tournament, having been injured in the disappointing opening 2-2 draw with Slovenia and missing the nervous 2-1 defeat of Croatia. De Luca, however, was back for the group encounter with Russia, another 2-2 draw that clinched a semi-final place, and was part of the tremendous rearguard that earned a 1-0 last-four win against Spain and a berth in Sunday's decider.

Peak
"In my career I think that now I've arrived at the peak, the most a guy aged 21 can aim at," De Luca said. "There are responsibilities, but we have an extraordinary squad that doesn't pile them on to me. All the players stay close to me: from those on the field to the ones not playing, the staff, everybody. This is the most beautiful thing, probably the true force that has carried us up to here."

Semi-final delight
Beating the previously unstoppable force of Spain has only helped the spirit further. "Morale is, for sure, at the maximum," the Napoli Barrese C/5 player confirmed. "The win against Spain was something extraordinary. We started a journey two years ago with the coach [Paolo Minicucci] and all the staff and we have arrived at the end."

Tension
A perfect conclusion, of course, would be to beat the hosts. De Luca warns against reading too much into the previous encounter on Thursday. "The game against Russia in Group A was a strange game, we had to be careful about the result between Croatia and Slovenia," he said. "The final is the final, everything changes, there is more tension, it is a special game. We don't know what we have to change, the coach will tell us, he will instruct us on what to do on the pitch."



Slemzin ready to win for Russia fans

Saturday 13 December 2008

by Paul Saffer from St Petersburg

Russia goalkeeper Sergei Slemzin has vowed to help the hosts win the UEFA European Under-21 Futsal Tournament on Sunday for the fans that have supported them throughout this week's finals.

Backing
Crowds have been growing with each of Russia's fixtures, and so has the volume of support for the home nation, all of whose games have been tense and dramatic − they scored in the dying seconds to hold Croatia and beat Slovenia, finished 2-2 against Italy to top Group A and ousted neighbours Ukraine 1-0 in the semi-finals. Italy are again the opposition on Sunday afternoon and Slemzin, consistently impressive this week and buoyed by "Slemzin, Slemzin" chants from behind his goal, is aiming to reward that backing.

'Extra determination'
"You can see for yourself," the MFK Spartak Ruza goalkeeper said. "The Yubileyny Sports Palace is almost full during our matches, there are many fans, and they motivate us really well. We have extra determination thanks to them. The local people create emotions, and we'll play to win for them."

Final passion
The hosts led twice in their previous meeting with Italy, but both teams knew a draw would ensure mutual progress and the situation is very different on Sunday. "I think that our match at the group stage didn't show anything," Slemzin said. "We did not show our trump cards to each other. It wasn't a really spectacle, both teams were thinking about the score too much, as both wanted to get into the semi-finals. It will be a lot more passionate on Sunday. I hope that there will be no empty seats."

Italy strength
While Russia dominated their semi-final, the Azzurrini – who also won 1-0 against Spain – were happy to soak up pressure from their hotly-tipped opponents. Slemzin is expecting something similar in the final. "Italy gave away the initiative in their semi-final against Spain and stayed tight to their opponents all the time," he said. "Their game is always defensive. I don't want to highlight any players in their team, as they are strong as a unit."




Russia and Italy ready for futsal U21 final

Sunday 14 December 2008

Match preview by Wayne Harrison from St Petersburg

The dominant nation in the sport may be absent from Sunday's inaugural UEFA European Under-21 Futsal Tournament final but hosts Russia and Italy ensure two other traditional powers will compete to win the first edition at the Yubileyny Sports Palace in St Petersburg.

History makers
Spain have won four of the six UEFA European competitions at senior level but their bid for the inaugural U21 crown was ended at the semi-final stage by Italy. But, like Russia, they have one senior European title to their name and from the evidence so far this week in St Petersburg it is anyone's guess who will pick up the U21 honour.

'Different game'
These sides drew 2-2 in Group A on Thursday to ensure progress to the last four but for Italy coach Paolo Minicucci that is of little consequence. "These two games are hard to compare," he said. "The goal in the first match was to make it into the semi-finals, whereas here in the final the psychological aspect is important. Russia get a lot of support and emotionally it is going to be a different game."

Ready and able
Minicucci has shown a propensity to change his team so far in the tournament and would not be drawn on who would take part the final. "All of my players are ready and our selection will be based not on who is better or worse but on what my tactics are," he said.

Full strength
Viktor Senatov played for Russia in the draw with the Azzurrini when the hosts were without the services of the suspended Ildar Nugumanov because of his dismissal against Slovenia on Matchday 2. The MFK Tyumen player was also banned for the 1-0 semi-final defeat of Ukraine but is back on Sunday, to his squad-mate's relief. "We'll have our best lineup," said Senatov, who helped Russia beat Spain 5-0 at the Yubileyny Sports Palace to win the annual St Petersburg U21 friendly tournament in December 2006 but lost at that stage on penalties to the same opponents a year later. "For many of us it will be our last final with the U21 side so we'll give all we can to earn a victory," he added.

Doubters
Russia struck in the final seconds to earn a 3-3 draw with Croatia and then overcome Slovenia 4-3 in their first two games, but Senatov does not feel they have lived a charmed life. "Some people think that we were lucky to make it through to the semi-finals," he said. "Maybe there was a bit of luck but we deserve to be in the final and that we are shows we are one of the best two teams here."







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