Editorial of the issue  71
By José Escrich.
National Futsal Coach Level 3 (RFEF). Coach of Levante U.D. - C.D. Dominicos.

Now that the Alcalá Cup is over F.C. Barcelona Alusport won the title again. It seemed that they did not come at a good time but Barça's machinery started working at full stem and they tried to make it known who the nationwide boss is. There were many doubts surrounding the champion following the defeats in the league but they were able to disconnect and made the wise decision of going into this competition knowing that they started off at zero and it was all up to them. They had a positive attitude and with work overalls as their flag it is very difficult to beat this team.
The champion started playing the cup against Umacón Zaragoza, a team they lost against in league days earlier. Many people came to believe that there could be a surprise and that Umacón would be able to beat Barça again but once inside the 20x40 Barça put on the direct play and won the match.

The other knockout match Ríos Renovable brushed the feat of eliminating Santiago futsal. They pulled ahead and were able to maintain the outcome until the match was almost finished when Santiago turned the tables and won the round. Santiago is a team that always plays to the fullest and never considers gives up a lost ball. They had faith and fought to the end and reaped the reward of victory. The key to beating Santiago is trying to shoot the ball when you have the opportunity because they are always there. On Friday we saw Triman Navarra against el Pozo Murcia. Triman was a solid and disciplined team able to give any team a run for their money but Pozo Murcia weren't joking around and set it to cruise control and Triman could not keep up. The team with more punch won and once again Triman Navarra did not move on from that first round. I think they should have a reward for working and be able to fight to get into the final but the level is very high and it becomes very difficult to fight for such high objectives.


The other match was Inter Movistar against Caja Segovia. It seemed like it was a favourable cup for Inter because playing in their pavilion and with good scores at home I am sure that they were very close to the final. The only thing was that they did not count on that drawing that yielded them a bold team with nothing to lose who pulled out all the stops and competed the whole game at a high level. In the previous editorial I had said that Segovia should go to the match believing in their chances and being courageous and I think that they showed their courage and an attractive and direct play and made the green foundations shake. In they end they classified on penalties and won the award for their effort. In the semi-finals El Pozo Murcia got rid of Caja Segovia, where Segovia paid for the previous day's effort and Pozo displayed their great teammates to win the match and earn their ticket to the final.


The other semi-final match was Santiago Futsal against F.C. Barcelona. Barcelona continued as they had done the day before and we saw that when this team plays full out they are practically invincible. Santiago never gave the feeling of being able to compete and seemed content with having made it through that first round and let the other fight for the final. Finally comes the final and the two teams competing were sure to offer up a good show. Everyone was eager to see what these two teams can give us on the wood floor. From the start F.C. Barcelona Alusport begins with the advantage of having a day off, something that Murcia did not have. I don't think that it is a determining factor but it does influence how two teams come to the match. Once the match began I think that Barcelona looked somewhat superior to Pozo and I think that they were deserving of the win, but we cannot deny that during the game there were a couple of actions worthy of a red card against Barcelona that the referees did not pull. The result may have been the same but there is no doubt that el Pozo would have had options.


It is logical that el Pozo complain about these actions and I think that things are what they are and you cannot look away and that all you have to do is point out what they referee's are doing and if one of them gets it wrong, well you have to point it out. Anyway putting ourselves in the shoes of the referees is difficult to blow the whistle and in that kind of situation what you try to do is go as unnoticed as possible, and the decisions are so quick that sometimes doubt makes you move on to the next action and don't act on the previous one. In the end F.C. Barcelona Alusport was the victor and I think they are the best Spanish team if they can compete to their fullest. Congratulations!!