Intercontinental Futsal Championship Match
Dinamo Moscow face Carlos Barbosa in an excellent match for the Intercontinental Futsal Cup title. Ind out who won the match, the game MVP and find out how long Falcao will be on the sidelines after picking up an injury. Plenty of photos as well
By: Kris Fernandes
Twitter: insidesoccermag
Photos By: Kathleen George
Intercontinental Futsal Cup Championship Match:
Dinamo Moscow (Russia) vs Carlos Barbosa (Brazil)
The final of the Intercontinental Cup pits two of the strongest clubs on the planet with UEFA Futsal Cup runners-up Dinamo Moscow looking to become the first Russian club to win the prestigious competition. To do that they would need to beat a club that has won the competition twice, Carlos Barbosa.
The Brazilian side made it to the final after coming back from a 2-0 deficit to draw 2-2 with ElPozo on Saturday night and advanced on a points tiebreaker from cards issued. Dinamo also delivered a comeback of their own when they defeated Intelli Orlandia of Brazil by with a 6-3.
Only three clubs have won the most modern version of the competition which started back in 2004, with Barbosa looking to go even with Boomerang Interviu with three world titles (note: Boomerang have been rebranded numerous times over the years including as Inter Movistar and Interviu Fadesa which also won world titles.)
The crowd were into it right from the start with both teams applying pressure in the early going. Dinamo struck first blood within five minutes when Fernandinho blasted one in much to the delight of the Russian fans in attendance.
Barbosa would return the favour around the halfway mark when Jonathan was able to connect with a well-placed shot to even things up.
The Brazilian club almost went ahead when a 2v1 break which surely looked to be going in was brilliantly denied with a diving fingertip save by Gustavo. Each team continued to deliver big chances but neither would be able to score before the break. 1-1 at half.
Both teams marked a lot tighter as the 2nd half began and a lot of harder tackles and bumps emerged as a result. Each team hit the three foul mark within the first six minutes.
Frustration was an evitable by-product of that with players on both teams passionately expressing their thoughts to the officials. Rodrigo received a yellow card for a foul on Pula and Carlos Barbosa supporters along the sidelines gave him an earful of what they believed to be a flop.
Barbosa were called for their 5th foul and would need to adapt without conceding the dreaded 6th. Dinamo would join them with a trip on Barbosa’s Flavio which resulted in a caution. It appeared that the championship would come down to a penalty from the 10m spot.
The pace picked up with about five left on the clock with Nando making a sharp cut from the sideline towards the centre before blasting one down in the bottom left corner to give Dinamo a crucial 2-1 lead.
In Saturday’s semi-final, Dinamo were able to effectively handle another Brazilian club’s full press attack with the 5th attacker and did an excellent job again as they intercepted a pair of passes both resulting in goals that deflated any chance of a Barbosa comeback.
Dinamo would continue to kill the clock and added another when Nando beat out two defenders and slotted in another as the Russian joined an exclusive club in becoming only the 5th club to hoist the Intercontinental Futsal Cup with a 5-1 victory over Carlos Barbosa.
PLAYER OF THE MATCH FOR DINAMO MOSCOW: Fernandinho
PLAYER OF THE MATCH FOR CARLOS BARBOSA: Daniel
TOURNAMENT MVP: Fernandinho (Dinamo Moscow)
3rd Place Match ElPozo (Spain) vs Intelli Orlandia (Brazil)
After being eliminated by the absolute slimmest and rarest of margins via points accumulated on cards, ElPozo came in to their final match at the 2013 Intercontinental Cup to face Brazilian league champions Intelli Orlandia who fell to Dinamo Moscow in their semi-final.
Luckily for the Spanish side, and unfortunately for fans, Falcao was unavailable for the match due to an injury he picked up in Saturday’s semi-final against the Russian side. Still, the vast amount of world class futsal players in this match was more than enough to offset the loss of the legendary Brazilian.
Kings of the court such as Spanish Captain Kike, Adri, Cabreuva, and 2012 World Cup winner Je (who gave Futsal Planet an exclusive interview coming soon) were all in the lineup.
The game opened up with some very strong technical passing and rotations with each team exchanging a series of scoring opportunities, much to the delight of the Greensboro crowd.
There was a collective chorus of oohs to match the grimaces on the faces from the crowd when Je went up for a bicycle kick but instead caught his defender square in the forehead. He was issued a yellow.
Each team struck the post twice midway through the half and then Je scored an absolute golazo when he cracked the ball from near the sidelines that hit the upper right bar before barely bouncing across the goal line. A definite contender for goal of the tournament. 1-0 Intelli.
ElPozo would not be fazed at all as only 15 seconds later they responded with a goal of their own when Lolo Suazo blasted home a rebound to even it up 1-1.
ElPozo went up 2-1 with about two minutes left on the clock and Intelli nearly evened it up shortly after when Cabreuva made a dazzling run that led to a scoring opportunity but the Brazilian international’s shot smacked off the crossbar. The half would end with the Spanish club up 2-1.
The 2nd half opened up with the same fast tempo exhibited in the opening 20 minutes.. The first real scoring chance came when ElPozo’s Grelo went on a breakaway but Guitta made another big save to keep them within one.
Intelli’s had a big opportunity of their own when Je receive a long airborn pass and tried to feign Fabio but the tall and lanky goalkeeper showed excellent reflexes by making a clutch save to preserve the lead.
They would eventually find the back of the net when Je scored his second of the night with a devastating shot that Fabio had no chance on. The game was all even at two.
A big diving save by Guitta prevented Bebe from putting ElPozo back in front in the 29th minute. Not to be outdone, Fabio would deny Je his hat-trick on a pair of occasions including a great tip save over the bar.
Although Je seemed destined to land another, his next shot was deflected by Fabio to the centre of the crease where Caio Costa would head it in for the lead with only two minutes remaining.
Je and Caio would connect again as the ElPozo defenders were caught badly out of position which wrapped up 3rd spot for the Brazilian side.
PLAYER OF THE MATCH FOR INTELLI ORLANDIA: Je
PLAYER OF THE MATCH FOR ELPOZO: Lolo Suazo
Post Conference Comments from Head Coach Aparecido Silva
Players that stood out for intelli: “I Don’t like to pick one player as I prefer a team atmosphere. Je stood out in most matches but team is the most important.”
Team’s experience in America. “I’m happy that we were really welcomed by everyone. The general hospitality was great. We hope that the seed we planted here will hope the sport grow in this part of the world. We’re happy to be have been a part of it so the sport can expand here.
On the club’s support from young fans in the crowd. I actually believed it wasn’t just because of Falcao, but because of the general characteristics of the team. The style of the Brazilians is nice to watch and that is why I think they supported us.
Leave a reply
Futsal Canada exists to help grow the sport of Futsal in Canada, through resource sharing, running tournaments and events, and lobbying for increased funding for, support for, and recognition of the sport at the educational, amateur, and professional levels.
