Courtesy: UEFA.com


Iberia Star and Barcelona seek bronze

Iberia Star Tbilisi and FC Barcelona meet for third place on Sunday with Fuste vowing the Georgian hosts will be back to win the title and Sergio Lozano looking to future honours.

Saturday 27 April 2013

by Paul Saffer & Gonzalo Aguado from Tbilisi

UEFA Futsal Cup hosts Iberia Star Tbilisi and holders FC Barcelona go head to head on Sunday – but only for third place.

Iberia Star attracted a crowd of 7,200 for their debut finals match on Friday but went down 5-2 to MFK Dinamo. Then Barcelona, who won on their bow last season and had not lost any of their previous 11 European games, were beaten 5-4 by Kairat Almaty to lose their grip on the title.

Though Iberia Star's 50th European fixture is not the final they had hoped for, hosting Georgia's first UEFA event and making this stage after 12 seasons of trying is some consolation. They captured the imagination of the Tbilisi public having beaten 2010 winners SL Benfica in the elite round here to qualify.

"Our supporters are amazing," defender Fuste said. "It was at home, we did an excellent job, it was excellent motivation for us to strengthen more for next year so that we can do it, first get to the final then win it."

For Barcelona, who wanted to become only the second team to successfully defend the title, the disappointment is obvious, as for only the third time in the 12-season history of the UEFA Futsal Cup there is no Spanish finalist. Winger Sergio Lozano pledged to end the tournament on a high, and then concentrate on completing the domestic treble having already won the Spanish Futsal Cup, made the 11 May Copa del Rey final against Murcia FS and finished top of the regular season league table going into the play-offs.

"We are defending our colours, which are very important to us, so you have to give 100% in every game," Lozano said. "We were not able to make the final but we must try to finish in the best possible manner. Then we will go to Barcelona and think about the final of the Copa del Rey."



Courtesy: UEFA.com


Dinamo and Kairat play in Futsal Cup final

Coaches Faustino Pérez and Cacau will put their friendship to one side on Sunday in Tbilisi, as MFK Dinamo play in a record fifth decider and Kairat make Kazakhstan's debut in a UEFA final.

Saturday 27 April 2013

by Paul Saffer & Gonzalo Aguado from Tbilisi

Coaches Faustino Pérez and Cacau will put their friendship to one side on Sunday when MFK Dinamo and Kairat Almaty meet in the UEFA Futsal Cup final in Tbilisi.

Pérez is no stranger to this level having coached Playas de Castellón FS to victory in the first two editions in 2001/02 and 2002/03. Furthermore, last year he lost the final with Dinamo against FC Barcelona. That side were beaten 5-4 by Kairat on Friday as they won a semi-final at the fifth time of asking to become the first Kazakhstan team to get this far in any UEFA competition.

Cacau, who took over as Kairat coach in February having for many years been a player there prior to a spell at FK EP Chrudim, counts Playas among his former sides. "I have great respect and admiration for Tino, for everything he has achieved in futsal," he said. "I'm starting now, and I hope to get many titles too." Pérez added: "Players from both teams are friends, but above all are professionals. Off the pitch we're friends, but on it we don't know each other."

Playing in their fifth final, equalling a record held by Interviú Madrid, Dinamo welcome former Kairat goalkeeper Gustavo back from suspension, though the experienced Aleksei Popov did a fine job in the 5-2 semi-final defeat of hosts Iberia Star Tbilisi. "Gustavo will be in the squad is all I can say," Pérez declared.

"The main thing now is to recover from the semi-final. We have to watch the semi-finals and try to create a tactic for the final. I have to prepare for the possible tactical use of [Kairat goalkeeper] Higuita as a fifth outfield player [as against Barcelona]. I do not know if they will use it against us too, but our obligation is to be prepared for it."

Though Pérez openly concedes he "wanted to play against Barcelona because they are the defending champions, the best team in Europe," Kairat had other ideas. Cacau, who as Chrudim player-coach lost 6-0 to Barcelona in the elite round, said of Friday's success: "We hoped to have a great game, but we knew that Barcelona were a great team. However [former Dinamo player] Joan, Leo Santana, Leo and so on are very experienced players that had already played in semi-finals.

The two Leos were both on the Kairat side denied a finals place by Dinamo in Moscow last season by a last-gasp Cirilo equaliser in the elite round. Cacau himself was on the losing side three times in four European meetings with Dinamo as a Kairat player.

"We respect Dinamo deeply because they have a powerful squad and are one of the best teams in the world," Cacau said. "If we have the same respect for Dinamo that we had for Barcelona, we can have a happy ending."



Courtesy: UEFA.com


Dinamo and Kairat renew rivalry

Sunday's final will be the fifth meeting between MFK Dinamo and Kairat Almaty. UEFA.com looks back at their encounters including games where players met their future employers.

Saturday 27 April 2013

by Paul Saffer from Tbilisi

Few teams have met more often in the UEFA Futsal Cup than MFK Dinamo and Kairat Almaty but Sunday's encounter in Tbilisi will be their first in the final itself. UEFA.com looks back at their previous fixtures, only one of which was in neutral territory.

2005/06 semi-final first leg: Kairat 0-3 Dinamo (Almaty)
Kairat's debut European campaign ended in the 2004/05 first qualifying round but the following season they were a revelation, making headline news in Kazakhstan as they reached the semi-finals to face the previous season's runners-up. A 3,900 crowd packed the Baluan Sholak Sport Palace but Dinamo proved too strong and Tatú was among the scorers against a Kairat side containing current coach Cacau.

2005/06 semi-final second leg: Dinamo 5-2 Kairat, agg 8-2 (Moscow)
Dinamo welcomed Kairat back to their Druzhba Sports Hall, and eased into their second straight final. Cacau did pull Kairat back to 1-1 late in the first half but Tatú and Pavel Kobzar both struck in the second period. Cirilo was also in the Dinamo side while Gustavo, who had kept goal for Kairat in the first leg against his future club, was dismissed from the bench against his future club.

2007/08 third-place play-off: Kairat 0-5 Dinamo (Moscow)
Dinamo took the title in their third straight final in 2006/07 but a year later, hosting the event in their new Krylatskoe Sport Palace home, were deposed by Murcia FS on penalties in the semis while Kairat lost to eventual winners MFK Sinara Ekaterinburg. There was consolation for Dinamo with a comfortable third-place play-off victory, Tatú keeping up his good run against Kairat with a double penalty. Cirilo also scored along with future Kairat player Joan. Gustavo and Cacau again lined up for Kairat; Dinamo had Aleksei Popov in goal and Kobzar and Pula playing too.

2008/09 third-place play-off: Kairat 1-0 Dinamo (Ekaterinburg)
Again these sides lost in the semi-finals 12 months later but this time it was Kairat's turn to take bronze, a second-minute goal all they needed as Gustavo kept a clean sheet and Cacau started. Dinamo had Aleksandr Fukin, Kobzar, Pula, Tatú and Cirilo while Popov was on the bench.

2011/12 elite round: Kairat 2-2 Dinamo (Moscow)
Going into the decider in their elite round group, Kairat needed a win to pip the holders. Fernandinho scored for Dinamo after 94 seconds, but although Leo missed a penalty, Fumasa levelled not long past the interval and with two minutes to go, Alexandre Moraes edged Kairat in front with Pula having been sent off. However, their dreams were shattered as just 30 seconds from the end, Cirilo equalised to send Dinamo to the finals, where they were runners-up for the third time.



Courtesy: UEFA.com


Goalkeeper Higuita giving Kairat shot at title

If a goalkeeper is called Higuita you have to sit up and take notice – and that certainly goes for Kairat Almaty's Brazilian custodian who loves to attack and may do so in Sunday's final.

Saturday 27 April 2013

by Eugene Ravdin & Paul Saffer from Tbilisi

If a goalkeeper is called Higuita you have to sit up and take notice – and that certainly goes for Kairat Almaty's Brazilian custodian.

That Leonardo De Melo Vieira Leite is more commonly known as a namesake of René Higuita is no coincidence. A goalkeeper since he was five, he told UEFA.com: "When I was little I used to have long hair and a goalkeeper hardly played outside their area back then but I was often doing that, feinting, showing off ... So everyone was saying, 'Look at that goalie. He is a fool just like Higuita. Higuita come here!' That was how I became Higuita. I also tried the Scorpion Kick when I played football but only in training."

His attacking prowess was shown in Kairat's 5-4 UEFA Futsal Cup semi-final defeat of holders FC Barcelona in Tbilisi on Friday. Higuita was virtually a fifth outfield player, having five shots and hitting the woodwork twice, once an effort from halfway that almost knocked the goal off its moorings.

He was named Western Union man of the match despite the fact team-mate Fumasa got a hat-trick, Barcelona admitting they were unsettled by Higuita's attacking play. "The most important thing was that I saw the blood in the eyes of our team, it was pure desire," Higuita told UEFA.com. Now the Rio de Janeiro-born 26-year-old hopes to experience something even better after Sunday's final with MFK Dinamo in Tbilisi.

Declaring himself "100% ready" despite an ice pack strapped to his knee on Saturday, he identified the Russian champions' strengths. "Dinamo are very good when playing through their pivot Cirilo," Higuita said. "Everyone trusts him, gives him the ball. Not as much as they used to because now they also have Dieguinho who fulfils the same function. Otherwise Dinamo are just like Barcelona – all the lads play for national teams, all have their strengths. We have to be very cautious."

A football scholar with CR Vasco da Gama, CR Flamengo and Fluminense FC before switching codes aged 18 due to his height, he represented Cabo Frio Futsal, Kairat's Kazakh rivals Tulpar Karagandy and Portuguese club CF Os Belenenses. Joining the Almaty side in 2011, Higuita had his first experience of the UEFA Futsal Cup last season, denied a finals spot by Dinamo with a last-gasp elite round Cirilo equaliser in Moscow. That encounter gave him respect for the Russian champions' experienced coach Faustino Pérez.

"He is a good coach, experienced, a really commanding figure," Higuita said. "Dinamo are very good at the moment. Not just any man can coach such a team and he has done so for three years already. It shows he is a top class professional."

Kairat's coach, Higuita's fellow Brazilian Cacau, may not have Pérez's experience but showed a shrewd tactical sense in how he deployed his goalkeeper up the pitch against Barcelona. So will Higuita aid the attack again on Sunday?

"We should not forget about caution and we have to use our strengths wisely," he said. "If we need we will play five against four, if we don't – we won't. It is all about what the coach decides. We just do what Cacau tells us to. If he decides that we should sit back and do nothing but defend – we will sit back and defend."



Courtesy: UEFA.com


Pula: Mature Dinamo ready to win

"I think we have become more mature," Pula told UEFA.com as the hero of MFK Dinamo's 2007 win looked ahead to today's final against Kairat Almaty 12 months on from losing to FC Barcelona.

Sunday 28 April 2013

by Eugene Ravdin from Tbilisi

Six years ago Pula, freshly arrived at MFK Dinamo from Brazil, wrote himself into the Russian club's folklore by scoring a winner in the dying seconds of the UEFA Futsal Cup final against Interviú Madrid.

That remains Dinamo's only European title as today they face Kairat Almaty in Tblisi, equaling Interviú's record of five finals. Pula is now a Dinamo stalwart and Russian international, and hopes to end the day with another continental crown having lost at this stage 12 months ago to FC Barcelona.

"I think we have become more mature," Pula told UEFA.com. "I cannot say that last year we were young and naive but something has changed in our heads, we have taken a step forward. I hope we will also have a more serious approach. Besides, I was injured last year and now I am fully fit. I hope the team benefits from this."

Once Dinamo had beaten hosts Iberia Star Tbilisi 5-2 in Friday's semi-final, Pula scoring twice, most were expecting Barcelona to set up a rematch of last year's decider but the holders fell 5-4 to Kairat. "Everyone considered Barcelona favorites but in a cup competition, in finals you can take nothing for granted," Pula said. "I believe that Barça weren't able to play their trademark game. At the same time, Kairat produced a magnificent display, it was their day.

"I would not say that Barça lost but rather that Kairat won because they played great. They were getting ready for it for so long, they have been striving for it for several years. One of the reasons for Barça's setback may also be that they failed to impose their rhythm early on. That was why they kept squandering their chances and failed to win."

As for Dinamo, who have already won the Russian Cup and topped the league regular season this season, the 32-year-old Pula reflected: "I am fully satisfied with our attacking game. We always manage to impose our rhythm and play with great intensity. What we probably lack concentration in defence. You can work on that until the end of time!"

But in charge of that work is coach Faustino Pérez, already a two-time UEFA Futsal Cup winner with Playas de Castellón FS. "What makes him stand out from the other top coaches is how he conducts the psychological group work," Pula said. "He creates an atmosphere that suits all the players, where they feel comfortable."






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