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2006 Euro Beach Soccer League

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2006 Euro Beach Soccer League
Tournament details
Dates2 June – 27 August
Teams14 (from 1 confederation)
Venue(s)10 (in 10 host cities)
Final positions
Champions Spain (5th title)
Runners-up Portugal
Third place Poland
Fourth place Italy
Tournament statistics
Matches played91
Goals scored708 (7.78 per match)
Top scorer(s)Portugal Madjer
Best player(s)Portugal Madjer
Best goalkeeperSpain Roberto Valeiro
2005
2007

The 2006 Euro Beach Soccer League, was the ninth edition of the Euro Beach Soccer League (EBSL), the premier beach soccer competition contested between European men's national teams, occurring annually since its establishment in 1998. The league was organised by Beach Soccer Worldwide (BSWW) between June 2 and August 27, 2006, in eight different nations across Europe.

This season saw the introduction of a number of changes. This included having Division B nations compete first, attempting to qualify to play in Division A later in the season. Division A also underwent organisational rearrangements – each stage was now played as a knockout tournament involving all eight nations.

Italy entered the tournament as defending champions but lost to Spain in the Superfinal semi-finals. The Spanish proceeded to win the title, beating Portugal in the final to claim their fifth and most recent European crown to date, having last won in 2003, and the last time they reach the final until 2014.[1]

The league also doubled as the qualification process for the 2006 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup. The nations finishing in first, second, third and fourth place qualified, along with the winners of the last chance bracket.[2]

Format changes

[edit]

The 2006 season featured many changes compared to the preceding years of 20022005.

Division B

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  • Division B nations could no longer directly qualify for the Superfinal.
  • The Division B regular season would no longer take place at the same time as the Division A regular season.
  • The nations of the division would now start and finish all of their division's scheduled fixtures of the regular season before Division A even began.
  • Instead of qualifying for the Superfinal, the top four ranking teams would now qualify to play in the Division A regular season which would commence later in the year.

Division A

[edit]
  • Eight teams take part in Division A; four qualifiers from Division B (as described above) and four automatic entrants (France, Spain, Italy, Portugal)
  • Each stage would no longer be staged as a four team, round robin event.
  • Instead, all eight teams would take part in a straight knockout tournament.
  • Points for the league table were to be earned based on the nation's final placement in each stage, rather than on match wins.

Division B

[edit]

The Division B season began and ended before Division A began.

The division consisted of five rounds of fixtures known as stages, with one stage hosted in Austria, Greece, Russia, Poland and the Netherlands. Four teams took part in each stage, with each team scheduled to take part in two of the five stages. In every round of fixtures the teams played each other in a round robin format. The nation that earned the most points at the end of the stage was crowned stage winners.

At the end of the five stages, an interim league table was drawn up with the top teams advancing to the final round of Division B.

Teams

[edit]

Ten teams took part in Division B, aiming to claim one of the four qualification spots into Division A later in the year.

Stage 1

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The first stage took place in Linz, Austria.

Stage 2

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The second stage took place in Poddębice, Poland.

Stage 3

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The third stage took place in Athens, Greece.

Stage 4

[edit]

The fourth stage was due to take place in Anapa, Russia, between June 23 and 25, 2006, involving Russia, Ukraine, Austria and Germany, but was cancelled due to a dispute between the Russian national team and the Russian Football Union (RFU).

The RFU claimed they had not given the Russian national team permission to play as official representatives of Russia during stage 3 in Athens. FIFA required that all teams participating in World Cup qualification tournaments must gain explicit permission of their nation's football association to represent their country in said competitions. Since the Russian national team did not gain permission from the RFU, the RFU filed the issue with FIFA in order to have the results of the games involving the Russian team in stage 3 annulled. Due to the ongoing dispute, BSWW were forced to cancel the fourth stage involving and to be hosted in Russia.[5][6]

The complaints by the RFU to FIFA ultimately saw the results of the Russian team in stage 3 voided and the team was disqualified from competing any further in this year's EBSL.[6]

Stage 5

[edit]

The fifth stage took place in Scheveningen, the Netherlands.

Interim standings

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Following the completion of the stages, the Division B league table was drawn up. The top eight teams qualified for the final round of Division B.

Due to the cancellation of one stage, and the results of another partially annulled, many of the nations played different numbers of total matches. Therefore, their final positions were based on points per game instead of total points.

Pos Team Pld W W+ L GF GA GD Pts PPG Qualification
1   Switzerland 6 5 0 1 32 13 +19 15 2.5 Advance to final round
2  Netherlands 5 3 1 1 23 22 +1 11 2.2
3  Ukraine 3 2 0 1 14 10 +4 6 2.0
4  Poland 6 3 1 2 28 18 +10 11 1.8
5  Belgium 6 2 1 3 22 28 –6 8 1.3
6  England 5 0 2 3 15 20 –5 4 0.8
7  Greece 5 1 0 4 20 31 –11 3 0.6
8  Austria 3 0 0 3 9 14 –5 0 0
9  Germany 3 0 0 3 5 12 –7 0 0
 Russia Disqualified, results voided1

Final round

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The final round of Division B directly determined the four teams that would qualify to Division A. It took place in Sankt Pölten, Austria.

Format

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The tournament was staged as an unconventional double elimination tournament as explained below:

Results

[edit]
14
July
Quarter finals (QF)
Netherlands  4–3  Greece
Ukraine  7–3  England
Austria  3–2   Switzerland
Poland  12–4  Belgium
15
July
QF Winners QF Losers
Winners' semi finals (WSF) Losers' semi finals (LSF)
Ukraine  3–1  Netherlands Greece  6–4  England
Poland  9–3  Austria Switzerland  4–0  Belgium
16
July
WSF Winners WSF Losers LSF Winners LSF Losers
Final 3rd–6th place deciding matches 7th & 8th place match
Poland  10–5  Ukraine Netherlands  0–3   Switzerland England  6–2  Belgium
Austria  5–10  Greece
Awards[7]
Best player: Poland Marek Zuk
Top scorer(s): Poland Bogusław Saganowski (9 goals)
Best goalkeeper: Switzerland Nico Jung

Final Division B standings

[edit]
Rank Team Qualification
1st place, gold medalist(s)  Poland Advance to Division A
2nd place, silver medalist(s)  Ukraine
3rd place, bronze medalist(s)   Switzerland
4  Greece
5  Netherlands
6  Austria
7  England
8  Belgium
9  Germany
 Russia

Division A

[edit]

Following the completion of Division B, Division A commenced.

Division A consisted of four rounds of fixtures known as stages, with one stage hosted in each of the four nations which received automatic entry into the division. All eight teams took part in each stage.

Each stage was played as a straight knockout tournament. All eight teams contesting the stage title started in the quarter-finals, playing one match per round until the final when the winner of the stage was crowned. The losers of the quarter and semi-finals played in consolation matches to determine their final league placements.

Point distribution

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Unlike in previous years, points earned by the participating teams for winning matches did not count towards league table. Instead, teams earned points for the league table based on their final placement in each stage from 12 points for winning the stage, down to 1 point for finishing last.

The breakdown of the distribution of points is shown in the table below:

Rank Pts Rank Pts
1st 12 pts. 5th 4 pts.
2nd 10 pts. 6th 3 pts.
3rd 8 pts. 7th 2 pts.
4th 6 pts. 8th 1 pt.

Teams

[edit]

Stage 1

[edit]

The first stage of Division A took place in San Benedetto del Tronto, Italy.

  • Dates: QFs – 24 July; SFs – 25 July; Finals – 26 July

Results

[edit]
Fifth place5th–8th place semifinalsQuarterfinalsSemifinalsFinal
 Italy (p) 3 (1)
 Greece3 (0)
 Greece2 Italy (p) 4 (2)
 France 5  Switzerland4 (1)
 France3 (2)
  Switzerland (p) 3 (3)
 France 5 Italy 2
 Spain3 Ukraine0
 Portugal 9
 Poland2
7th place match Poland1 Portugal1Third place
 Spain 4 Ukraine (a.e.t.) 2
 Greece1 Ukraine 3  Switzerland1
 Poland 5 Spain2 Portugal 4

Awards

[edit]
Award Player
Best player[8] Italy Pasquale Carotenuto
Top scorer(s)[3] Switzerland Stephan Meier (7 goals)
Best goalkeeper[3] Switzerland Nico Jung

Final standings

[edit]
Rank Team Points earned
1st place, gold medalist(s)  Italy 12
2nd place, silver medalist(s)  Ukraine 10
3rd place, bronze medalist(s)  Portugal 8
4   Switzerland 6
5  France 4
6  Spain 3
7  Poland 2
8  Greece 1

Stage 2

[edit]

The second stage of Division A took place in Tignes, France.

  • Dates: QFs – 28 July; SFs – 29 July; Finals – 30 July

Results

[edit]
Fifth place5th–8th place semifinalsQuarterfinalsSemifinalsFinal
 France3 (0)
 Greece (p) 3 (1)
 France 6 Greece3
  Switzerland3 Spain 7
  Switzerland5
 Spain 6
 France 3 Spain5 (1)
 Portugal2 Poland (p) 5 (2)
 Portugal5
 Ukraine 6
7th place match Portugal 7 Ukraine2Third place
 Italy5 Poland 5
  Switzerland6 Poland 6 Greece (a.e.t.) 3
 Italy4 Italy3 Ukraine2

Awards

[edit]
Award[3] Player
Best player Spain Amarelle
Top scorer(s) Spain Amarelle (9 goals)
Best goalkeeper Greece Ilias Atmatsidis

Final standings

[edit]
Rank Team Points earned
1st place, gold medalist(s)  Poland 12
2nd place, silver medalist(s)  Spain 10
3rd place, bronze medalist(s)  Greece 8
4  Ukraine 6
5  France 4
6  Portugal 3
7   Switzerland 2
8  Italy 1

Stage 3

[edit]

The third stage of Division A took place in Palma de Mallorca, Mallorca, Spain.

  • Dates: QFs – 4 August; SFs – 5 August; Finals – 6 August

Results

[edit]
Fifth place5th–8th place semifinalsQuarterfinalsSemifinalsFinal
 Portugal 7
  Switzerland3
  Switzerland4 Portugal 2
 Poland 9 France1
 France (a.e.t.)6
 Poland5
 Poland2 Portugal2
 Ukraine 4 Spain 3
 Ukraine5 (2)
 Italy (p) 5 (3)
7th place match Ukraine 5 Italy2Third place
 Greece2 Spain 3
  Switzerland3 (0) Greece2 France 4
 Greece (p) 3 (1) Spain 4 Italy3

Awards

[edit]
Award[3] Player
Best player Poland Bogusław Saganowski
Top scorer(s) Portugal Madjer (7 goals)
Best goalkeeper Spain Roberto Valeiro

Final standings

[edit]
Rank Team Points earned
1st place, gold medalist(s)  Spain 12
2nd place, silver medalist(s)  Portugal 10
3rd place, bronze medalist(s)  France 8
4  Italy 6
5  Ukraine 4
6  Poland 3
7  Greece 2
8   Switzerland 1

Stage 4

[edit]

The fourth and final stage of Division A took place in Portimão, Portugal.

  • Dates: QFs – 17 August; SFs – 18 August; Finals – 19 August

Results

[edit]
Fifth place5th–8th place semifinalsQuarterfinalsSemifinalsFinal
 Portugal 5
 Greece1
 Greece2 Portugal 5
 France 5 Ukraine1
 France1
 Ukraine 3
 France3 Portugal 3
 Spain 8 Italy2
 Spain1
 Poland 2
7th place match Spain 6 Poland3Third place
  Switzerland2 Italy 6
 Greece2 Italy 3 Ukraine 8
  Switzerland 6  Switzerland1 Poland6

Awards

[edit]
Award[3] Player
Best player Portugal Madjer
Top scorer(s) Italy Pasquale Carotenuto, Portugal Madjer (7 goals)
Best goalkeeper Portugal João Rodrigues

Final standings

[edit]
Rank Team Points earned
1st place, gold medalist(s)  Portugal 12
2nd place, silver medalist(s)  Italy 10
3rd place, bronze medalist(s)  Ukraine 8
4  Poland 6
5  Spain 4
6  France 3
7   Switzerland 2
8  Greece 1

Final table

[edit]

Following the completion of all four stages, the final Division A table was drawn up. The top six nations qualified for the Superfinal.

Pos Match stats Points earned per stage Total
points
Qualification
Team Pld W W+ L GF GA GD Pts Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3 Stage 4
1  Portugal 12 8 0 4 52 30 +22 24 8 3 10 12 33 Advance to Superfinal
2  Spain 12 8 0 4 52 35 +17 24 3 10 12 4 29
3  Italy 12 3 3 6 42 45 –3 15 12 1 6 10 29
4  Ukraine 12 6 1 5 41 39 +2 20 10 6 4 8 28
5  Poland 12 5 1 6 51 53 –2 17 2 12 3 6 23
6  France 12 7 0 5 45 39 +6 21 4 4 8 3 19
7  Greece 12 0 3 9 27 53 –26 6 1 8 2 1 12
8   Switzerland 12 2 1 9 41 57 –16 8 6 2 1 2 11

Superfinal

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The Superfinal took place at the Plages du Prado, Marseille, France.

For the first time, the Superfinal was not played as a knockout tournament. Instead, the Superfinal was organised as a multi-stage tournament; starting with a group stage, the six qualified nations were split into two groups of three, playing in a round robin format. The top two from each group advanced to the semi-finals from which point on the Superfinal was played as a knockout tournament until the winner of the 2006 EBSL was crowned, with an additional match to determine third place.

The semifinalists secured qualification to the 2006 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup.

Group stage

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Key:   Advance to the knockout stage

Group A

[edit]

Group B

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Knockout stage

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Semi-finalsFinal
 
      
 
26 August 2006
 
 
 Portugal8
 
27 August 2006
 
 Poland3
 
 Portugal2
 
26 August 2006
 
 Spain4
 
 Spain5
 
 
 Italy3
 
Third place
 
 
27 August 2006
 
 
 Poland (p)2 (2)
 
 
 Italy2 (1)

Semi-finals

[edit]
Portugal 8–3 Poland
Madjer
Alan
Hernâni
Barraca
Report Żuk
Saganowski
Polakowski
Spain 5–3 Italy
Amarelle
Nico
Javi
Report Pasquali
Feudi

Third place play-off

[edit]
Poland 2–2 (a.e.t.) Italy
Kuhciak Report Pasquali
Tresoldi
Penalties
Wydmuszek soccer ball with check mark
Polakowski soccer ball with check mark
2–1 soccer ball with check mark Pasquali
soccer ball with red X Tresoldi

Final

[edit]
Portugal 2–4 Spain
Madjer Report Amarelle
Nico


 2006 Euro Beach Soccer League
champions 

Spain
Fifth title
Statistics
Top scorer(s): Spain Amarelle (8 goals)

Superfinal final standings

[edit]
Pos Team Notes Qualification
1  Spain EBSL Champions Qualified to 2006 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup
2  Portugal Runners-up
3  Poland Third place
4  Italy
5  Ukraine
6  France

Last chance bracket

[edit]

European nations were granted five berths at the 2006 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup. As Superfinal semifinalists, Portugal, Spain, Poland and Italy successfully claimed four of these spots. This meant one berth was yet to be filled. This berth was contested in a final round of the 2006 EBSL, independent from the normal proceedings of the league, known as the Last chance bracket.[9] Played as a knockout tournament, parallel to the staging of the Superfinal, France won the event and claimed the final World Cup spot.

Sources

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  1. ^ "Spain back among the best". fifa.com. 28 August 2006. Archived from the original on August 6, 2017. Retrieved 5 August 2017.
  2. ^ "France on the road to Rio". fifa.com. 27 August 2006. Archived from the original on August 6, 2017. Retrieved 5 August 2017.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h "Euro Beach Soccer League 2006". Swiss Beach Soccer (in German). Archived from the original on 2007-02-20. Retrieved 20 February 2007.
  4. ^ "Euro Beach Soccer League: Russia's season debut is an unbeaten title". England Beach Soccer. 18 June 2006. Archived from the original on 2006-06-21. Retrieved 21 June 2006.
  5. ^ "ЕКоманда, представлявшая Россию на турнире Euro Beach Soccer League (EBSL) в Греции, официально не признана РФС" (in Russian). beachsoccer.ru. 19 June 2006. Retrieved 2 August 2017.
  6. ^ a b "Жесткая позиция Российского футбольного союза стала причиной отмены результатов турнира Европейской Лиги пляжного футбола (EBSL) в Греции" (in Russian). beachsoccer.ru. 26 June 2006. Retrieved 2 August 2017.
  7. ^ "Huge victory gives Poland the EBSL Group B title". England Beach Soccer. 17 July 2006. Archived from the original on 2006-07-19. Retrieved 19 July 2006.
  8. ^ Natalini, Michele (26 July 2006). "San Benedetto porta fortuna all'Italia: agli Azzurri la prima tappa dell'Eurolega - Riviera Oggi". Riviera Oggi (in Italian). Retrieved 10 July 2022.
  9. ^ "France, Ukraine live up to star billing". fifa.com. 26 August 2006. Archived from the original on August 6, 2017. Retrieved 5 August 2017.