2005 Euro Beach Soccer League

The 2005 Euro Beach Soccer League, was the eighth edition of the Euro Beach Soccer League (EBSL), originally known as the European Pro Beach Soccer League, 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 July 8 and August 28, 2005 in five different nations across Europe.

2005 Euro Beach Soccer League
Tournament details
Dates8 July – 28 August
Teams16 (from 1 confederation)
Venue(s)6 (in 6 host cities)
Final positions
Champions Italy (1st title)
Runners-up Portugal
Third place France
Fourth place  Switzerland
Tournament statistics
Matches played48
Goals scored468 (9.75 per match)
Top scorer(s)Spain Amarelle
Best player(s)Italy Cristiano Scalabrelli
Best goalkeeperPortugal Bruno Alves
2004
2006
Locations of the events of the 2005 Euro Beach Soccer League
Division A events
Division B events
Division A & C events
Superfinal

Following the preceding season, BSWW continued organising the nations of the EBSL across three divisions (A, B and C), with each team competing in their respective division to try and earn a place in the season-finale event, the Superfinal, in which the league title was then contested directly.[1]

Italy were ultimately crowned champions, coming back from 5–1 down in the last period of the final to win their first European title.[2] France entered the league as defending champions but lost in the Superfinal semi-finals, finishing the league in third place.

Teams

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This season 16 nations took part in the Euro Beach Soccer League whom were and were distributed as follows:

Superfinal berths

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There were eight berths available in this season's Superfinal. The table summarises in what positions nations needed to finish in their respective divisions in order to qualify to the Superfinal, what round of the Superfinal they would enter finishing in said positions, and the seeding they would receive.

Allocations

Seed Position in Division Division Round entered
1 Winner A Semi-finals
2 Runner-up Quarter-finals
3 Third place
4 Fourth place
5 Winner B
6 Runner-up
7 Third place Play-off round
8 Winner C
  • Division A was awarded four Superfinal berths (with only four teams in the division, all teams automatically qualified - the teams played to try and win the division in order to earn the single berth straight into the Superfinal semi-finals and, failing this, attain the best seeding possible)
  • Division B received three berths and Division C, one.

Play off round

  • Since the Division A winners received a bye in the quarter-finals, this meant one of the four quarter-final ties was to be void. The three other quarter-final matches only had enough spaces to accommodate six of the other seven teams qualified for Superfinal.
  • Hence BSWW decided the top five of the remaining seven teams would go straight into the quarters, whilst a play-off round would take place between the two lowest ranked qualifiers (3rd Division B v Winner Division C) to determine who gets the final sixth quarter-final spot. The loser and now leftover seventh nation would have to settle for the consolation matches.

Division A

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Division A consisted of four rounds of fixtures known as stages, with one stage hosted in each of the four countries participating as shown. All four teams took part in each. In each stage, the teams played each other once. The nation who earned the most points at the end of the stage was crowned stage winners.

At the end of the four stages all results were tallied up in a final league table.

Stage 1

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The first stage took place in Tignes, France. Portugal won the event.

Stage 2

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The second stage took place in Figueira da Foz, Portugal. The hosts claimed their second stage win.

Stage 3

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The third and penultimate stage took place in Cervia, Italy. The hosts earned their first stage victory. Portugal earned enough points during this stage to secure first place in the final division standings.

Stage 4

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The fourth and final stage took place in Santa Ponsa, Mallorca, Spain. Portugal won their third stage title.

Final table

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All four teams automatically qualified to the Superfinal. However, finishing top of the division table earned that team a bye straight into the semifinals, whilst the final positions of the other three nations determined seedings in the quarter-finals.

Portugal were crowned winners, earning the bye into the Superfinal semi finals. Spain, by finishing second, ensured the next highest seeding meaning they would be drawn against the worst ranked team to make the Superfinal (the play-off winners) in the quarter-finals. On the other hand, France, finishing last, received the lowest seeding in Division A and hence suffered the consequences of having to play the next best seed, the winners of Division B.

Pos Team Pld W W L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1   Portugal 12 9 0 3 60 46 14 27 Advance to Superfinal semi-finals
2   Spain 12 5 1 6 57 50 7 17 Advance to Superfinal quarter-finals
3   Italy 12 4 1 7 43 54 −11 14
4   France 12 4 0 8 53 63 –10 12

Division B

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Results

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This season, Division B was played as a straight knockout tournament. The eight teams contesting the division started in the quarter-finals, playing one match per round until the final when the winner was crowned. The losers of the quarter-finals played in consolation matches to determine their final division placements.

Fifth placeConsolation semifinalsQuarterfinalsSemifinalsFinal
  Austria4
  Greece3
  Greece5 (0)  Austria2
  England (pens.)5 (1)  Germany4
  Germany6
  England2
  England4  Germany4
  Ukraine10  Hungary5
  Hungary7
  Ukraine3
Seventh place  Ukraine6  Hungary8Third place
  Norway2  Netherlands4
  Greece4  Netherlands3  Austria5
  Norway3  Norway2  Netherlands4
Awards[7]
Best player:   Oleksandr Pylypenko
Top scorer(s):   TD Al'Said,   Ferenc Vígh (6 goals)
Best goalkeeper:   Dennis Prostka

Final standings

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The top two nations qualified straight into the Superfinal quarter-finals along with three sides from Division A. The third placed team qualified to the Superfinal play-off round to contest the sixth and final quarter-final spot against the winners of Division C. The remaining Division B nations exited this season's EBSL.

Hungary won the Division B tournament title, whilst hosts Austria claimed the third and final spot in the Superfinal.

Rank Team Qualification
    Hungary Advance to Superfinal quarter-finals
    Germany
    Austria Advance to Superfinal play-off round
4   Netherlands
5   Ukraine
6   England
7   Greece
8   Norway

Division C

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The nations comprising Division C contested one round of fixtures. The teams played each other once. The nation who earned the most points at the end of the matches was crowned winner the division.

Matches

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The fixtures were played in Santa Ponsa, Mallorca, Spain, alongside stage 4 of Division A.

5 August 2005
Belgium   2–5   Russia
Poland   2–2 (a.e.t.)
5–6 (pens.)
   Switzerland
6 August 2005
Belgium   1–5   Poland
Switzerland   5–2   Russia
7 August 2005
Poland   3–2   Russia
Switzerland   7–2   Belgium
Awards[8]
Best player:   ?
Top scorer(s):   Krzysztof Kuchciak (5 goals)
Best goalkeeper:   Marek Gorecky

Final table

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The winners solely qualified to the Superfinal play-off round to play the lowest ranked qualifier from Division B to contest the sixth and final quarter-final spot. The remaining Division C nations exited this season's EBSL.

Switzerland were crowned winners.

Pos Team Pld W W L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1    Switzerland 3 2 1 0 14 6 8 8 Advance to Superfinal play-off round
2   Poland 3 2 0 1 10 5 5 6
3   Russia 3 1 0 2 9 10 −1 3
4   Belgium 3 0 0 3 5 17 –12 0

Superfinal

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Qualified teams

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This is a summary of the teams who qualified for the Superfinal.

Seed Team Division Round entered
1   Portugal A Semi-finals
2   Spain Quarter-finals
3   Italy
4   France
5   Hungary B
6   Germany
7   Austria Play-off round
8    Switzerland C

Results

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This season the Superfinal was played as a straight knockout tournament. Six teams contesting the title started in the quarter-finals, with Portugal joining in the semifinals, playing one match per round until the final when the winner of the 2005 Euro Beach Soccer League was crowned. The losers of the quarter-finals and play-off round played in consolation matches to determine their final league placements.

Firstly, the play-off round took place between the winners of Division C and the lowest ranked qualifiers from Division B for reasons explained earlier. The winners, Switzerland, moved on to the quarter-finals. The losers, Austria, retreated to the consolidation matches.

Play-off round
   
7   Austria 7
8    Switzerland (a.e.t.) 8

Following the play-off round, the main knockout stages and consolation matches of the Superfinal took place.

Fifth placeConsolation semifinalsQuarterfinalsSemifinalsFinal
1  Portugal
bye
7  Austria11  Portugal4
5  Hungary64  France2
4  France (pens.)5 (2)
5  Hungary5 (1)
5  Hungary51  Portugal5 (1)
2  Spain73  Italy (pens.)5 (2)
3  Italy6
6  Germany4
Seventh place6  Germany43  Italy5Third place
2  Spain78   Switzerland3
7  Austria28   Switzerland44  France6
6  Germany62  Spain38   Switzerland2

Championship match details

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Portugal  5–5 (a.e.t.)  Italy
Hernâni   
Belchior  
Alan  
Barraca  
Report    Pasquali
  Fruzzetti
   Agostini
Penalties
Alan  
Madjer  
1–2   Fruzzetti
  Pasquali

Winners

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 2005 Euro Beach Soccer League
champions 
 
Italy
First title
Statistics[9]
Top scorer(s):   Amarelle,   Massimo Agostini,   Tamás Weisz (7 goals)
Best goalkeeper:   Roberto Valeiro (82.9% save rate)

Superfinal final standings

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Italy beat favourites Portugal in the final on penalties to win their first Euro Beach Soccer League title.

Pos Team Notes
1   Italy EBSL Champions
2   Portugal Runners-up
3   France Third place
4    Switzerland
5   Spain
6   Hungary
7   Germany
8   Austria

Sources

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  1. ^ "Mastercard Euro Beach Soccer League". beachsoccer.com. December 2005. Archived from the original on 2 December 2005. Retrieved 22 February 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  2. ^ "Mastercard Euro Beach Soccer League". beachsoccer.com. May 2006. Archived from the original on 8 May 2006. Retrieved 22 February 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  3. ^ "euro BS league 2005 - Group A - French Event - Tignes, France - July 8th – 10th, 2005 -Event Final Bulletin" (PDF). Beach Soccer Worldwide. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2006-05-09. Retrieved 9 May 2006.
  4. ^ "euro BS league 2005 - Group A - Portuguese Event - Figueira da Foz, Portugal - July 22nd – 24th, 2005" (PDF). Beach Soccer Worldwide. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2006-05-09. Retrieved 9 May 2006.
  5. ^ "euro BS league 2005 - Group A - Italian Event - Cervia, Italy - July 29th – 31st, 2005" (PDF). Beach Soccer Worldwide. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2006-05-09. Retrieved 9 May 2006.
  6. ^ "BEACH SOCCER EUROLEAGUE 2005: ITALIA CAMPIONE". Beach Soccer LND (in Italian). Archived from the original on 2006-05-24. Retrieved 24 May 2006.
  7. ^ "euro BS league - Group B Event - Linz, Austria - July 8th – 10th, 2005 - Final Event Bulletin" (PDF). Beach Soccer Worldwide. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2006-05-09. Retrieved 9 May 2006.
  8. ^ "MASTERCARD - euro BS league 2005 - Superfinal - Marseille, France - August 26-28, 2005 - MasterCard euro BS league Bulletin" (PDF). Beach Soccer Worldwide. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2006-05-09. Retrieved 9 May 2006.
  9. ^ "MASTERCARD - euro BS league 2005 - Superfinal - Marseille, France - August 26-28, 2005 - MasterCard euro BS league Bulletin" (PDF). Beach Soccer Worldwide. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2006-05-09. Retrieved 9 May 2006.