The 2014 Euro Beach Soccer League (EBSL) is an annual European competition in beach soccer. The competitions allows national teams to compete in beach soccer in a league format over the summer months. Each season ends with a Superfinal, deciding the competition winner.
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 20 June – 17 August |
| Teams | 24 (from 1 confederation) |
| Venue(s) | 5 (in 5 host cities) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  Russia (4th title) |
| Runners-up |  Spain |
| Third place |  Portugal |
| Fourth place |  Switzerland |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Top scorer(s) | Llorenç (ESP) and Peremitin (RUS) |
| Best player(s) | Noel Ott (SUI) |
| Best goalkeeper | Jesús Donaire (ESP) |
This season, there were twelve teams each participating in two divisions in each stage that faced each other in a round-robin system. Division A consisted of the 12 top teams in Europe based on the BSWW European Ranking. Division B consisted of 12 of the lower ranked teams and new entries to the competition. Each division has its own regulations and competition format.
The competition was used as qualifying event for the 2015 European Games. The top three teams from each group in the Superfinal qualified. The top team from the Promotional Finals, excluding the 12th team from Division A, also qualified. Azerbaijan were automatically qualified as hosts.[1]
During the season, FIFA's Amendments to the Beach Soccer Laws of the Game – 2014 came into effect. This involved such changes as only awarding one point for a penalty shootout win (compared to two points previously) and instead of penalty shootouts being sudden death from the outset, both sides will take three penalty kicks each before sudden death rules come into use.[2]
Calendar edit
| Dates | City | Country | Stage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20–22 June | Catania |  Italy |
Stage 1 |
| 27–29 June | Sopot |  Poland |
Stage 2 |
| 11–13 July | Moscow | Russia |
Stage 3 |
| 8–10 August | Siófok |  Hungary |
Stage 4 |
| 14–17 August | Torredembarra | Spain |
Superfinal and Promotion Final |
Teams edit
| DIVISION A | DIVISION B | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Belarus
|
Italy
|
Russia
|
 Andorra
|
 Czech Republic
|
 Kazakhstan
| |
 France
|
 Netherlands
|
Spain
|
 Austria
|
 England
|
 Moldova
| |
 Germany
|
Poland
|
Switzerland
|
 Azerbaijan
|
 Estonia
|
 Norway
| |
 Greece
|
Portugal
|
 Ukraine
|
 Bulgaria
|
Hungary
|
 Turkey
| |
Stage 1 (Catania, 20–22 June) edit
| Stage winners |
Division A edit
Group 1 edit
|
Group 2 edit
|
Schedule and results edit
| Italy | 6 – 2 | Netherlands |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
| Germany | 2 – 4 | Switzerland |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
| Switzerland | 6 – 5 | Belarus |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
| Russia | 3 – 4 | Netherlands |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
| Switzerland | 11 – 3 | Poland |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
| Netherlands | 3 – 5 | France |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
Individual Awards edit
MVP: Noël Ott
Top scorer: Noël Ott (11 goals)
Best goalkeeper: Sasha Penke
Source:[3]
Stage 2 (Sopot, 27–29 June) edit
| Stage winners |
Division A edit
Group 1 edit
|
Group 2 edit
|
Schedule and results edit
| Switzerland | 3 – 7 | France |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
| Portugal | 3 – 1 | Netherlands |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
| Switzerland | 6 – 6 (a.e.t.) | Ukraine |
|---|---|---|
| Report | ||
| Penalties | ||
| 1 – 2 | ||
| Poland | 5 – 3 | Netherlands |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
| Netherlands | 1 – 5 | Greece |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
| Switzerland | 8 – 3 | Spain |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
Individual Awards edit
MVP: Witold Ziober
Top scorer: Llorenç Gómez (7 goals)
Best goalkeeper: Nuno Hidalgo
Source:[4]
Stage 3 (Moscow, 11–13 July) edit
| Stage winners (Div. A) | |
| Stage winners (Div. B) |
Division A edit
| Team | Pld | W | W+ | WP | L | GF | GA | +/- | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Russia
|
3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 5 | +8 | 6 |
| Spain
|
3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 5 | +6 | 6 |
| Belarus
|
3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 11 | 0 | 6 |
| Greece
|
3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 19 | –14 | 0 |
Division B edit
| Team | Pld | W | W+ | WP | L | GF | GA | +/- | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Estonia
|
3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 6 | +5 | 6 |
| Azerbaijan
|
3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 5 | +3 | 6 |
| Moldova
|
3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 14 | –4 | 3 |
| Kazakhstan
|
3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 10 | –4 | 1 |
Schedule and results edit
| Azerbaijan | 3 – 1 | Kazakhstan |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
| Estonia | 2 – 1 | Azerbaijan |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
| Kazakhstan | 3 – 5 | Moldova |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
| Moldova | 2 – 4 | Azerbaijan |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
| Kazakhstan | 2 – 2 (a.e.t.) | Estonia |
|---|---|---|
| Report | ||
| Penalties | ||
| 3 – 2 | ||
Individual Awards edit
MVP: Aleksey Makarov
Top scorer: Ihar Bryshtel, Aleksey Makarov (4 goals)
Best goalkeeper: Dona
Source:[5]
Stage 4 (Siófok, 8–10 August) edit
| Stage winners (Div. A) | |
| Stage winners (Div. B) |
Division A edit
| Team | Pld | W | W+ | WP | L | GF | GA | +/- | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ukraine
|
3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 12 | +1 | 6 |
| Portugal
|
3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 11 | +2 | 4 |
| Italy
|
3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 18 | 17 | +1 | 2 |
| Germany
|
3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 12 | 16 | –4 | 1 |
Division B edit
Group 1 edit
|
Group 2 edit
|
Schedule and results edit
| Czech Republic | 7 – 3 | England |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
| Czech Republic | 7 – 2 | Andorra |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
| Hungary | 5 – 5 | Czech Republic |
|---|---|---|
| Report | ||
| Penalties | ||
| 6 – 5 | ||
Individual Awards edit
MVP: Roman Pachev
Top scorer: Gabriele Gori (9 goals)
Best goalkeeper: Stefano Spada
Source:[6]
Cumulative standings edit
The eight best placed teams in Division A (including stage winners and hosts), in which each team played two stages, qualified for the Superfinal. The qualifiers for the Promotion Final were the winners and runners-up in each Division B stage, the best 3rd place team from all of the Division B events, and the last placed team in Division A.
| Team advanced to Superfinal | |
| Team advanced to Promotional Final |
Ranking & tie-breaking criteria: Division A – 1. Points earned 2. Goal difference 3. Goals scored | Division B – 1. Points earned 2. Highest stage placement 3. Goal difference 4. Goals scored.
Division A edit
|
Division B edit
|
Finals (Torredembarra, 14–17 August) edit
The top three teams from each group in the Superfinal qualified for the 2015 European Games in Baku. The top team from the Promotional Final, excluding the 12th team from Division A, also qualified. Azerbaijan was automatically qualified as host country.
Division A (Superfinal) edit
| clinched Championship Final |
Group 1 Standings edit
|
Group 2 Standings edit
|
Group stage results edit
All kickoff times are of local time in Torredembarra (UTC+02:00).
| Germany | 0 – 7 | Switzerland |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
| Switzerland | 5 – 3 | Ukraine |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
| Switzerland | 2 – 8 | Spain |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
Play-off results edit
Seventh-place Match edit
| Belarus | 3 – 3 | Germany |
|---|---|---|
| Report | ||
| Penalties | ||
| 9 – 8 | ||
Fifth-place Match edit
| Ukraine | 2 – 2 | Italy |
|---|---|---|
| Report | ||
| Penalties | ||
| 4 – 5 | ||
Third-place Match edit
| Switzerland | 2 – 6 | Portugal |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
Championship final Match edit
| Spain | 3 – 4 | Russia |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
Individual Awards edit
- MVP:
Noël Ott - Top scorer:
Anatoliy Peremitin, 
Llorenç Gómez (7 goals) - Best goalkeeper: Dona
Source:[7]
Final Division A Standing edit
| Rank | Team |
|---|---|
| 1 | Russia
|
| 2 | Spain
|
| 3 | Portugal
|
| 4 | Switzerland
|
| 5 | Italy
|
| 6 | Ukraine
|
| 7 | Belarus
|
| 8 | Germany
|
Division B (Promotional Final) edit
| clinched Promotional Final |
Group 1 Standings edit
|
Group 2 Standings edit
|
Group stage results edit
All kickoff times are of local time in Torredembarra (UTC+02:00).
| Czech Republic | 2 – 6 | Azerbaijan |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
| Czech Republic | 3 – 2 (a.e.t.) | Bulgaria |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
| Poland | 6 – 1 | Azerbaijan |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
| Azerbaijan | 7 – 2 | Bulgaria |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
| Poland | 4 – 1 | Czech Republic |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
Play-off results edit
Seventh-place Match edit
| Bulgaria | 5 – 4 | Estonia |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
Fifth-place Match edit
| Czech Republic | 6 – 4 | England |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
Third-place Match edit
| Azerbaijan | 5 – 3 | Turkey |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
Promotion Final edit
| Hungary | 6 – 4 | Poland |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
Final Division B Standing edit
| Rank | Team | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hungary |
Promoted Division A |
| 2 | Poland |
Relegated Division B1 |
| 3 | Azerbaijan |
Stay Division B |
| 4 | Turkey
| |
| 5 | Czech Republic
| |
| 6 | England
| |
| 7 | Bulgaria
| |
| 8 | Estonia
|
- 1. The Netherlands, a Division A side, did not enter the following year's EBSL in 2015. To ensure 12 teams in the top division in 2015 as normal, BSWW retrospectively awarded promotion to the runners-up of the 2014 Promotion Final as well as the winners, in the lead up to the start of the 2015 season. The runners-up happened to be the relegated side, Poland, who ultimately did not see relegation materialise for this reason and continued to compete in Division A.
Sources edit
References edit
- ^ European Season 2014 revealed!
- ^ FIFA.com
- ^ "Switzerland and Italy claim head of groups". Beach Soccer Worldwide. 22 June 2014. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
- ^ "Portugal, champions of the EBSL Sopot 2014!". Beach Soccer Worldwide. 29 June 2014. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
- ^ "Обыграв Испанию с "нужным" счетом, "красная машина" выигрывает домашний этап Евролиги..." BeachSoccer.Ru (in Russian). 13 July 2014. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
- ^ "Победа Украины на венгерском этапе отправляет Россию в группу к Португалии, Италии и Беларуси…". BeachSoccer.Ru (in Russian). 10 August 2014. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
- ^ "Russia crowned Europe's best again!". Beach Soccer Worldwide. 17 August 2014. Retrieved 12 July 2022.