UEFA Futsal on GolTV

[tmcmurph]

Well it's not Canadian but it is on Canadian TV so close enough

Thursday February 09th 2012.

Croatia v Russia

10:00pm E.T. - 7:00pm P.T.

UEFA Futsal Championship Semi-Final 1 Gol TV Canada Debut

Friday February 10th 2012.

Spain v Italy

1:30am E.T. - 10:30pm P.T.

UEFA Futsal Championship Semi-Final 2 Gol TV Canada Debut

And the Final is now posted

Saturday February 11th 2012.

Russia v Spain

10:00pm E.T. - 7:00pm P.T.

UEFA Futsal Championship FINAL

[futsal]

Though it was nice to see any futsal on TV here in Canada, Gol TV dropped the ball BIG TIME during the final. What happened was Spain tied the game up with about half a minute left in the game and was headed to the extra time periods. Gol TV cuts to commercial after regulation and then when they came back they skipped the rest of the game and went straight to the medal ceremony! So anyone who watched the final didn't get to see the ET at all, talk about brutal broadcasting.

What was really strange is that there was about 10 minutes left in the 2 hours set aside for the broadcast and they filled it in with guys oing tricks with the ball, time that should have been used to show the rest of the game. Anyways Spain end up winning their 6th Futsal Euro with a 3-1 win, but a sour taste in my mouth courtesy of Gol TV's ridiculous blunder.

[Redcoatsforever]

Hopefully it's better next time. I caught some of the first half of Spain-Russia before work on Sunday. I've played indoor soccer a fair bit in the past few years, and futsal is clearly the better game. I want a pro league here in Canada for the winter months!

[Unnamed Trialist]

Too bad about the broadcast, it was a terribly tactical game that all came down to the final 10 m of regular time and extra time. I cannot say it was the best futsal I have seen, because Russia is so tough defensively, but it was damn good. Spain tied with hardly any time left in reg time, scored the winner in the 2nd period of extra time, and the final goal was when the Russians had pulled their keeper in the last second.

I get to see part of the Spain team every other week playing for FC Barcelona, for us club members it is free in fact. If you ever get to Spain when the league is on go see regular footie, sure, but try to get to a 1st division futsal match as the level is outstanding and what is more you can find a seat in row 4 and hear those cool Munich brand sneakers squeek!

[tmcmurph]

I thought it was my PVR and was cursing up a storm. Oh well my PVR won't get a bullet in it like some brats computer

Great action and I love the fact that of the last 4 teams only Croatia had all native players. Russia had 5 "naturalized Brazilians, Italy 7 (YES Italy had 7) and even Spain had 1. Brussia, Britaly and Brain? Earth to FIFA, hello. Soon all countries will have Brazilians and while that will help the level of play it won't help develop domestic talent.

Anyway it was great action and I love the flying goalie routine. Hopefully the broadcasters will get their lessons learned and keep the action coming.

Brussia defends amazingly. They live on the quick counter, turnover and totally press the whole floor a lot of times. That's what you can do with unlimited on the fly subs. Great keeper too.

[futsal]

I want a pro league here in Canada for the winter months!

The CPFL is starting in Ontario with regional teams and eventually will reach BC, and Quebec and hopefully Alberta.

[futsal]

I thought it was my PVR and was cursing up a storm. Oh well my PVR won't get a bullet in it like some brats computer

Great action and I love the fact that of the last 4 teams only Croatia had all native players. Russia had 5 "naturalized Brazilians, Italy 7 (YES Italy had 7) and even Spain had 1. Brussia, Britaly and Brain? Earth to FIFA, hello. Soon all countries will have Brazilians and while that will help the level of play it won't help develop domestic talent.

Anyway it was great action and I love the flying goalie routine. Hopefully the broadcasters will get their lessons learned and keep the action coming.

Brussia defends amazingly. They live on the quick counter, turnover and totally press the whole floor a lot of times. That's what you can do with unlimited on the fly subs. Great keeper too.

Gol TV said they are broadcasting the game in its entirety tomorrow (WED) at 7pm EST, they at least responded to the email that one of my friends sent them.

As for the Brazilians on other teams, it is an embarrassment to futsal. Seeing Brazilians on Russia always cracks people up and Italy was practically an all Brazilian team a few years ago, though they still put on a lot of them. Hopefully the investment into youth development world wide will produce some home grown talent. That's what we're trying to do here in Canada, but it will take a while.

[Unnamed Trialist]

I foresee many foreigners on national teams in the future, for many reasons, but I think the process will see the top nations with more and more nationally-born players. Italy's situation was aberrant and everyone knew it, it will slowly change. Nationalized players are part of national futsal development, meaning we will see them still in the developing 2nd and 3rd tier of national teams.

It is true that the stock of great players in Brazil, Portugal, Spain is high and many will eventually want to play internationally. But to do that you have to be playing in a club outside your country though, to become nationalized. And that will only happen if your national league has no place or enough salary for you, and if you are superior to the local players in the foreign league you happen to play in. Brazilians were considered superior even in Spain 10 years ago, but that generation of great players like Schumacher and Wilde is dying out, in part because they have more pro opportunities in Brazil now, and in part because the local level has obviously skyrocketed, you cannot say the Brazilians are the best in the Spanish futsal league anymore. You can't just walk in and be way above the local level anymore. And this is happening in more and more European countries: they sign Brazilians, but they also have better national players.

In any case we should not exagerrate nationalizations in futsal. Look at the leading scorers in the last ten Uefa club cups (final fours), only in one case was the leading scorer playing for a club that was not from his own nationality (Vanderlei twice for Belgian club Action 21).

For Canada and other developing nations the key is to understand that this is a totally different game and that you have to develop it specifically. You need quality coaching, not converted 11-a-side people, that is outdated. You need club play, which I am glad is emerging, and you need to think about how that might go semi-pro, like lacrosse maybe. Probably to get a playing and fan base you need to promote it at local gyms in winter, or even high schools, though it is no joke, injuries in futsal can be worse than regular soccer as the turns are harder and pressure is more constant (it is not for middle-aged fatties).

Another observation is that it does not usually grow under the wings of major outdoor soccer clubs as but for a few key exceptions futsal develops in places, cities, and environments where outdoor soccer is not pro (exceptions are Sporting and Benfica in Portugal, Barça in Spain, Dinamo Moscow). I compare it to lacrosse thinking about its structure in places like BC, where the key cities are places like New Westminster and Coquitlam, as it then emerges as for smaller markets. For example, the winningest team in European futsal is Inter Movistar (sponsor name), which is based in Alcalá de Henares, a university town outside of Madrid. I know this cannot be totally orchestrated but it is something to think about when developing a league, that you do not necessarily have to look for teams in the big cities.

[Unnamed Trialist]

I foresee many foreigners on national teams in the future, for many reasons, but I think the process will see the top nations with more and more nationally-born players. Italy's situation was aberrant and everyone knew it, it will slowly change. Nationalized players are part of national futsal development, meaning we will see them still in the developing 2nd and 3rd tier of national teams.

It is true that the stock of great players in Brazil, Portugal, Spain is high and many will eventually want to play internationally. But to do that you have to be playing in a club outside your country though, to become nationalized. And that will only happen if your national league has no place or enough salary for you, and if you are superior to the local players in the foreign league you happen to play in. Brazilians were considered superior even in Spain 10 years ago, but that generation of great players like Schumacher and Wilde is dying out, in part because they have more pro opportunities in Brazil now, and in part because the local level has obviously skyrocketed, you cannot say the Brazilians are the best in the Spanish futsal league anymore. You can't just walk in and be way above the local level anymore. And this is happening in more and more European countries: they sign Brazilians, but they also have better national players.

In any case we should not exagerrate nationalizations in futsal. Look at the leading scorers in the last ten Uefa club cups (final fours), only in one case was the leading scorer playing for a club that was not from his own nationality (Vanderlei twice for Belgian club Action 21).

For Canada and other developing nations the key is to understand that this is a totally different game and that you have to develop it specifically. You need quality coaching, not converted 11-a-side people, that is outdated. You need club play, which I am glad is emerging, and you need to think about how that might go semi-pro, like lacrosse maybe. Probably to get a playing and fan base you need to promote it at local gyms in winter, or even high schools, though it is no joke, injuries in futsal can be worse than regular soccer as the turns are harder and pressure is more constant (it is not for middle-aged fatties).

Another observation is that it does not usually grow under the wings of major outdoor soccer clubs as but for a few key exceptions futsal develops in places, cities, and environments where outdoor soccer is not pro (exceptions are Sporting and Benfica in Portugal, Barça in Spain, Dinamo Moscow). I compare it to lacrosse thinking about its structure in places like BC, where the key cities are places like New Westminster and Coquitlam, as it then emerges as for smaller markets. For example, the winningest team in European futsal is Inter Movistar (sponsor name), which is based in Alcalá de Henares, a university town outside of Madrid. I know this cannot be totally orchestrated but it is something to think about when developing a league, that you do not necessarily have to look for teams in the big cities.