| Full name | Manchester Futsal Club | ||
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| Founded | March 2006 | ||
| Ground | Manchester Velodrome, Manchester (Capacity: 3500) |
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| Co-chairmen | Simon Wright & Ilya Ovechkin | ||
| Manager | Marcos Ortiz | ||
| League | FA Futsal League - North | ||
| 2011 | 3rd - National | ||
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Manchester Futsal Club is an English futsal club, based in the Greater Manchester area who compete in the National FA Futsal League Northern Division. The club have participated in the division since its inception in late 2007. Prior to this, the team competed in the Manchester FA's regional futsal league.
It was the first futsal club to receive the FA's Charter Standard in England.[1] The team now organise and coordinate the Manchester FA Futsal League. As well as working with the Manchester College and University of Manchester futsal teams, the club also delivers futsal specific coaching sessions in local schools and various community projects within the Greater Manchester area.
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The club was created in March 2006, founded on a desire to produce a futsal squad that could regularly compete at the highest level, together with a commitment to introduce and accelerate the games development in surrounding schools and communities.
The club joined and competed in the Manchester FA Regional league from September 2006, Samuel Richardson captaining the team to league success in March 2007 with the team scoring more than eighty goals in the fourteen fixtures.[2]
2007 also saw the club compete in its first tournament at the Tees Valley Futsal Cup. The team managed to win all its group and subsequent knockout games before losing in the final to an extra-time winner, finishing runners up to Perth Futsal Club.
The FA created the FA Futsal League, complimenting the longer standing annual FA Futsal Cup. The team was accepted into the Northern Conference, tying in with the club being one of the very first futsal clubs in the country to be accredited at FA Charter Standard.
The club started its first game in the newly formed FA National Northern Conference with a 3-2 loss, Doug Reed eventually led the team to a second place finish, secured by a win over Sheffield Hallamshire Futsal. Finishing amongst the top two meant the club qualified for the National Play-off Finals, staged in Loughborough. Many of the clubs players reached double figures, with the clubs vice captain Ilya Ovechkin leading the club and northern conference in goals scored. Midway through the season the club appointed the Brazilian tactician Rodrigo Freitas in a dual club manager/coach role, with Simon Wright moving up to a general manager position.
At the National Play-off Finals, the club faced a three-way group, matched against the Midland teams of Ipswich Wolves and Birmingham Tigers. The first game of the group saw Manchester face Ipswich Wolves, Ipswich being one of the most coveted and established teams in the country at the time, with many of their players having experienced professional European futsal. Manchester, trailed 4-0 towards the midpoint of the second half of the game, before staging an historical comeback to draw the game at 4-4, narrowly missing out on snatching victory in the final seconds. The second game saw Manchester face Birmingham Tigers, with the fatigue of the first game evident, the Manchester team succumbed to an 8-5 loss. This meant the two Midland teams advanced to the knockout stages. A depleted Ipswich Wolves team later lost in the overall play off final to Helvecia Futsal. Manchester finished 6th overall in the competition after losing to Tranmere Victoria in the 5th/6th playoff game.
Additionally, the club also qualified for direct entry to the 2008 FA Futsal Cup where they had a disappointing campaign, losing in the knockout rounds of the Plate competition.
Manchester's second season in the National League saw a string of squad changes, with a number of established players leaving the club for various reasons and a number of subsequent new players coming in. The team suffered various team changes due to injuries and the time taken to bed new players to the game, into the team. They finished in third place, missing out on a play-off place by two points, the last-second 5-4 loss to Loughborough University being the most crucial result of the season. Samuel Richardson topped the clubs goal scoring, with seven goals, which highlighted the main factor between the relative success of 2008's campaign contrasted with the flat 2009 season.[3]
Doug Reed and Ross Farran broke into the England F-30 squad, with Reed later moving on to represent and establish himself within the England international team. Furthermore, Reed went on to sign a one year deal with Spanish second division team Lanzarote Tias Yaiza at the end of the season, becoming one of the very first English players to compete professionally in the country.[4] Farran became one of four winners of the Nike "Most Wanted" Accolades, the winners selected by Manchester United's Sir Alex Ferguson. More recently he became a part of the Nike Academy squad.[5]
After being invited by Gothenburg Futsal Club, the club competed in its first game on international soil. This came about after the two clubs developed an off field rapport, following a series of discussions about futsal in the two nations. Manchester ended the tournament in third place overall, experiencing the differing styles from futsal clubs of Swedish and Uruguayan heritage.
The campaign started off disappointingly, with a home defeat at the hands of Middlesbrough, but the season was quickly rejuvenated by a victory over a strong Liverpool team in the following fixture. Under the captaincy of Anthony Haralambous, the team remained unbeaten from that point onwards, battling for the Northern Conference title with Sheffield throughout the season. Ultimately, the penultimate game of the season between the two clubs decided the championship, with Sheffield romping to an emphatic 6-1 victory that effectively sealed the title. Manchester remained in second place and in strong contention for a playoff spot, which they secured with a final day 3-2 victory over third-placed Tranmere Victoria. Doug Reed returned to the team and Jose Alves De Souza came into the squad prior to qualification, strengthening the teams chance of success for the playoffs.
At the national finals, hosted at the Surrey Sports Centre, Manchester were placed in a three-team group against the winners of both the Midlands league; Team United Birmingham and the Southern league; Spartans. The other three-team group consisted of Sheffield, Chippenham and Helvecia, with the winners of each group facing each other in a final in which the overall national champion and English Uefa Cup representative would be decided.
Despite having the majority of the play, Manchester lost their first game to Team United Birmingham, the game ending 3-2. They still had an outside chance of getting into the final if they beat Spartans in the following game by a clear four goal margin, but in a closely fought match they ended up losing 5-4. Overall results placed Manchester 5th nationally, the highest final position in the clubs history. Helvecia were crowned as national champions for a third time in a row, after beating Spartans in an incredibly entertaining final.[6]
The team also qualified and competed in the FA Futsal Cup 2010, topping their qualifying group unbeaten and in the process avenging their National Finals loss to Team United Birmingham, with a comprehensive 6-2 victory over their Midland counterparts. Manchester then faced Northern Conference rivals Sheffield in an extremely tight quarter-final affair. The game was decided by a highly controversial last minute goal that was awarded after a Sheffield player struck a shot in which the ball hit the goal frame's horizontal fixture and bounced outwards. An official awarded a goal for Sheffield, deciding the ball had crossed the line, contrary to video replays, and Sheffield held on to the 1-0 lead that saw them go through to the semi-final rounds. Helvecia were again the eventual winners of the tournament, beating rivals Spartans in an extra time final.
At the start of the year the club's top scorer Samuel Richardson was selected for the England training squad and later made his full international debut for the National team in October 2010, vs. Macedonia.
Manchester's manager and coach, Rodrigo Freitas, announced that the FA Futsal Cup would be his last in charge of the club as external commitments forced him to relocate southwards. Headed by Simon Wright, the club pursued and searched for a suitable candidate to replace Freitas in time for pre-season. In October, the club announced Periklies Antoniou as the new coach of the squad, together with the introduction of strength and conditioning coach Daniel Berdejo-del-Fresno to complete the new management line-up. Over the course of the pre-season the new management evaluated the team and the final squad for the National League 2011 was selected in November.
After the previous season’s achievements, the club started as strongly tipped contenders for the Northern title. The first game of the season suggested that winning that elusive title would be no guarantee as they drew at home to a strengthened Leeds team. After dropping these two points, the team went on a six game winning streak, including a 6-4 win over Sheffield, that put the club in pole position midway through the season. Sheffield, the reigning Northern champions, again proved the club's closest rivals come the season's end and after an incredibly tight 25 minutes of action in the returning tie; Sheffield showed a final third ruthless streak that ended in a 7-2 loss for Manchester. The title was still a two horse race, but Manchester held the advantage and only needed to win their remaining fixtures to take the top spot. After securing both a place at the playoff finals and FA Futsal Cup, they strengthened the squad by signing Doug Reed and Stuart Cook. In the club's final game, a resilient Middlesbrough held on to spring a surprising 3-2 victory over the club, allowed Sheffield to pip the club, with a final fixtures victory over Tranmere Victoria.
Although disappointed to finish as runners up in the division, the team still had strong aspirations to win the national championships and represent England in the UEFA club competition. They were placed in a group that contained the concurrent three time holders of the national championship and FA Futsal Cup, Helvecia and Chippenham, who had finished as runners up in the Midland's league. In the first game, versus Helvecia, the clubs were quite evenly matched through large parts of the game, but Helvecia's experience and ability to make scoring opportunities count shone through and they ran out as 4-1 winners. In the second group game the team faced a Chippenham side that was threadbare in squad size and missing its influential captain due to suspension. Manchester showed an extreme ruthlessness that carried ten different scorers and finished 20-1, a playoff record. As expected, Helvecia beat Chippenham in the group's final game and this meant they went through to the playoff finals and for a fourth time and successfully defended their hold of the national championship, beating Sheffield in an exciting and closely ran final.
This left the FA Futsal Cup as the final tournament of the season for the club. In similar fashion to the club's previous manager, this would also be Periklies Antoniou final weekend as the club head coach. The team were grouped with FC Baltic, University of Northumbria and London United. The team took the first group game vs. London United by storm and after opening up a commanding lead, the game became a physical encounter, with the team losing Ross Bond to a broken nose and Stuart Cook a red card. They eventually ran out 6-1 victors. The second game vs. FC Baltic was a far more nervous affair, with both teams wary of the others abilities and it panned out into a 0-0 draw. With three of the four teams still having the possibility of reaching the quarter finals, the final game vs. Northumbria University was seen as a must win for the club, and the players delivered a 18-1 annihilation that set a new biggest win margin in the competition and gained them group winner status.
In the quarter finals the club met Oxfordshire based and relative newcomers Passolona, who had impressed in their ealier group games. After falling behind to an early counter attack goal, the team's superior possession and pressure eventually told and they went through to the semi finals following goals from Ilya Ovechkin and Rodrigo Sperandio. Helvecia, the three times FA Futsal Cup and 2008-2011 National Champions, were the semi final opponents and remained firm favourites to take the title for a fourth year. Whilst Manchester appeared to create the better of the chances, the tie was fairly even and looked like it was heading into extra time. But with the last two minutes of play left, Ilya Ovechkin took advantage of a poor backfield pass and fired the ball into the net. This was ultimately enough to gain the club a place in the final and end Helvecia's stranglehold on the cup. In the final, the team faced their previous group opponents FC Baltic. In sharp contrast to the tight and tense game seen in the opening day of the tournament, Manchester galloped to a 2-0 lead via a Stuart Cook double and should have put the game to bed by half time. Five minutes into the second half, FC Baltic managed to capitalise on poor communication from Manchester and the mommentum of the game hung in the balance. Minutes later, Doug Reed was set free and his turn and shot regained Manchester's confidence. Stuart Cook got yet another goal to complete his hat trick and Samuel Richardson sealed the game at 5-2. The victory confirmed the club as 2011 FA Futsal Cup champions, the first major national honour in the club's history. Additionally, some of the players received individual awards, Doug Reed was named player of the tournament and Daniel Haralambous the tournaments top scorer.
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Among the clubs desire to produce a nationally competitive team on the court, the club also heavily values its role in helping increase the popularity and participation of the sport.
Since the club established itself as a prominent force in the nations futsal community, it has been involved in a large number of coaching sessions in local schools, and community projects such as the "Street Child World Cup 2010", "One Game, One Community" and "Passport to Futsal".
Additionally the club has helped introduce and develop teams from the surrounding College and University infrastructures. It currently holds a development partnership with the University of Manchester Futsal team, whilst in the past it has introduced and assisted a Manchester Metropolitan University team in University competition. Similarly, it helped prepare Manchester College for its British College National Futsal Championship run in 2009, which saw them win the tournament, beating Queen Mary's College in the final held at the @Futsal Centre in Swindon.[7]
A majority of the club's home games are now recorded and highlights are posted on its "MFC TV" YouTube channel.[8]
In 2010 the club took over the responsibility of running the Manchester Futsal League, on behalf of the Manchester FA. The league has provided a necessary platform to improve and increase futsal participation and awareness in the region and gives the club a wider pool of players to select from.[9]
The University of Manchester team claimed the most recent title on May 25, 2010, with a final game 6-2 victory over nearest rivals Whitworth Park.[10]
This was the second year in which the club ran the league, and the strength and quality of the teams appeared to have increased, proven by the fact that many of the team's took points off each other throughout the season's fixtures. Manchester Maccabbi ended the season on top of the league, their experience being key in holding off valiant efforts from their nearest rivals, Preston Futsal Club and a young Bury Grammar School squad.
The Umbro International Tournament is an established annual event that is primarily held in Manchester and sees a large number of national and international football teams competing, with competition available for all age brackets and both genders. Manchester Futsal Club and Umbro teamed together to produce one of the nations biggest Futsal events, held at the clubs original home venue of Sugden Sports Centre.
In 2008 the Umbro International Futsal Tournament made its debut, and it consisted of eight teams from all over the nation, competing over two days. The overall winners of the tournament were Kickers Futsal Club, who comfortably beat London Brazil 6-0 in the final. Futsal Gold/Manchester Maccabi took home the plate competition, beating Ardwick Futsal 6-4 in the final, after extra time.[11]
The tournament's second year saw a bigger and more competitive tournament, including the addition of two international teams. The semi-finals of the competition were highly energized and presented a good standard of Futsal. KPP Baraberi from Slovakia advanced after a close affair against the returning champions of London-based Kickers Futsal. Norwegian team, Boenes Aires defeated the hosting Manchester Futsal Club in an equally tight game, 3-1. In the final, KPP Baraberi's ability to use the flying goalkeeper and take their chances meant they held the edge over the Norwegian team and ended up winning the final and the overall tournament 4-2.
Comparatively, the plate competition also saw a higher level of Futsal in comparison to the previous year. Ardwick Futsal Club took the plate home after an entertaining final against the newly formed Liverpool Futsal Club, with an 8-5 victory.[12]
Staff from Manchester Futsal Club went to Spain to deliver an international student futsal tournament in the heart of the Spanish futsal homeland. The teams that competed were made up from Universities that have taken part in the BUCS futsal competition.
The tournament took place in Lloret De Mar near Barcelona as part of Sportvest 2011, where thousands of students from around the world came together to compete in a range of sports. SportsVest has a huge following as students take time out from their studies and head to the sunshine over the Easter Break and this was the first futsal competition ran at the event.
Railway workers from across Europe competed in an international tournament delivered by Manchester Futsal Club at the Manchester Velodrome. RailSport are the sole organisation that delivers sporting activity for Railworkers from across Britain. Each year they compete in an international futsal tournament and this year it was the turn for Great Britain to host the event.
The RailSport International Futsal Cup took place at Manchester Velodrome on Thursday 14 April . The event was a competitive affair with teams from Great Britain, Germany, Czech Republic, Luxembourg and Poland all taking part on the day with a eye on taking the cup home this year. Germany was the team to beat having won the tournament for the last 3 years, however the Czech Republic sealed victory in the last game, pipping the Polish team to victory via virtue of a better goal difference.
The club embarked on a unique Far Eastern trip and competed in the ESPN Star 2011 Tiger Street Football Tournament, held in Singapore, the first of its kind to be staged in Asia. The club were invited by ESPN Star to be the UK’s representatives in the Singapore round of the tournament on 16–17 April and competed alongside the best international street football teams from Brazil, Vietnam and Thailand as well as local teams. Highlights of the tournament were broadcast live across ESPN Star’s TV network of 24 Asian Countries and over 310 million viewers.
The game played in the competition was specifically unique, purposely created by the organisers to be extremely fast paced and an exaggerated replication of small street football, which was in stark contrast to the game of futsal. With limited experience and two members picking up last minute injuries, the team struggled to adjust to the differences, and they succumbed to a disappointing early knockout in the group stages.
| # | Name | Year | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Samuel Richardson | 2008- | 75 |
| 2 | Ilya Ovechkin | 2008- | 63 |
| 3 | Ruben Manna | 2008–2011 | 31 |
| 4 | Doug Reed | 2008- | 27 |
| 5 | Eduardo Betancor | 2010- | 22 |
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