Rešetár: Chrudim focus on Europe

Eight times in a row FK EP Chrudim have gone through from the UEFA Futsal Cup main round – something they want to make nine this week.

Chrudrim welcome Sporting Club de Paris, FC Stalitsa Minsk and KMF Zelezarec Skopje to the Czech Republic for Group 1, aiming to take their traditional place in the elite round. Czech international Lukáš Rešetár confirmed that, thanks to their domestic domination, Chrudim's focus is firmly on Europe.

"At this time the UEFA Futsal Cup is priority No1 for us, all our training sessions are aimed at tuning up in shape for the tournament," Rešetár told UEFA.com, before discussing the team's changes since earning a tenth Czech title last season.

"Douglas has left Chrudim – I think his potential outgrew the Czech league, it was only a matter of time," Rešetár said. "Our task is to find a proper replacement. We have a new Spanish player, Alvarito from Győr, who has a very similar style to Douglas, uncompromising, fast, capable of scoring. We also have other new promising acquisitions in Kilmer and Paulinho.

"Compared with last season, we have had even more demanding preparations, so tiredness may have influenced some of our results in friendlies, but I believe it will pay off and we will get into the right shape after incorporating our new players."

Chrudim clinched yet another Czech title in May©Michal Pavlík

Meanwhile, there is strong competition between Jakub Zdánský, Woslley Rodrigues and Wellington for the role of starting goalkeeper. "We have three very good keepers now – they have been taking turns in the friendlies, so I am curious about who will be picked by the coach," Rešetár admitted.

The 30-year-old forward, hoping that Chrudim can at last get past the elite round in November to reach the finals, added: "We are playing at home, so the aim is more than clear: we want to qualify, we have enough experience and a good squad. However, we are fully aware that futsal in Europe has progressed recently, Belarusian futsal is a good example of that.

"We respect the quality of all opponents in our group, which will be very hard, with probably a very attractive game against Sporting Club de Paris on the final matchday. Our respect does not alter our objective, though – we want to go through."