The strong rivalry between Italy and Spain in futsal keep on producing different results. Great matches (sometimes) on the field, some of the worst ever reactions (not only in the pitch, Brazil 2008 is just the last example) between teams staff and so on.

Unfortunately the Under 21 European Tournament made no exception to the rule, especially from the spanish side this time. On the italian zone, the usual "weird" sentences on the use of brazilian players.

Chapter 1: Italy vs spanish referee Marcelino Blazquez Sierra (After Italy vs Russia - Group Stage)

From: www.divisionecalcioa5.it - Declarations by Paolo Minicucci
Oggi, oltretutto, dovranno fare a meno di lei, espulso a pochi minuti dalla fine a causa di….. “Semplice, perché mi sono tolto il pass dal collo reagendo ad una decisione arbitrale dubbia: tutto qui”. Cioè? “L’arbitro spagnolo ha deciso di essere protagonista in campo al posto di giocatori, tecnici e dirigenti, come ha confermato lo stesso tecnico russo Ivanov. E’ un peccato fare tanti sacrifici e poi venire offesi in questo modo da chi invece di applicare il regolamento alla mano pensa a farsi notare per esuberanza”.


Complaining against referees is still a worldwide endless trend, and is sad to notice that futsal seems to turn into a soccer copycat.



Chapter 2: Italy and Brazilian players

From: www.divisionecalcioa5.it - Declarations by Paolo Minicucci
Successo degli azzurrini e..? "E della Divisione calcio a cinque che da anni investe molto sul campionato under 21, un lavoro enorme che sta portando questi frutti". Gli spagnoli hanno accentuato più di troppo, come al solito, gli innesti degli oriundi nella sua nazionale: cosa risponde? "Che ringrazio tutti gli emigranti italiani che nei decenni passati sono andati in Brasile per cercare fortuna, e ci hanno omaggiato di figli veramente forti per il futsal ma con il "DNA" spiccatamente Italiano".


Honestly we didn't notice the hard work done on the Under 21 league and on youth futsal in general, but maybe we were not careful enough.
About the Italian DNA of Brazilian players, we wonder why italian players (who should have the same tipically italian DNA) cannot afford the same level of futsal. We have no answer, maybe some italian expert could help us out with this. If you use brazilian players to get results, at least don't pretend them to be italian (or spanish, portuguese, russian), cause they're not (above all in terms of futsal formation, which is the only factor to be taken into account once we have ended the usual boring discussions on globalization...).


Chapter 3, last but not least: the unbelievable press release of RFEF (Spanish Federation) after the defeat vs Italy

From www.rfef.es - Part 1
Y ¿cómo no iba a ser un partido jugado bajo subterfugios si uno de los contrincantes era la selección italiana? Forzaron las cinco faltas al equipo español y a ellos les marcaron el mismo número por su juego marrullero y provocador

From www.rfef.es - Part 2
Un equipo dirigido por Paolo Minicucci, un hombre muy apasionado que, debido a su mal carácter, o a los nervios sufridos en el partido contra Rusia, resultó expulsado y hoy tuvo que ver el partido desde la grada.

This is just something insulting italian people, that should not appear on a foreign federation portal. Are we wrong?



Chapter 4: know more about futsal (if you want to talk about it)

From www.rfef.es
Andrei Bordignon fue quien consiguió el tanto italiano en una de esas rápidas jugadas que tanto les gusta realizar. Este es uno de los pocos jugadores de la squadra azzurri que se encuentran en San Petersburgo que ha nacido en Italia, puesto que son más de diez los “brasileños” que conforman esta selección.

The “brasileños” were 12, beeing italian just Sergio Romano and Massimo De Luca. Andrei Bordignon is from Videira, state of Santa Catarina, Brazil. In order to criticize someone else, a correct information is at least needed.


God save futsal (and futsal information as well!)...







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