Positive Spain prove champion status

Spain coach José Venancio López said his team deserved their UEFA European Futsal Championship quarter-final victory against Russia – despite the holders having to win on penalties after a goalless 40 minutes.

Shoot-out decisive
The champions had the better of the play throughout regulation time, but were continually frustrated by Russia goalkeeper Sergei Zuev. However, in an epic shoot-out Spain's Luis Amado was the hero, saving the eighth Russia effort to decide the game and earn a semi-final on Thursday with the Czech Republic.

Positive approach
"I want to congratulate my players, not only for the victory, but also all they have done on the pitch," Venancio López told uefa.com. "We have shown from the first minute until the last we are a winning team." Indeed, that positive attitude was shown late on when Amado was replaced by Kike as flying goalkeeper.

Taking risks
"We wanted to avoid penalties, as there is always a bit of luck involved," the coach added. "We have come to this tournament with humility, but we have also come to Hungary to become European champions. That is why we took a risk with the flying goalkeeper. In the end, we deserved the victory; it has gone to the team who looked for it the most."

Russia praised
That does not mean that Venancio López was unimpressed by Sergei Skorovich's side. "Russia were great opponents," he continued. "They have a great team, with very talented players, but we were able to control the match. We put a lot of pressure on them by defending in their half. We did not let them play. They only threatened with long-distance shots. We created more chances than them, but we were not able to take them. Their goalkeeper, Zuev, had a great match. He was their best player."

'Beautiful futsal'
Skorovich's first campaign as Russia coach has ended in an early exit but he had the consolation of going out in a top-quality game. "Everybody saw beautiful futsal," he said. "Both teams put on a great performance, there were nice combinations, passion and intensity. To sum up, there was everything that makes futsal better. Unfortunately, we could not score in normal time. As for the penalties, it is always a lottery and our opponents were more lucky this evening. I congratulate them."

Under pressure
While in the second half Spain had the better of the play, Skorovich disagreed they were overrun. "I don't think that after the break we played badly or our opponents had a huge advantage in possession," he said. "We were not dangerous in attack, but don't forget that we were playing against the European champions, who, probably, are the best team on the continent."