2006 Euro Beach Soccer League

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.

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) Madjer
Best player(s) Madjer
Best goalkeeper Roberto Valeiro

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

The 2006 season featured many changes compared to the preceding years of 2002–2005.

Division B
  • 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
  • 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

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

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

The first stage took place in Linz, Austria.

Stage 2

The second stage took place in Poddębice, Poland.

Stage 3

The third stage took place in Athens, Greece.

Stage 4

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.[3][4]

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.[4]

Stage 5

The fifth stage took place in Scheveningen, the Netherlands.

Interim Division B standings

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 average points per game instead of total points.

Pos Team Pld W W+ L GF GA GD Pts Ave.
Pts		 Notes
1  Switzerland 65013213+19152.5Advance to final round
2 Netherlands 53112322+1112.2
3 Ukraine 32011410+462.0
4 Poland 63122818+10111.8
5 Belgium 62132228–681.3
6 England 50231520–540.8
7 Greece 51042031–1130.6
8 Austria 3003914–500
9 Germany 3003512–700Eliminated
 Russia Disqualified, results voided1

Final round

The final round of Division B directly determined the four teams that would qualify to Division A.

Format explanation

The tournament took place in Sankt Pölten, Austria, staged as an unconventional double elimination tournament as explained below.

Results
14
July		 Quarter finals (QFs)
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 (WSFs) Losers' Semi finals (LSFs)
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 (1st & 2nd place) 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

Final Division B standings
Rank Team Qualification
 PolandAdvance to Division A
 Ukraine
  Switzerland
4  Greece
5  Netherlands
6  Austria
7  England
8  Belgium
9  Germany
 Russia

Division A

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

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

Stage 1

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
  5th place match 5th – 8th place play-offs Quarter-finals Semi-finals Final
                                               
      Italy (p)    3 (1)   
      Greece   3 (0)   
    Greece   2          Italy (p)    4 (2)   
    France    5         Switzerland   4 (1)   
       France   3 (2)    
       Switzerland (p)    3 (3)   
    France    5         Italy    2 
    Spain   3          Ukraine   0 
       Portugal    9      
      Poland   2   
  Poland   1           Portugal   1 
  7th place match       Spain    4        Ukraine (a.e.t.)    2      3rd place match
    Greece   1       Ukraine    3        Switzerland   1 
    Poland    5        Spain   2        Portugal    4 
        

Final standings
Rank Team Points earned
 Italy12
 Ukraine10
 Portugal8
4   Switzerland6
5  France4
6  Spain3
7  Poland2
8  Greece1

Stage 2

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

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

Results
  5th place match 5th – 8th place play-offs Quarter-finals Semi-finals Final
                                               
      France   3 (0)   
      Greece (p)    3 (1)   
    France    6          Greece   3   
     Switzerland   3        Spain    7   
        Switzerland   5    
      Spain    6   
    France    3         Spain   5 (1) 
    Portugal   2          Poland (p)    5 (2) 
       Portugal   5      
      Ukraine    6   
  Portugal    7           Ukraine   2 
  7th place match       Italy   5        Poland    5      3rd place match
     Switzerland   6       Poland    6       Greece (a.e.t.)    3 
    Italy   4        Italy   3        Ukraine   2 
        

Final standings
Rank Team Points earned
 Poland12
 Spain10
 Greece8
4  Ukraine6
5  France4
6  Portugal3
7   Switzerland2
8  Italy1

Stage 3

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
  5th place match 5th – 8th place play-offs Quarter-finals Semi-finals Final
                                               
      Portugal    7   
       Switzerland   3   
     Switzerland   4          Portugal    2   
    Poland    9        France   1   
       France    6    
      Poland   5   
    Poland   2         Portugal   2 
    Ukraine    4          Spain    3 
       Ukraine   5 (2)      
      Italy (p)    5 (3)   
  Ukraine    5           Italy   2 
  7th place match       Greece   2        Spain    3      3rd place match
     Switzerland   3 (0)       Greece   2       France    4 
    Greece (p)    3 (1)        Spain    4        Italy   3 
        

Final standings
Rank Team Points earned
 Spain12
 Portugal10
 France8
4  Italy6
5  Ukraine4
6  Poland3
7  Greece2
8   Switzerland1

Stage 4

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

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

Results
  5th place match 5th – 8th place play-offs Quarter-finals Semi-finals Final
                                               
      Portugal    5   
      Greece   1   
    Greece   2          Portugal    5   
    France    5        Ukraine   1   
       France   1    
      Ukraine    3   
    France   3         Portugal    3 
    Spain    8          Italy   2 
       Spain   1      
      Poland    2   
  Spain    6           Poland   3 
  7th place match        Switzerland   2        Italy    6      3rd place match
    Greece   2       Italy    3       Ukraine    8 
     Switzerland    6         Switzerland   1        Poland   6 
        

Final standings
Rank Team Points earned
 Portugal12
 Italy10
 Ukraine8
4  Poland6
5  Spain4
6  France3
7   Switzerland2
8  Greece1

Final Division A table

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 128045230+222483101233Advance to Superfinal
2 Spain 128045235+172431012429
3 Italy 123364245–31512161029
4 Ukraine 126154139+2201064828
5 Poland 125165153–2172123623
6 France 127054539+621448319
7 Greece 120392753–266182112
8  Switzerland 122194157–168621211

Superfinal

The Superfinal took place at the Plages du Prado, Marsielle, 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 A

Group B

Knockout stage
 
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
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
Poland 2–2 (a.e.t.) Italy
Kuhciak Report Pasquali
Tresoldi
Penalties
Wydmuszek
Polakowski 		2–1 Pasquali
Tresoldi

Final
Portugal 2–4 Spain
Madjer Report Amarelle
Nico
 2006 Euro Beach Soccer League
Champions 

Spain
Fifth title

Superfinal final standings
Pos Team Notes Qualification
1 SpainEBSL Champions Qualified to 2006 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup
2 PortugalRunners-up
3 PolandThird place
4 Italy
5 Ukraine
6 France

Last chance bracket
Main article: 2006 Euro Beach Soccer League – Last chance bracket

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.[5] Played as a knockout tournament, parallel to the staging of the Superfinal, France won the event and claimed the final World Cup spot.

Sources
  1. "Spain back among the best". fifa.com. 28 August 2006. Retrieved 5 August 2017.
  2. "France on the road to Rio". fifa.com. 27 August 2006. Retrieved 5 August 2017.
  3. "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.
  4. "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.
  5. "France, Ukraine live up to star billing". fifa.com. 26 August 2006. Retrieved 5 August 2017.
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