Serbia realise futsal dreams

Serbia will be one of only two teams at the UEFA European Futsal Championship finals who were not present in Ostrava two years ago - and coach Aca Kovačević says their qualification ahead of mini-tournament hosts the Netherlands is just the boost the sport needs in his country.

Long wait
The last time Serbia were represented in the finals was 1999, in the guise of Yugoslavia. In the three subsequent tournaments they had the misfortune to be drawn in qualifying groups with Spain (twice) and Russia (once), but on this occasion the seeds in their pool were the Dutch - finalists in 2005 but a less established force than potential opponents like Spain or Italy.

Superb win
Still, former player Kovačević did not have much time to prepare having been asked to lead the team in this competition. Serbia's only two games since their last qualifiers in January 2004 had been a 4-0 friendly loss in Spain 12 months ago. But victory in a tournament in Poland also containing Ukraine and Moldova gave them hope, and then having beaten Group D rivals Finland 6-0 and drawn 5-5 with Azerbaijan, Serbia scored six goals without reply against the Dutch to book their place in Porto this November.

'More than happy'
"We had two months to organise a new national team," Kovačević told uefa.com. "In that time, we won a friendly tournament in Poland. After that, our expectations grew. We worked hard, but without promising anything. Of course we are more than happy, but I believe that our qualification will have much bigger implications in the future. Now we can encourage children to play futsal, because success is the best invitation."

'Unforgettable'
Looking back on the week, he added: "The most decisive match was the second, when we played Azerbaijan. After victory in our opening game against Finland, we had proof we were ready for lift-off. The draw give us great impetus. Then the match against the Netherlands was something bigger than usual. Our opponents were a team with great tradition in football and futsal. But, without any fear and with lots of self-confidence, we beat them 6-0. It was a victory to remember, something unforgettable."

Hard work pays off
Key player Marko Perić was delighted with the achievement, and cannot wait for the 12 May draw where hosts Portugal, old foes Spain and Russia, plus Italy, the Czech Republic, Ukraine and first-time qualifiers Romania await. "Every training session, all the hard work, now our dream has materialised," Perić said. "We gave our hearts, but also showed our futsal skill. We will continue in the same way, wait for the draw and prepare ourselves for a fresh step in the right direction."