Russia and Shishin shine in the sun

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Russia have well and truly proven that their shock win two years ago in Ravenna was no fluke with a deserved, and ultimately comfortable, win against Spain in the Tahiti 2013 finale. Their level of professionalism and single-minded approach is undoubted and was on display in Papeete on Saturday night as they overpowered the Spaniards.

They were made to work hard throughout the tournament to ultimately claim the spoils. They had two single-goal wins plus a hugely challenging comeback victory against Tahiti in the semi-final when the hold on their crown hung in the balance.

This time, however, Russia dominated once they took the lead in the second period, and the retention of their crown was rarely in doubt from the moment Anton Shkarin hit the opener 30 seconds into the second period.

Little wonder then that Russia coach Mikhail Likhachev was of the view that they left their best to last. “It was our best match of the tournament and we are so happy to take home a winner’s medal,” he said. “Perhaps the Tahiti game in the semi-final was our most difficult.”

Golden Shishin
A recurring theme throughout the tournament for Russia has been the goalscoring form of Dmitrii Shishin. A tireless and powerful figure all over the park, Shishin collected the adidas Golden Scorer Award edging out Brazil’s Bruno Xavier.

“I’m so happy to win the World Cup for a second time,” Shishin told FIFA.com in the bowels of the To’ato stadium with his winner’s medal hanging proudly around his neck. “I think this proves that last time was not an accident.

“The level of all the teams have grown a lot, especially teams like Tahiti and Japan. They have really developed quickly and it shows that beach soccer is growing rapidly.”

Shishin scored in every match, although it took until the final ten seconds of the final to complete the full set. That eleventh hour strike was enough to claim the coveted goalscorers’ award.

“I’m so happy, I honestly could not ever dream that such an award would come my way,” he said. “I have scored in many games and when I entered the field today I was hoping to score, but most of all I wanted the team to win.”

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Alonso: We’ve every reason to be happy

 

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Though he had just seen his side go down to Russia in the final of the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Tahiti 2013, Spain coach Joaquin Alonso was feeling anything but downhearted.
A very interested spectator at the closing ceremony, Alonso found time to have a quiet word with each and every one of his defeated players, and even broke off for a brief interview with FIFA.com, in which he took stock of Spain’s historic run at Tahiti 2013.
FIFA.com: What was your view of the final?
Alonso: It’s left us feeling a little bit flat. We started well enough and things were pretty even in the first period, which ended goalless. But they scored from a rebound at the start of the second and the game got away from us very quickly after that. We got it back to 3-1 and Antonio had a couple of chances to make it 3-2, but they went and scored a fourth and that killed us.
How do you explain that second period?
Russia are a very strong side and they don’t let you off the hook very often. The same thing happened to us with them recently. We were 1-0 up on that occasion but switched off for a couple of minutes and suddenly found ourselves 3-1 down, with the feeling that it was game over. Whenever they take the lead they really know how to control matches.

If you’d have said to me before we came that we’d reach the final, I’d have taken it. We should be happy with what we’ve achieved.

Joaquin Alonso, Spain coach

What’s the difference between you and Russia at the moment?
They’re professionals at this. I’m not saying that we’re not but we’ve got a few players who devote time to other things, and that tells in the long run. We have a job organising training sessions over an extended period of time and they play more competitions. That doesn’t mean to say, though, that we can’t compete with the rest. I’m delighted with the performance of my players.
So, this has been a positive experience then?
A very positive experience. If you’d have said to me before we came that we’d reach the final, I’d have taken it. We should be happy with what we’ve achieved.
Is that what you said to your players after the final?
Absolutely. I told them to enjoy the moment because I’ve played in and lost finals, and to lose them you have to get there first. In a few years’ time it’ll sink in that they came this far, that they fought it out for the title, that they earned the right to fight for it and played their part in the story.
Is it too early yet to think about getting revenge?
It’s not even crossed our minds. Right now I just want to enjoy this. We spent a long time preparing and we’ve been together training for a whole month, which takes it out of you. We need to sit back now and reflect on what we’ve achieved.
What does the future hold for the team?
The older players have shown everything: pride, self-sacrifice and class, and they’ve held nothing back. To my mind they’ve got a good few years left with us yet. They’re also an example to the younger players, who’ve not finished maturing yet. Some of them paid for their lack of experience and they could maybe have been a bit more influential, but they’re the future of the team and that future is a promising one. We’re happy with how the team’s progressing and we’ve got every reason to be optimistic.