Despite playing on home turf, Egypt placed fourth in the first Egypt International Futsal Championship. Inas Mazhar reports on why the title went to Brazil On the sands better known as land of the Pharaohs, the so-called Samba boys proved that they were unbeatable and the best at the game. For six days, they entertained the audience with their talent and skills on the turf enclosed in glass. After winning this championship and three world futsal championships, they instigated critics to look into a particular question: Who can stop Brazil? In an impressive final, Brazil beat Italy 3-1 to clinch the title of the first edition of the championship. The world top-ranked team, Brazil opened the score minutes into the game when Manoel Topiaz scored his team's first goal. Italy, the world number eight, had a chance to level the score in the 9th minute of the game when Forte Marcio was tackled in the box, but teammate Foglia Adriano wasted it and sent the ball behind the post. In the 17th minute of the first half, Brazil's Fernando netted the second goal to give his team a 2-0 lead. The beginning of that half witnessed an Italian possession of the ball. But that did not last long. Two minutes into the second half of the final match, Topias added the third goal for his team. Topias was named the world top scorer at the last world championship in Guatemala when he scored 19 goals. Italy, the host nation for the 2003 , improved the result when Vincenti Andrea scored 10 minutes into the second half. Four minutes later, Italy had two chances to level the score with the world champions but again, all attempts were in vain. Surprisingly, the two teams met in the first round and the Brazilians had a hard time beating the Italians, eventually taking the game 4-3 in a very tough match. But the final was easier for the Samba boys against the Azuris. Egypt and Argentina played--off for the third and fourth places. The experience and talent were on the side of the guest team. In the first round, the Argentineans played the Tango and beat the Egyptians 7-2 in the opening match. Then the Pharaohs lost 1-4 to the Argentines in the play--off game. The guest team, ranked 7th in the world, had more experience and it showed; they displayed complete domination over the home team, Egypt, ranked 12th in the international world rankings. Diego Rodrigez, Carlos Sanchez, Marando Glimez and Garcias Marcello scored for Argentina, while Adel Fathi netted Egypt's only goal in the match. The fifth place went to Uruguay, who was leading Russia 2-0 at half-time when the referee called off the match because of the rain. Attempts to dry the floor of the glass court from the rain were in vain, and both teams came to a mutual agreement with the organisers; they were satisfied with the standing result, and didn't see the need to continue with the match and risk the safety of the players. "The tournament was a real success and I think that it marks the beginning of Futsal in Egypt. The game will become more popular," said Minister of Youth Dr Alieddin Hilal at the tournament's finale. President of the Egyptian Football Association (EFA), Major General El-Dahshouri Harb said that the Egyptian team really benefited from the tournament. "It was a great opportunity to play with such powerful teams. It will definitely help improve our performance level and work on a real programme for the game in Egypt." Unlike the rest of the participating nations, no formal futsal programme exists in Egypt. It is true that there is a committee in the Association, but no activity, no league, no championships. The national team is selected and called up prior to major events such as the African championship and the World Cup. Only two Egyptian players play professionally in Belgium. "We hope that the success of this event will help in creating a real activity for futsal in Egypt. We are the African champions and ranked 12th in the world and were placed sixth in the last world championship without any formal activity. So how would it be if we had a real activity. A concrete programme? We would definitely become one of the best five teams in the world and maybe compete for the world cup title," said Ahmed Shobeir, board member of the Egyptian Football Association. The toughest and strongest futsal league is the Italian, boasting many South-American- based players from Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay. Their strategy, critics say, is smart: They buy them, award them the Italian nationality and have them represent the national team. The Italian team that took part in this tournament included two Brazilian--Italian players. Brazil is as crazy about futsal as it is with football. Being the first country to play the game in the 1950s, it now has more than 250,000 players -- 280 of them being professionals training in Europe. The Brazilians won the futsal world cup three times before and came in second place twice. Their performance at Egypt's event was testimonial to their strength. The tournament, however, proved strong in itself too: It was decided that it would become an international event. "Playing in a glass court, in a historic place like the Pyramids and the Sphinx is wonderful. We enjoyed it a lot. This championship is different than all events we've taken part in," said Italy's Fabrizio Ferraza. Argentina's Fernando Wilhelm said that it was the first time for the Argentinean team to play in Egypt, and the first time to play in a glass court. "The view is fabulous," he said. "At the beginning of the tournament we had difficulty in concentrating on the match with all these historic surroundings. It captures the mind." Uruguay's Augstin Vilardo agreed with Wilhem, and added that playing in a glass court had another feel. "The ground here is different than the floor we are used to playing on in indoor halls. It's usually parquet or rubber, but this one is like plastic. We had difficulty at the beginning then we got used to it," Vilardo said. They got used to it fast, and the tournament ended with the guest teams applauding Egypt's efforts. "It's a great tournament, organisationally and technically," head coach of the Italian team, Alexandro Rodrini, said. "The venue is superb and the teams are the toughest in the world. You rarely find such an opportunity to play against these teams except in world championships. It's sort of a mini-World Cup." Egypt may not have been celebrating winning this year, but they were definitely celebrating the tournament's success. Next year, they hope, their victory will be one of another kind.
