Barcelona seal first Spanish futsal title

FC Barcelona are celebrating their first División de Honor title after winning the five-match final series against Caja Segovia FS.

Sunday's 3-2 victory in the decisive game with Segovia rounds off an incredible campaign for Barcelona, who also picked up the Copa de España and Copa del Rey titles earlier this year. They can now look forward to competing in the UEFA Futsal Cup for the first time.

The Azulgrana had finished the regular season top of the standings, before defeating Navarra FS and Lobelle de Santiago in the quarter and semi-final play-off ties. With the title-deciding series against Segovia locked at two wins each, a record crowd of almost 8,000 turned out at the Palau Blagrana to witness the finale to the league season.

The majority of those spectators were soon celebrating after Saad's powerful left-footed strike put the hosts ahead. Carlos made it 2-0 after 19 minutes before Esquerdinha halved the deficit for the visiting side. Fernandao restored Barcelona's two-goal lead after the restart and although Segovia goalkeeper Cidao responded, it was not enough to prevent Marc Carmona's side from claiming the title.

Barcelona winger Lin summed up the ecstatic mood in the camp. "If I had to rate it, then my mark for the season would definitely be a ten," he said. "We've made a little bit of history here and I'm so happy with what we have achieved; we've done it in the best way possible."

The club's futsal section was only formed 25 years ago and they have gradually moved up the rankings, eventually gaining promotion to the top flight in 2006. "Our supporters really helped us a lot," Lin added. "The way in which they got behind us was spectacular and for that we can only offer them our thanks. We played a great final series where we put in five solid performances and I think in the end we deserved it."

After finishing above the traditional powerhouses of the domestic game, Interviú Madrid and ElPozo Murcia FS, Lin and his team-mates can now look forward to playing in a competition where Spanish teams have enjoyed plenty of success – the UEFA Futsal Cup. "First let's get through the summer," the 25-year-old cautioned. "After that we'll see what we can do but I think we must remain calm when the time comes for us to compete in that tournament."