The last day of the European Universities Futsal Championship (EUC) 2019 took place at the University of Minho Sports Complex and was marked by the decision of the champions of both male and female competitions. The champion of the female competition was the University of Murcia and the champion of the male competition was for the second time, the University of Malaga.
The female final got together two teams that stood out during this whole competition: The University of Murcia vs the University of Munster. The Sports Complex was full of people who were trying to figure out who would take the trophy home. The Spanish scored on the first minute and scored again a few minutes later, taking control of the game. Before the half-time the Germans scored but the results were on the Spanish side (2-1). The University of Munster tried to tie on the second half of the match but the Spanish didn’t allow them scoring once more. The game ended with the University of Murcia as the champion of the tournament, making history in the city of Braga.
On the second final of the day, the University of Malaga faced the a Karazin Kharkiv National University, on a match won by the Spanish by 3-0. The first goal was scored by Saura Castejón, that shook the Ukrainian goal. Three minutes later the Spanish that wears the number 11 scored again. Although they were losing (2-0) at half-time the Ukrainians came to the field on full gas mode and scored their first goal. The University of Malaga didn’t stop their good work and scored once more, setting the final result by 3-1. With this victory the University of Malaga takes, once again, the trophy back home.
On a fight for the third place, the University of Zagreb faced the National Pedagogical Dragomanov University and the race for the bronze medal was unpredictable from the first to the last minute. The Ukrainians were the first scoring but the Croatians quickly responded with their first goal. The University of Zagreb kept scoring and got to half-time winning by 4-1. On the second half of the match, the National Pedagogical Dragomanov University tried to keep up with the Croatians and did it successfully. With the ball on their feet, they started scoring continually not letting their opponents have the possession of the ball. Their sharpened aim dragged Ukraine's team to the front. The last minutes were tragic for the University of Zagreb that was defeated by 5-6. The National Pedagogical Dragomanov University earned their place on the podium and will be back home with the bronze medal.
After losing on the male semi-finals against the Karazin Kharkiv National University, the University of Minho wanted to bring joy to everyone who supported them since the first game. The cheers at the stands made the players win the bronze medal, scoring in the first three minutes. The University of Jaén also wanted to avenge their last game and scored minutes later with two goals. The universities went to half-time with the Spanish team winning by 2-1 but tied two minutes after the beginning of the second part of the game. The 40 minutes ended with a tie, which led to the penalties. The University of Minho won the game, being the most effective team in the 6 meters’ mark.
The 5th place was conquered by the Ural Federal University that won against the Norwegian University of Science and Technology by 5-4 but the balance between both teams was felt since the beginning of the match. The Norwegians didn’t waste their chances in front of the goal and went on half-time winning by 3-1 but on the second half, everything changed. The Russian coach changed to a 5x4 strategy that destroyed the Norwegian University defenses. Despite that, it was only in the last 16 seconds that everything was decided. The Russian goalkeeper ended the game when she scored, changing the results.
The University of Rouen took France to the seventh place in the competition. The two universities had already faced each other in the group phase and the French team won both times. After losing in the quarter finals, both universities decided to put the least used players on the field. After the half-time, the Portuguese scored but that wasn’t enough to beat their opponents. The game ended with the University of Rouen defeating the University of Minho by 3-1.
The University of Évora and the University of Porto went to the field to dispute the 9th place on the competition. A true Portuguese classic, with Évora scoring since the beginning and defeating Porto by 2-1. After yesterday´s win, the University of Évora started the match playing harder than ever before and at half-time they were already winning by 2-0. The Porto team scored 1 goal but the last 20 minutes showed that Évora had the upper hand, winning the game.
Final Classification:
Male Competition:
1º University of Málaga (Spain)
2º Karazin Kharkiv National University (Ukraine)
3º University of Minho (Portugal)
4º University of Jaén (Spain)
5º Tbilisi State University (Georgia)
6º Saint Petersburg ITMO University (Russia)
7º Polytechnic Institute of Leiria (Portugal)
8º University of Warsaw (Poland)
9º Lviv Polytechnic National University (Ukraine)
10º University of Camerino (Italy)
11º University of Osijek (Croatia)
12º University of Reims Champagne Ardenne (France)
13º University of Munster (Germany)
14º Norwegian School of Economics (Norway)
15º College of Management Academic Studies (Israel)
16º University of Coimbra (Portugal)
17º University of Kiel (Germany)
Female Competition:
1º University of Murcia (Spain)
2º University of Munster (Germany)
3º National Pedagogical Dragomanov University (Ukraine)
4º University of Zagreb (Croatia)
5º Ural Federal University (Russia)
6º Norwegian University of Science and Technology (Norway)
7º University of Rouen (France)
8º University of Minho (Portugal)
9º University of Évora (Portugal)
10º University of Porto (Portugal)
11º University of Evry Val d’Essonne (France)