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UEFA.comKairat's Fumasa tops Futsal Cup scoring chartsThere was double joy for Fumasa as his goal helped Kairat Almaty win the UEFA Futsal Cup and ensured he finished as top scorer in Tbilisi, while four players shared the season honour.Sunday 28 April 2013by
Paul Saffer from Tbilisi Palace of Sport
Fumasa, who scored his first European goals for this season's finals hosts Iberia Star Tbilisi in 2007/08, managed a hat-trick in the 5-4 semi-final defeat of FC Barcelona on Friday. By adding another as Kairat downed Dinamo 4-3 in the showpiece, he made sure of the personal honour by a margin of two goals.
For the first time, the overall top scorer honour for the whole season was shared, with four players reaching ten goals. Two hailed from Paris Sporting Club, who went out in the main round: Diniz Pinheiro and Betinho, a scorer in all six of their fixtures.
As for Alen Fetič, he made the elite round with FC Litija, scoring ten times along the way. In contrast, Futsal Topsport Antwerpen were knocked out by Paris in the preliminary round, but Amar Zouggaghi also got ten goals, all against Scotland's FC Santos. That equalled the record for a single UEFA Futsal Cup game set by André Vanderlei for Action 21 Charleroi in 2003/04.
That season, André claimed a record 19 goals and in 2011/12, playing for Châtelineau Futsal, he became the first man to reach 50 in the UEFA Futsal Cup. His former Charleroi team-mate Lúcio is catching him, managing three goals for Iberia Star in the early rounds to take his career total to 48, four behind André – though he could not make his half-century today as he missed the third-place play-off against Barcelona through injury.
Final tournament top scorersFumasa (Kairat Almaty) 4
Dieguinho (MFK Dinamo) 2
Sergio Lozano (FC Barcelona) 2
Fabinho (Iberia Star Tbilisi) 2
Pula (MFK Dinamo) 2
Season top scorers Betinho (Paris Sporting Club) 10
Alen Fetic (FC Litija) 10
Diniz Pinheiro (Paris Sporting Club) 10
Amar Zouggaghi (Futsal Topsport Antwerpen) 10
Previous season top scorers2011/12: Ion Al-Ioani (Győri ETO FC) 13
2010/11: Chimel Vita Nzaka (Kremlin Bicêtre United) 16
2009/10: Joel Queirós (SL Benfica) 12
2008/09: Samir Makhoukhi (FC Blok Beverwijk) 9
2007/08: Karim Bali (Futsal Topsport Antwerpen) 13
2006/07: Serhiy Sytin (FC Shakhtar Donetsk) 10
2005/06: Predrag Rajić (KMF Marbo Beograd) 12
2004/05: Sergei Ivanov (MFK Dinamo) 14
2003/04: André Vanderlei (Action 21 Charleroi) 19
2002/03: André Vanderlei (Action 21 Charleroi) 15
2001/02: Joan (Playas de Castellón FS) 13
All-time top scorersAndré Vanderlei (Action 21 Charleroi/Châtelineau Futsal) 52
Lúcio (Action 21 Charleroi/Iberia Star Tbilisi) 48
Schumacher (Interviú Madrid) 41*
Leo (Action 21 Charleroi) 40
Marquinho (Interviú Madrid) 39
*Excludes four goals in forfeited game
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UEFA.comRelieved Kairat beat Dinamo to win Futsal CupSunday 28 April 2013Kazakhstan clinched its first UEFA honour as Kairat held off a tremendous late surge by Dinamo to take the title in Tbilisi.MFK Dinamo 3-4 Kairat Almatyby
Paul Saffer from Tbilisi Palace of Sport
Kairat Almaty displayed skill and then grit to hold off MFK Dinamo and win the UEFA Futsal Cup.
Never before had Kazakhstan been represented in a UEFA final, yet Kairat, who defeated holders FC Barcelona in the semis, dominated much of the game against the 2007 winners. It was 1-1 at the break, but then Leo Santana, Fumasa and Higuita put Kairat in control, only for Dinamo to score twice to set up a hectic conclusion.
Dinamo brought pivot Fernandinho back into their 12 but stuck with Aleksei Popov in goal despite Gustavo returning from a suspension in their 5-2 semi-final win against Iberia Star Tbilisi. Kairat once again used Higuita as a fifth outfield player whenever possible, the goalkeeper even making saves with his body in the Dinamo half to prevent early embarrassment.
Kairat started well, and Popov had to deny Fumasa, who got a hat-trick in the 5-4 last-four elimination of Barcelona, as well as Euler. However, a slip in the Kairat defence allowed Nando to find Pula, who missed the target, as did Fumasa from point-blank range seconds later.
In the 11th minute, Kairat took the lead in bizarre fashion. Euler found Alexandre Moraes virtually on the byline and his shot deflected in off the legs of Popov. Dieguinho shot wide as Dinamo responded, and Higuita tipped a Fernandinho effort past a post. Meanwhile, Popov made amends with a brave save from Moraes and Dinamo equalised a minute from half-time through a superb low Sergei Sergeev shot.
It was nearly 2-1 to Dinamo seconds after the interval when Romulo's free-kick was blocked by Fumasa and his shot on the rebound shaved the post. At the other end, Leo hit the underside of the bar, but he then set up Kairat's second as he found Leo Santana, who beat Popov at his near post.
The keeper then made some important saves to keep Dinamo in touch, including one from Leo Santana, and Betão – a 2009 winner with Interviú Madrid – went agonisingly close. But it was 3-1 when Moraes' shot was turned in on the line by Fumasa.
That prompted Dinamo coach Faustino Pérez, hoping to become the first man to manage three final victories, to use Tatù as a flying goalkeeper. The tactic nonetheless backfired when Higuita, whose shooting prowess is well established, was able to punt into an empty net.
There was then embarrasment for Higuita as a clearance was charged down by Cirilo to pull it back to 4-2. Tatù then smashed a low finish through a crowd of players and, with three minutes left, Dinamo trailed only by one. Nando produced a great block when it looked like Fumasa would remove all doubt in the last minute, but, after Cirilo hit the post, Kairat held on to make history for Kazakhstan.
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UEFA.comCacau thrilled as Kairat celebrations beginCacau described transforming a Kairat Almaty team with "very low" morale into UEFA Futsal Cup winners and captain Dinmukhambet Suleimenov said: "We have fulfilled our dream."Sunday 28 April 2013by
Gonzalo Aguado &
Eugene Ravdin from Tbilisi Palace of Sport
Former Kairat Almaty player Cacau returned as coach in February – and in less than three months transformed a team with "very low" morale into UEFA Futsal Cup winners.
Kairat beat MFK Dinamo 4-3 in a thrilling game where two late goals for the Russian side so nearly wiped out their lead in Tbilisi. But they held on and, having previously overcome FC Barcelona 5-4 in the semis, Cacau and Alexandre Moraes marveled at beating "the two best teams in a row".
Cacau, coachI think the key was to lead the match in the last ten minutes. We have faced the best teams in the world. The champions and the runners-up last year. If we had had a little more composure, the score could have been better. But I think the dramatic ending makes it more beautiful still.
The most important thing was the unity of the squad. When I arrived morale was very low. I took Betão and Euler and talked to them. Joan too, since my arrival he has been key in my tactics. Joan and Higuita were the keys to getting to the final. But everybody, including Leo, Leo Santana ... The important thing is the collective.
Kazakhstan futsal deserves this title for all they have done in recent years. They have invested a lot to get a title. I want to thank all the players, the fans and especially the people of Kazakhstan.
When I arrived I didn’t expect to win. But I studied Barcelona for a month. I studied Barcelona like nobody. I've seen all their matches. And I saw they were in trouble when they defended. So the key was Higuita. But most importantly, we defended really well. The squad wanted to be champions and showed joy on the court. You have to have joy, desire and unity. Those are the keys of Kairat's success.
Alexandre Moraes, Western Union man of the matchThe game was balanced. Cacau gave us the keys to winning the game. I think Barcelona and Dinamo are the two best teams in the world. We come here knowing that, but with confidence of reaching the final. I knew our team was very good. The squad was aware of the difficulties, but everyone knew what to do at the right time.
Dinmukhambet Suleimenov, captainI have no words to describe this, just full of emotions. We are very happy. I am repeating myself, but it was really the match of our lives. Finally we have fulfilled our dream after five years of trying. We finally did it in Tbilisi. I have no idea when we will be able to win the UEFA Cup again. I would like to thank all the people who took part in reaching this milestone.
It's very prestigious to win a tournament like this. It's a great promotion of futsal. Everyone saw this, a lot of channels have broadcast the match, so I think all this will help us to bring futsal in Kazakhstan to another level.
When we were leading 4-1 I think we lost concentration a little bit which resulted in Higuita's mistake, although we were able to pick ourselves up afterwards and finish on a high note. Of course when Dinamo found themselves back in the game we were disappointed. We were desperate not to concede another goal and in the end we succeeded. Now we are going to celebrate this achievement like crazy.
Joan, former Dinamo forward formerly of DinamoFor my whole time Kairat I have always told our president there is going to be a day when we are playing in the final and winning. And that's what happened. I've spend some time at Dinamo, so I knew a lot of players. I explained to our young players the tactics of our opponents and this helped us to take a lead.
I've also played for Iberia [Star Tbilisi], when they were in the UEFA Futsal Cup, however, unfortunately, we were not able to qualify into the elite round that time. But now I am at Kairat and our team is much better now after signing some experienced players. I hope we will be able to grow from this and to become regular finalists.
I was happy to find out the finals would be played in Tbilisi, because I know the city quite well. I have a lot of friends here and from now on I will love Tbilisi even more, because here I've experienced the happiest day of my whole life.
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UEFA.comKairat tactics outfoxed DinamoMFK Dinamo reflected on their second consecutive final defeat and admitted that a failure to deal with Kairat Almaty's tactic of an attacking goalkeeper was the key to their 4-3 loss.Sunday 28 April 2013by
Gonzalo Aguado &
Eugene Ravdin from Tbilisi Palace of Sport
MFK Dinamo reflected on their second consecutive UEFA Futsal Cup final defeat and admitted that a failure to deal with Kairat Almaty's tactic of an attacking goalkeeper was the key to their 4-3 loss in Tbilisi.
Kairat used Higuita virtually as an outfield player for much of their 5-4 semi-final defeat of holders FC Barcelona, and although Dinamo expected a repeat, coach Faustino Pérez and players Cirilo and Tatù all lamented a match that felt like "five against four". Cirilo, who hit the post in the dying seconds, also felt that Dinamo, as favourites, had pressure on them which Kairat did not.
Faustino Pérez, coachIt was the same as in their previous game. They broke up the game with the five-against-four, but I think we had some attempts on goal. We were very nervous, and we were unable to resolve the situation. The first half unsettled us. We started well, especially dealing with the situation of five against four. I think that was the key. We must learn to resolve these situations tactically.
The team are very sad. But we are aware that we have not mastered our emotions to make things better. We lacked calmness. We reacted and we even had chances to tie the game. At the end, the winner is always the fair winner.
Cirilo, forwardThere is no need to say how sad we are after this loss. We lost the final last year and it happened again. To be honest, we didn't expect Kairat to be in the final and I think we were not ready for them. They were great in playing five against four and outplayed us, just like they did against Barcelona on Friday.
Today, Kairat could afford to be relaxed. The loss wouldn't have been the end of the world for them, while we were under pressure to win at all costs. We were nervous, which was a disadvantage. We also lacked movement.
We knew they were going to use five-on-four tactics; however, after conceding the first goal we somehow stopped sticking to our game plan. It was such a pain to hit the post with only ten seconds left to play. I had a great chance to force extra time. But we have to move forward. We have to win the domestic title to be back next season.
Tatù, defenderIt is a painful defeat. But this is futsal. The difference was five-against-four again. We were surprised, as were Barcelona. Then we woke up, we played well and we had chances to draw. We only had a day to train for the Higuita situation. We will have to prepare better for the future. I think we played well; it is a pity.
Posted by
Luca Ranocchiari -->
luca.ranocchiari@futsalplanet.com
