Brazil Men’s and Women’s win 2010 World University Futsal Championship in Novi Sad
Both the men and women from Team Brazil captured the gold at the 12th World University Futsal Championship which was hosted in Novi Sad, Belgrade from August 23rd to 30th.
The men’s team of Brazil (photo) won the title of this FISU event after defeating Russia 3-2. With this victory, the Brazilian men’s team is crowned champion for the 4th time as they won the title previously in 1994, 1996 and 2000. The golden boys pocketed their fourth title after a genuine thriller against strong opponent Russia and the match was decided only in the last minutes of the final game of a sixteen team tournament.
Gabriel D’Angelo, Brazil’s number 10 netted the first goal. However, the game remained open and after some fine saves from goalkeeper Tarcisio, Russia managed to tie the game. A swift action by Gabriel and Geverson Freitas put Brazil back ahead. The Russians managed to keep the Brazilians away from their goal and equalized the score to 2-2 before the end of the first half. In the second half, Brazil mounted the pressure and in a counterattack, Felipe Cascalles kicked the ball in the right corner to score Brazil’s third goal. With one player sent off the pitch, Russia had a difficult time to take away the ball from the Brazilian ball wizards. While goalkeeper Tarcisio closed off his net to prevent Russia’s several attempts to tie the game, the Russians ran out of time and at the end-buzz Brazil could add a fourth title on its mantle piece.
Their male counterparts alike, the Brazilian women’s team proved to be ball wizards as well. The golden girls became back-to-back champion (they kept the gold at home in the inaugural event in Vitoria in 2008) beating Portugal 9-1 in the last round of the women’s tournament. The green-yellow team reached the final undefeated and was the title favorite from the start of the competition. Daniela Ribeiro opened the scoring for Brazil 2 minutes in the first half. WUC female top scorer Lucilia, gave Brazil a 2-0 lead. A third goal followed by Vanessa, while Lucilia closed the scoring in the first half 4-0. Back after the break, the Brazilians continued to steal the ball from Team Portugal. Jessica Spinola, Greice and Lucilia Jessiquinha netted the ball in the second half and closed the score at 9:1, ensuring the championship title for the second time.
