Goals come high on Dlouhý's Czech list

Martín Dlouhý's goals took the Czech Republic to the finals of the UEFA European Futsal Championship, and the team captain has set himself a target of "at least a goal a game" as his side bid for a last-eight place.

Personal best
Needing a win in their final qualifying game against Croatia in Ostrava, Dlouhý struck twice in the dying seconds to propel Tomáš Neumann's men back into Europe's top national-team competition for the fifth edition running. While the 34-year-old, who has featured in all those final tournaments, has been happy to shoulder the responsibility of the team captaincy, he has not lost any hunger for individual glory, telling uefa.com he had set himself a goalscoring target of "at least a goal a game" ahead of their Group A opener against Azerbaijan on Thursday.

Czech soul
As he made jokes and kept the chatter going during the Czechs' pre-tournament photo session, it was evident that Dlouhý was the soul of the team and a natural leader. "I am the only player left from the previous generation," he said of his role as in-house cheerleader. "All the other players are really young and it is a brand new thing for them to be here, but they are getting more and more experienced. It is a responsibility but it is not so heavy."

All-action captain
For the all-action Dlouhý, his nation's most-capped player and top scorer, the magic of futsal is that it is football with all the slow bits taken out. "Because it is played on a smaller pitch it is faster and more dynamic; you need more technique during the play than football," he explained. "The movement is very different because in football you need to make long runs and sprints but in futsal dribbling is more important. And of course there are more goals."

Fresh wound
Afforded the luxury of watching their upcoming opponents Azerbaijan beat hosts Hungary 3-1 on opening night, Dlouhý is itching for action, knowing also that Alesio's Azeris have unfinished business when it comes to the Czechs. Dlouhý was among the scorers as his side came from behind to beat Azerbaijan 3-2 on their way to the 2008 FIFA Futsal World Cup, and said: "We beat them in the last qualification. Now they have more Brazilian players and they will want to take revenge."