Meet the Futsal Champions League finalists: Palma vs Sporting CP
Friday, May 5, 2023
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Hosts Mallorca Palma Futsal face Sporting CP in Sunday's final. We introduce the contenders.
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Hosts Mallorca Palma Futsal face Sporting CP in Sunday's UEFA Futsal Champions League final at Velòdrom Illes Balears-Mallorca on Sunday.
Mallorca hope to join the list of teams to win on debut, and keep up Spain's dominance of this competition. Sporting, meanwhile, are in a sixth final in seven years and aim to be the first non-Spanish side to claim three titles.
Mallorca 2023
Friday 5 May
Semi-finals:
Sporting CP 7-1 Sporting Anderlecht Futsal
Mallorca Palma Futsal 4-3 Benfica
Sunday 7 May
Third-place play-off:
Benfica vs Anderlecht (17:00)
Final:
Palma vs Sporting CP (20:00)
All kick-off times CET
Mallorca Palma Futsal (hosts)
Road to the final
Main round Group 1 winners (W11-5 vs Sporting Paris, D2-2 vs Kairat Almaty, D2-2 vs Sporting Anderlecht Futsal)
Elite round Group B winners (W8-2 vs Dobovec, W5-0 vs Piast Gliwice, W2-1 vs Novo Vrijeme Makarska)
Semi-final: W4-3 vs Benfica
Top scorer: Hossein Tayebi 7
Previous best: Debut European season
In brief: Squad includes Mario Rivillos, a 2017 winner and 2016 runners-up with Inter FS as well as 2018 bronze-medallist with Barça. Palma have never won a major title, having been last season's Spanish league runners-up and 2015/16 Copa del Rey finalists, but neither had Ekaterinburg when they claimed the European crown in 2007/08.
Sporting CP
Road to the final
Main round Group 2 winners (W5-3 vs Futsal Pula, W7-1 vs Ayat, W7-0 vs Novo Vrijeme Makarska)
Elite round Group A winners (W4-2 vs Loznica-Grad 2018, W4-2 vs Uragan Ivano-Frankivsk, W5-0 vs Città di Eboli)
Semi-final: W7-1 vs Anderlecht
Top scorers: Neves 7
Previous best: winners (2019, 2021)
2021/22: runners-up (L0-4 vs Barça)
In brief: Now in the final for the sixth time in seven years, with a squad containing the core of the side who won UEFA Futsal EURO 2018 and 2022, the 2021 FIFA Futsal World Cup and 2022 Futsal Finalissima with Portugal.
Previous finals
2022: L0-4 vs Barça (Riga)
2021: W4-3 vs Barça (Zadar)
2019: W2-1 vs Kairat (Almaty)
2018: L2-5 vs Inter FS (Zaragoza)
2017: L0-7 vs Inter FS (Almaty)
2011: L2-5 vs Montesilvano (Almaty)