Courtesy: UEFA.com


Matos puts Sporting family first

João Matos has no wish to eclipse SL Benfica's success of last year but he does want to take the unique chance of bringing a European futsal trophy to Sporting Clube de Portugal.

Saturday 30 April 2011

by Patrick Hart from Almaty

The champagne is on ice in the Sporting Clube de Portugal dressing room ahead of the UEFA Futsal Cup final – and it will remain there even if Orlando Duarte's team overcome fellow first-time finalist ASD Città di Montesilvano C/5 to claim the trophy.

That is the pledge from defender João Matos as the Lisbon side prepare for a double date with destiny: tomorrow, against Montesilvano for the European title; next Sunday, versus SL Benfica for the Portuguese Cup. "First we have a really important final next week against Benfica," replied Matos, 24, when asked what celebrations would follow a Sporting victory at the Baluan Sholak Sport Palace in Almaty.

"However, the Futsal Cup is a title every player dreams of winning, it's something that in the past we've only been able to dream of winning, and I think we are now in the right condition to actually do it," added the Portuguese international. "It would be brilliant to bring it home to Sporting."

The squad would certainly be entitled to raise a glass to a first piece of continental silverware. Not only will Sporting succeed neighbours Benfica as UEFA champions if they prevail in Kazakhstan, they will also become the first club to lift European titles in five separate sports. "It would be a really important trophy for the club, making us the only club with five major European titles in as many different sports – indoor hockey, handball, athletics, football and futsal," Matos explained. "It's not only important for us as players and individuals, but also for the entire Sporting family."

The Lions' No9 has been ever-present in this UEFA Futsal Cup campaign, from a straightforward main round, via an elite round in which they looked close to elimination, to Friday's dramatic 3-2 semi-final triumph over tournament hosts Kairat Almaty. One match in particular stands out: the decisive 5-3 win against group favourites Murcia FS in November. Matos recalls: "After we struggled to draw against [FK EP] Chrudim, we were at risk of going out and everybody made Murcia favourites to qualify from the elite round, but the fact we then beat them [5-3] gave us great confidence, which we have taken into the final four."

Now they stand poised to steal the crown of their greatest rivals, who fell to Montesilvano in the other semi-final. However, this success story is about Sporting and Matos wishes to keep it in the family. "What Benfica did last season isn't a motivation for us," he said. "Our motivation is getting to the final and winning. Other clubs don't matter. What matters is that Sporting win, and in particular win trophies that we haven't lifted before."




Courtesy: UEFA.com


Garcias back in nick of time for Montesilvano

Saturday 30 April 2011

Schemer Hernan Garcias returned from a long lay-off to help ASD Città di Montesilvano C/5 dispose of SL Benfica and now wants to complete a dream comeback in Sunday's final.

by Patrick Hart from Almaty

They say you cannot teach the gift of timing – and it may be to the eternal benefit of ASD Città di Montesilvano C/5 that playmaker Hernan Garcias possesses it.

The Argentinian international ended a five-month injury exile to feature in Montesilvano's UEFA Futsal Cup semi-final defeat of SL Benfica and is now eager to fulfil a dream against Sporting Clube de Portugal.

Garcias, 32, just hopes he has done enough to prove his fitness to Fulvio Colini, the coach who calls him the "brains of the team". "It would be beyond words to win the tournament," he told UEFA.com on the eve of Sunday's final. "We aren't from a league like the Spanish or Russian – no Italian team had reached the semi-finals until Luparense C/5 last year. At my age I don't know if I'll get another chance. It would be a dream."

The slender schemer certainly picks his matches: before Friday's victory in Almaty over holders Benfica, his previous appearances had come in November's elite round, including the win at Russian side MFK Sinara Ekaterinburg which, in effect, booked Montesilvano their finals place.

If that result spurred the 2010 Italian champions and UEFA Futsal Cup debutants to establish themselves as the surprise package of this European season, it was not necessarily a shock to Garcias. "I am not surprised by our progress, although I thought it would be difficult because we have played some world-class teams like Sinara. But I always knew we had the potential.

"Winning in Ekaterinburg was the big step. Then you get to a tournament like this where everyone has a chance. Benfica are better than us in some ways, but in a one-off game anything can happen. It was tough coming back after months out, and it was difficult to get up to speed, but that was the only way if I was going to play. I enjoyed it, I was quite pleased with my performance, and it was great to get to a final."

The player from Buenos Aires, whose two compatriots in the Montesilvano ranks – Leandro Cuzzolino and Cristian Borruto – scored against Benfica, fully intends to grab "the chance to make history for an Italian club". He should not look out of place on the final stage: the No8 is a veteran of three FIFA Futsal World Cups, and even likens the standard of that competition to the current tournament in Kazakhstan.

"The level of competition here, the atmosphere, is just like at a World Cup," Garcias said. "The teams are really serious – you sometimes get a weaker team at a World Cup but look at all the internationals in the Benfica team. So on both a playing level and an organisational one this is at least the standard of a World Cup."




Courtesy: UEFA.com


Kairat urged to walk tall and win medal

Saturday 30 April 2011

Kairat Almaty have been told to go into the third-place play-off against SL Benfica with heads held high after giving consistently strong performances on the European stage.

by Patrick Hart from Almaty

João Carlos Barbosa insists his Kairat Almaty side should treat Sunday's UEFA Futsal Cup third-place play-off like a final – because both they and opponents SL Benfica would be worthy of gracing the European club game's highest stage.

In the wake of the Kazakh team's fourth semi-final defeat in six years – by Sporting Clube de Portugal on Friday – the coach hailed the strength of this season's final tournament in Almaty, telling UEFA.com: "I would say that since I've been here at Kairat, this is the most balanced the competition has been – you have four really strong teams. Maybe Benfica stand out a little because they won the competition last year. But this season there's nothing to choose between us.

"It always hurts to lose but life goes on and in sport you always get an opportunity to bounce back quickly," added Kairat's Brazilian trainer, his focus switching to the 11.00CET (15.00 local time) kick-off at the Baluan Sholak Sport Palace. "Now we have what essentially is a final against Benfica – there's a medal at stake – and my players are good pros. I just have to speak to them and motivate them."

Third place would equal Kairat's best performance from 2009, yet if they are to progress and become champions in the future, Barbosa offers the following advice: "We have a team that should be getting to finals. As a club we have certain objectives, we want to be winners, and we know that in order to win trophies you need that something extra, maybe just a couple of players to make the difference."

Nonetheless, he paid tribute to the tournament hosts, who are helping to make history by staging a UEFA competition in Kazakhstan, for their efforts on and off the pitch. "It is still an achievement to have reached four final tournaments now – I don't think many teams have achieved that level of consistency.

"I really like it here. I spent seven years in Spain and have been in Almaty since 2008. The people are great, the club are very professional and in my experience the set-up here is unrivalled at any other futsal club around the world."




Courtesy: UEFA.com


Sporting must avoid falling into Montesilvano trap

Saturday 30 April 2011

Sporting Clube de Portugal and ASD Città di Montesilvano C/5 are both eager to make the final stage their own when they face off in Sunday's UEFA Futsal Cup showpiece.

by Patrick Hart from Almaty

A new name will adorn the UEFA Futsal Cup after Sporting Clube de Portugal and ASD Città di Montesilvano C/5 meet in the competition's tenth final in Almaty on Sunday.

Orlando Duarte's Sporting, who overcame Kazakh tournament hosts Kairat Almaty in a thrilling semi-final, have the chance to succeed neighbours SL Benfica as European champions. Meanwhile, Montesilvano, whose dream debut season continued as they deposed Benfica in Friday's second eliminator, can become Italy's first UEFA Futsal Cup winners.

If Sporting, whose previous best was third place in 2002, are to keep the trophy in Lisbon then they ought to avoid the kind of attritional game Benfica got caught in against Fulvio Colini's side. Duarte told UEFA.com: "Italian teams have very smart players and when they are not at the same level they make games physical. We know we can win but we must be careful with the physical game."

The Lions coach recovers Cardinal, his joint-top scorer in qualifying alongside semi-final hero Caio Japa, from suspension. Kairat may have run Sporting close, yet Duarte reckons "we can play better, we can put on a spectacle, and we can be the best team tomorrow".

The man who led Portugal to second spot at UEFA Futsal EURO 2010 would also be happy to do his bit for the nation. "For us, playing Benfica or Montesilvano, it's the same. It would have been impressive for Portuguese futsal to have two teams in the final, but now one team can put Portuguese futsal at a high level. If Sporting win after Benfica last year, you can say for now Portuguese futsal has good health. But we must always work to be near to winning trophies."

Graft is not something lacking in a Montesilvano outfit who entered these finals with a confidence born from knocking out former champions MFK Sinara Ekaterinburg in Russia in the elite round. Having added to that scalp yesterday, coach Colini said: "We knew it was going to be difficult against Benfica but if you don't have a go you never get anywhere.

"We have grit, we are a tough team, we are also a clever team, and if the game becomes a battle then we can handle that. We have heart and brains." Colini adds that European glory was the last thing on his mind in September, yet any change in perception started against Ekaterinburg. "We were magnificent and once we'd made it to the semi-finals, anything could happen."

The question for the Adriatic club is how much physical and mental energy they have left. "Sporting are a similar team to Benfica and the worry is that we may not be the same team tomorrow," continued Colini, who is without the influential Rogerio Da Silva through suspension. "We could be tired. We played well against Benfica but we were also a bit lucky, whereas against Ekaterinburg we were perfect. Now we need to be perfect against Sporting."


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