Deva aim to hit heights again

CIP Deva surged into the Elite round on their UEFA Futsal Cup debut last season – and the Romanian club's president Gheorghe Mara is determined to get at least that far again.

Fine debut
Deva had lost their opening Main round game last year to FC Marlène Kras Ster but wins against MTO Zagorje and KMF Marbo Beograd took them through. They then beat one-time semi-finalists FC Shakhtar Donetsk before a defeat by eventual winners MFK Dinamo Moskva and a creditable draw with Sporting Clube de Portugal left them second in probably the toughest Elite group.

National team
Since then a Romania team dominated by Deva players have qualified, on home soil in Deva, for their first UEFA European Futsal Championship, and now the national coach Zoltán Jakab has been appointed by Mara, adding the signings of internationals László Klein, Csoma Alpar, Lorand Szocs and Dumitru Stoica. It was an important move, considering domestic rivals ACS Odorheiu Secuiesc have lured Hungary coach Mihaly Kozma and six of his national squad.

Ambition
"It made sense to do what we did," said Mara. "We want to stay dominant in Romania while also going as far as we can in European competition. Qualification for the next round is a must. As a member of the Romanian Football Federation's Executive Committee, I also hope that the national team improve their ranking in Europe and in the world. Having virtually the entire national team, including the coach, at Deva will enable the players to play together as much as possible and not to have to wait until the training camps."

Croatian trip
His team begin their campaign in Main round Group 5 on Wednesday against KMN Puntar of Slovenia before taking on Georgia's Iberia 2003 Tbilisi and Croatian hosts HMNK Gospić for the two places in the next stage. After their success last term, it would be a surprise not to see the club from Transylvania among Europe's Elite 16.