2nd Euro in a row and also world champions. Why can't we be this good at real football...
Futsal
- Thread starter André Dominguez
- Start date
Ehehehe. Fantastic game, and we won another competition where we would be the 3rd favourite to win it (Spain is clearly the strongest squad and Russia is very tactically astute.)
We've made it mainly because we play a very intensive style, players like Zicky, Erick, Afonso Jesus, Paçó, etc are very aggressive players and it creates difficulties for the opponents to defend our quick transitions.
Because talent wise our team is not better than Spain or Russia, but they couldn't match our intensity.
How is Russia this good?
Russia has a long tradition on this sport. They were the favourites on this match, their pivot is an incredible player, probably the best pivot in the world at the moment.
This sport will grow in numbers, much because football is becoming too expensive and also because futsal is ana amazing sport from the strategic POV and from the emotional POV.
Also, futsal has been creating rules over the years to combat time wasting, unlike football who just changes a couple of rules once every 2 or 4 years.
Absolutely love that the clock stops when the ball is out of play
The double back-pass to keeper rule was a great change: before this rule the back-pass to the keeper rule was similar to football, where the only restriction is that after the ball comes from the keeper, the keeper can't play it with it's hands.
This was an exploit for time wasting, since teams would abuse for long back-passes to the keeper in order to wasting some more precious long seconds (in futsal every second counts, as the game ends at clock stop, there's no injury time).
The first change was the 4 seconds rule, where the goalkeeper had to release the ball within 4 seconds if they received a back-pass behind the midfield line. After the midfield line there was no time limit for the keeper to hold the ball. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough, as many teams when in advantage keep playing back-passes to waste time.
Then they changed the rule for the following:
- When a back pass is made or the ball comes from the keeper, the keeper cannot receive the ball again unless an opponent touches the ball or if the goalkeeper receives the ball after the midfield line.
- The 4 second rule behind the midfield line remains.
In terms of tactical trends, a lot of teams are still using "pure" man-marking defensive systems, which can be a liability. If you look at top teams, they implement mix defending when pressing high (you always need some man mark on the furthest player, there's no offside in futsal).
They don't go gung-ho on pressing: they first cut the primary passing lane leaving the ball holder with only one option. When the pass is done, almost immediately two to three players will commit on high pressing to cut all the passing options even before the receiver get the ball, making that player having little to no solutions than trying to either hold the ball and try to finding a new passing route (high risk, but also high reward) or hoof it up the pitch.
To counter this, many teams will either drop a player to create more passing lanes and retain possession, preferably in full width in order to contour the press.
Or, simply hoof the ball to a playable area near the goalkeeper and then counter-press.
But most of the teams will opt to use direct man marking: easier to deploy, requires less intensity but also makes the life more difficult for the poor guy who's man-marking Zicky Té, for example. He's destined to fail on his task, skilled and clever players always get a way to escape man-marking.
They don't go gung-ho on pressing: they first cut the primary passing lane leaving the ball holder with only one option. When the pass is done, almost immediately two to three players will commit on high pressing to cut all the passing options even before the receiver get the ball, making that player having little to no solutions than trying to either hold the ball and try to finding a new passing route (high risk, but also high reward) or hoof it up the pitch.
To counter this, many teams will either drop a player to create more passing lanes and retain possession, preferably in full width in order to contour the press.
Or, simply hoof the ball to a playable area near the goalkeeper and then counter-press.
But most of the teams will opt to use direct man marking: easier to deploy, requires less intensity but also makes the life more difficult for the poor guy who's man-marking Zicky Té, for example. He's destined to fail on his task, skilled and clever players always get a way to escape man-marking.
Champions League is back, and another Final Four is coming. This final four is going to have a somewhat underwhelming semi-final: since Russian teams were suspended, french team ACCS took the russian team place, making it a very unbalanced semi-final. Should be an easy win for Sporting.
The other semi-final will be between Benfica and Barcelona, who in my opinion are the favourites to win the Champions League this season.
The other semi-final will be between Benfica and Barcelona, who in my opinion are the favourites to win the Champions League this season.
Here are some details about the teams involved in this Final Four (will only highlight few players from Sporting, Benfica and Barcelona, beucase those teams are full with quality players):
Main titles:
Main Titles:
Main Titles:
The actual coach employs a very old school man-2-man marking which can leave the team exposed to concentration mistakes.
Main Titles:
Main titles:
- 1x French Champions
- 1x French Cup Winners
- The veterans Ricardinho and Thiago Bolinha, who offer immense technical quality.
- Brazilian keeper Careca: not a world class one, but experienced enough to be a solid solution.
- Souheil Mouhoudine: french international pivot, a very decent player in holding the play.
Main Titles:
- 2x Champions League Winners
- 16x Portuguese Elite League Winners
- 8x Portuguese Cup Winners
- Guita: amazing goalkeeper, one of the best in the world. Brilliant shot stopper and a good deep playmaker.
- Erick: a player that can play anywhere in the field, he's aggressive, clinical and tactically intelligent.
- Pany Varela: a bit inconsistent, but has a venemous shot in his feet. Can be a game changer.
- Zicky Té: probably the best pivot in nowadays futsal. A force of nature and a clever player.
Main Titles:
- 1x Champions League Winners
- 8x Portuguese Elite League Winners
- 7x Portuguese Cup Winners
- Chishckala: despite still not showing his full talent, this russian player is one of the best in his position.
- Arthur: a bit underrated IMHO. he's an engine that keeps things glued. Hardworker, clever and technically amazing.
- Rocha: Former Sporting player, he's having some physical problems this season, but he's a very talented player that can make the difference
- Afonso Jesus: aggressive and inteligent, he's a great defender. Unfortunately lacks a bit of balance which left him exposed against some physical pivots at time.
The actual coach employs a very old school man-2-man marking which can leave the team exposed to concentration mistakes.
Main Titles:
- 3x Champions League Winners
- 5x Spanish Elite League Winners
- 6x Spanish Cup Winners
- Ferrão: world's best player, he can turn a tough game into an easy game. He's coming from an injury, though.
- Sérgio Lozano: Experienced player, solid on the defense, creates and scores. Can be the key to many games.
- Adolfo Diaz (no pun inteded): Another creative player. Can score, can create and has intensity.
- André Coelho: aggressive and inteligent, and scorer of important goals. He's a very complete defender that will not be afraid of any challenge
ACCS - Sporting about to start. Placed a mega bet yesterday on Sporting @1.27
The game can be followed by a lot of stream providers. It will be on open signal here in PT, not sure in UK.
The game can be followed by a lot of stream providers. It will be on open signal here in PT, not sure in UK.
Easy win for Sporting, as expected. They even were able to rotate. But not everything is good news: Pany was sent off which means he will miss the final. A major blow for Sporting IMHO.
Tommorrow Will write some highlights. See you soon
Season is over in Europe, but still a lot to play in Brazil, so let's take a general look on the competitions:
UEFA Champions League
No real surprise here: best squad, best manager and the 4-0 at the final shown the difference.
National winners:
Unfortunately, ukranian league lost a lot of quality due to war, which means their clubs will be weaker next season (if the season ends)
UEFA Champions League
| Winners | Runners-up |
|---|---|
| Barcelona - 4th title | Sporting |
National winners:
| Country | League winner | Cup winner |
|---|---|---|
| Belgium | Halle-Gooik | N/A |
| France | Sporting Paris (Sporting affiliated) | N/A |
| Italy | Pesaro | Pesaro |
| Netherlands | Hovocubo | N/A |
| Russia | Yugra | Yekaterinburg |
| Spain | Barcelona | Antequera |
Unfortunately, ukranian league lost a lot of quality due to war, which means their clubs will be weaker next season (if the season ends)
At England:
Champions: East Riding Futsal Club (1st title)
Manchester Futsal was 3rd in their series and reached the playoffs, but it was not this season.
Champions: East Riding Futsal Club (1st title)
Manchester Futsal was 3rd in their series and reached the playoffs, but it was not this season.
Today is the 1st match day of the Finalíssima. What is Finalíssima, you may ask:
It is a tournament between European and SA confederations where the best NT that usually features the finalists of both Copa America and European Cup.
Spain are the favorites to win as usual, but both Portugal and Argentina have all the conditions to make it also. Argentina has a defensive style, with quick vertical counters. They have improved a lot and actually despite not having a better team than Brazil, they have been wining titles.
In theory South American teams have some physical advantadge: they are at mid-season while European teams just started the season.
Today's big match will be Spain - Argentina. Unfortunatelly it is very late (23:45)
You can watch the other game early: Portugal - Paraguay at 21:00. In normal conditions Portugal would be 60-70% favourite. But this game due to some jet-lag and both players being in different stages of the season things might be balanced.
In terms of individual talent, Portugal and Spain have a bit of an edge, but Argentina has an amazing team unit which in National Team level is the most important thing.
A good tournament for begginers to futsal peak some of the world best players in action
It is a tournament between European and SA confederations where the best NT that usually features the finalists of both Copa America and European Cup.
Spain are the favorites to win as usual, but both Portugal and Argentina have all the conditions to make it also. Argentina has a defensive style, with quick vertical counters. They have improved a lot and actually despite not having a better team than Brazil, they have been wining titles.
In theory South American teams have some physical advantadge: they are at mid-season while European teams just started the season.
Today's big match will be Spain - Argentina. Unfortunatelly it is very late (23:45)
You can watch the other game early: Portugal - Paraguay at 21:00. In normal conditions Portugal would be 60-70% favourite. But this game due to some jet-lag and both players being in different stages of the season things might be balanced.
In terms of individual talent, Portugal and Spain have a bit of an edge, but Argentina has an amazing team unit which in National Team level is the most important thing.
A good tournament for begginers to futsal peak some of the world best players in action
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Here are the highlights of the semi-finals. Portugal had some difficulties against Paraguay, but managed to move on. Spain got a confortable win against Argentina, confirming their favoritism in this competition.
Portugal won the Finalíssima on PK's. Once again, Spain were the favourites (they have the better team overall). The surprising factor of this final was that Portugal actually controlled the game most of the time, while Spain played more in a reactive way, something that is totally strange from them.
Match of the weekend: (London Time)
24/09 Palma Futsal - Inter Movistar at 17:00
Two top teams facing each other will end up in a very interesting match, either tactical and technical. Palma Futsal lost their best player to Benfica, so they will be a bit with less quality. Inter on the other hand is recovering from a tight finantial position and has a very balanced squad. Still a step away from top 4 european teams, but a tough squad to beat nonetheless.
24/09 Palma Futsal - Inter Movistar at 17:00
Two top teams facing each other will end up in a very interesting match, either tactical and technical. Palma Futsal lost their best player to Benfica, so they will be a bit with less quality. Inter on the other hand is recovering from a tight finantial position and has a very balanced squad. Still a step away from top 4 european teams, but a tough squad to beat nonetheless.
Very interesting match:
While Inter have a better team overall, Palma is excelently drilled team. They won by a marginal result, but a victory is a victory:
On Portugal, there was the supercup. It was a very entretaining match, that had to be decided by PKs. It was a match with fierce rivalries, goals and tons of emotion.
Here's the link with the video highlights (you'll have to use google translate because the futsal section is not available on english)
https://www.slbenfica.pt/pt-pt/agora/noticias/2022/09/25/futsal-jogo-sporting-benfica-supertaca
While Inter have a better team overall, Palma is excelently drilled team. They won by a marginal result, but a victory is a victory:
On Portugal, there was the supercup. It was a very entretaining match, that had to be decided by PKs. It was a match with fierce rivalries, goals and tons of emotion.
Here's the link with the video highlights (you'll have to use google translate because the futsal section is not available on english)
https://www.slbenfica.pt/pt-pt/agora/noticias/2022/09/25/futsal-jogo-sporting-benfica-supertaca
Champions League is back in town, with the 1st Group Stage being played this week. England futsal Champions fail to qualify for this stage, but this time they were unlucky to fail the qualification due to goal difference. But come on, fellas: even a team from Malta did it 
IMHO this competition would improve massively if more teams from Spain and Portugal were allowed to participate.
All games will be transmited live on YouTube UEFA channel, for free.
Games will be played between 25 to 29 October in several cities across Europe (each group has one host, and all the group games are played there).
Elite Path (Top 3 teams qualify for next group stage)
Qualifiers Path (Only winners of the group qualify for next group stage)
IMHO this competition would improve massively if more teams from Spain and Portugal were allowed to participate.
All games will be transmited live on YouTube UEFA channel, for free.
Games will be played between 25 to 29 October in several cities across Europe (each group has one host, and all the group games are played there).
Elite Path (Top 3 teams qualify for next group stage)
| Group 1 Teams | Country |
|---|---|
| Palma Futsal | Spain |
| Kairat | Kazakhstan |
| Anderlecth (Host) | Belgium |
| Sporting Paris | France |
| Group 2 Teams | Country |
|---|---|
| Sporting | Portugal |
| Ayat | Kazakhstan |
| Novo Vrijeme (Host) | Croatia |
| Futsal Pula | France |
| Group 3 Teams | Country |
|---|---|
| Barcelona | Spain |
| Dobovec | Slovenia |
| Hovocubo | Netherlands |
| Luxol St Andrews (Host) | Malta |
| Group 4 Teams | Country |
|---|---|
| Benfica | Portugal |
| Uragan | Ukraine |
| Haladás | Hungary |
| United Galați (Host) | Malta |
Qualifiers Path (Only winners of the group qualify for next group stage)
| Group 5 Teams | Country |
|---|---|
| Mostar SG (Host) | Bosnia & Herzegovina |
| Araz Naxçivan | Armenia |
| Loznica-Grad | Serbia |
| Örebro SK | Sweden |
| Group 6 Teams | Country |
|---|---|
| Stalitsa Minsk | Belarus |
| Liqeni (Host) | Kosovo |
| JB Futsal Gentofte | Denmark |
| Piast Gliwice | Poland |
| Group 7 Teams | Country |
|---|---|
| Kauno Zalgiris (Host) | Lithuania |
| Feldi Eboli | Italy |
| Dynamo Kampuksen | Finland |
| Petrow | Latvia |
| Group 8 Teams | Country |
|---|---|
| FK Chrudim | Czech Rep. |
| Shkupi (Host) | North Macedonia |
| Lučenec | Slovakia |
| Differdange 03 | Luxembourg |
1st matchday results
Minsk 1 - 6 Piast Gliwice
No surprises here: the polish team has much more arguments in their squad. They have some interesting players like Lazzaretti, Parra, Pegacha and Orlando Duarte is a very experienced manager who knows the game very well.
Gentofte 3 - 4 Liqeni
A balanced game, but home factor made the difference IMO. Liqeni has a little bit better squad, but Gentofte actually played very well despite having a squad mainly built on national players.
Minsk 1 - 6 Piast Gliwice
No surprises here: the polish team has much more arguments in their squad. They have some interesting players like Lazzaretti, Parra, Pegacha and Orlando Duarte is a very experienced manager who knows the game very well.
Gentofte 3 - 4 Liqeni
A balanced game, but home factor made the difference IMO. Liqeni has a little bit better squad, but Gentofte actually played very well despite having a squad mainly built on national players.
| Group 6 | GD | Points |
|---|---|---|
| Piast Gliwice | 6 - 1 | 3 |
| Liqeni (Host) | 4 - 3 | 3 |
| JB Futsal Gentofte | 3 - 4 | 0 |
| Stalitsa Minsk | 1 - 6 | 0 |
First groups stage of UEFA Champions League is now over. Here are the qualified teams for UEFA Elite Group Stage:
I'm going to pay some attention to Anderlecht: made a very solid group stage in the death group of Main Round. They might be an outsider candidate depending on their group draw. Elite group draw will be at 8th November.
| Team | Country |
|---|---|
| Palma Futsal | Spain |
| Anderlecht | Belgium |
| Kairat | Kazakhstan |
| Sporting | Portugal |
| Novo Vrijem | Croatia |
| Futsal Pula | Croatia |
| Barcelona | Spain |
| Luxol St Andrews | Malta |
| Dobovec | Slovenia |
| Benfica | Portugal |
| Uragan | Ukraine |
| United Galati | Romania |
| Loznica-Grad | Serbia |
| Piast Gliwice | Poland |
| Feldi Eboli | Italy |
| FK Chrudim | Czech Rep. |
I'm going to pay some attention to Anderlecht: made a very solid group stage in the death group of Main Round. They might be an outsider candidate depending on their group draw. Elite group draw will be at 8th November.
Forgot to post the Elite Round groups. Without russian clubs this competition looses quality.
Easy group for Sporting. Eboli might give them some difficulties, but that's it.
Easy group for Palma, but bare in mind that their team is very inexperienced at UEFA competitions.
Tough mission for Benfica, because only top 1 will go through. Kairat is a very competitive and strong team, and they have home advantage.
While Anderlecht has shown to be a competitive team, I don't think Barça will fail to qualify.
The final four will be Sporting, Palma, Barça and Benfica/Kairat, almost 100% sure.
Easy group for Sporting. Eboli might give them some difficulties, but that's it.
| Group A |
|---|
| Sporting (Por) |
| Uragan (Ukr) |
| Loznica-Grad |
| Eboli (Ita) - Host |
Easy group for Palma, but bare in mind that their team is very inexperienced at UEFA competitions.
| Group B |
|---|
| Palma (Spa) - Host |
| Novo Vrijeme (Cro) |
| Dobovec (Svn) |
| Piast Gliwice (Pol) |
Tough mission for Benfica, because only top 1 will go through. Kairat is a very competitive and strong team, and they have home advantage.
| Group C |
|---|
| Benfica (Por) |
| Luxol St. Andrews (Mlt) |
| Chrudim (Cze) |
| Kairat (Kaz) - Host |
While Anderlecht has shown to be a competitive team, I don't think Barça will fail to qualify.
| Group D |
|---|
| Barça (SPA) , |
| Anderlecht (Bel) |
| United Galati (Rou) |
| Futsal Pula (Cro) - Host |
The final four will be Sporting, Palma, Barça and Benfica/Kairat, almost 100% sure.
Well... shocking surprise at Futsal: Barcelona is out of the competiton after a brilliant group stage performance by Anderlecht. But there was a guy predicting that this Anderlecht team would be a pain in the butt for plenty of teams 
The final four finalists this year are:
Sporting (Portugal)
Benfica (Portugal)
Palma Futsal (Spain)
Anderlecht (Belgium)
How far can this Anderlecht go? They basically won a group with Barcelona, which IMHO is the best futsal squad in the world. They will be outsiders for sure, and the major favourites are Sporting and Benfica, since Palma lacks european experience.
The irony: The MVP of Elite group stage was Barcelona's winger Matheus, who not only scored a lot of goals, he also provided a lot of passing quality and assists.
I was predicting a tough battle between Benfica and kairat, and the truth is Kairat was terribly underwhelming, despite having a very good squad. They didn't manage to win a single game while hosting the group stage (I gues this balances the Anderlecht guess)
The final four finalists this year are:
Sporting (Portugal)
Benfica (Portugal)
Palma Futsal (Spain)
Anderlecht (Belgium)
How far can this Anderlecht go? They basically won a group with Barcelona, which IMHO is the best futsal squad in the world. They will be outsiders for sure, and the major favourites are Sporting and Benfica, since Palma lacks european experience.
The irony: The MVP of Elite group stage was Barcelona's winger Matheus, who not only scored a lot of goals, he also provided a lot of passing quality and assists.