REGISTER YOUR TEAM FOR 2010
 REGISTRATIONS FOR FESTIVALS IN 2010 NOW OPEN!
Registrations to The Beach Soccer Championship Festivals in Southern California are now open. Come to one or both and experience Beach Soccer at its best. For both Festivals, players of all ages and abilities will fight it out for the Champion of the Beach. The registration fee for both Festivals includes FREE access to the beach stadium to watch the pros play and the very popular FREE Friday night skills clinic - taught by professional beach soccer players and led by US Men's National Team Coach Eddie Soto.
Oceanside CA - Last year, we had to turn away almost forty teams and we expect to sell out again this year. On the professional side, Senegal returns to defend its crown, with returning US Team and newcomer Japan attempting to knock Senegal off the awards stage. Don't Miss It!! Click here to Register for Oceanside
Long Beach CA - We are pleased to bring the Beach Soccer Festival to and have secured a partnership with a City that has beautiful beaches and many attractions. The stadium will be first class and we are close to announcing several high profile professional teams. Click here to Register for Long Beach
BRAZIL LIFTS THE BEACH SOCCER WORLD CUP TROPHY FOR 4th TIME
In November 2009, Dubai hosted the top 16 Beach Soccer National teams in the World. Many players from these top countries will be playing at our Beach Soccer Festivals in 2010.
 The Beach Soccer Championships provides you an overview of the very exciting World Cup matches that had featured semi final matches of Uruguay vs Switzerland, Portugal vs Brazil and ending with Brazil beating Switzerland 10:5 to win the 2009 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup for a 4th consecutive time.
THE GROUP REVIEW
Group A
(Uruguay - Portugal - UAE - Solomon Islands)
Three time semi-finalist Uruguay made its life hard by losing an opening round game 7:6 to Solomon Islands. The first two periods, Las Charruas appeared nervous and the Bilikiki Boys from Soloman Islands couldn’t miss. In the third period, Uruguay scored four goals in three minutes. Although unable to win this match, the third period proved crucial as Uruguay was able to carry their great play into a must win game against Portugal which they won 2-1. The host nation had an opportunity to beat Portugal, but the UAE was unable to hold onto a 5:2 third period lead, losing to Portugal 7:5. Uruguay ended on top of Group A with Portugal second.
Group B
(Japan - Spain - Ivory Coast - El Salvador)
Japan, led by Brazilian Coach Ruy Ramos, revenged a loss last year to Amarelle-less Spain by winning on penalties 3:2 after this exciting match ended 5:5. Amarelle, the European Champion’s Captain, was injured and did not play. Next, the ‘Land of the Rising Sun’ continued to showcase its resolve and excellent teamwork by scoring two goals in the third period to beat Ivory Coast 3:2 and secure the top spot in Group B. Spain struggled through group play, but the return of Amarelle in its second game proved crucial to securing the groups runner up spot.
Group C
(Russia - Italy - Argentina - Costa Rica)
Russia was tested in its second match by Italy after cruising past Costa Rica 5:1. The Italians led 1:0 going into the third period, but the Russian onslaught of shots proved fruitful and the game ended 3:1 for Russia. Argentina was involved in two penalty shootouts and was on the right side of one of them. The one lost to Italy proved to be the nail in the coffin as the tiebreaker had Italy moving on to the next round.
 Group D
(Brazil - Switzerland - Nigeria - Bahrain)
A last minute goal broke a 5:5 tie with Bahrain and secured Switzerland’s first win. Dajan Stankovic, Swiss’s flashy goal scorer, with two goals against Bahrain, then added four goals to power Switzerland to a 7:2 win against Nigeria. Brazil won its first two games to meet Switzerland in the final group stage game. With both teams qualified for the second round, there was still much to play for as the winner would forego a quarterfinal meeting against the dangerous Russian side. In the last five minutes of the game, the Brazilians turned their 42 to 28 shots-on-goal advantage in their favor, scoring two goals to break a 2:2 tie to win 4:2.
The Quarterfinals
Switzerland vs Russia (4:2) – The teams produced 75 shots on goal and this was another great show by Dejan Stankovic who had a hat trick in the win.
Portugal vs Japan (2:1) – Japan could not turn an 11 to 2 corner kick advantage in its favor and it was punished by the talented Belchoir who scored in the final minute on a free kick to break a 1:1 tie and move Portugal to the semifinals.
Brazil vs Italy (6:4) – The finalists from Marseille 2008 met and the game was 5:4 until the final minute when Buru from Brazil put the game out of reach. Roberto Pasquali from Italy was impressive with four goals.
 Uruguay vs Spain (3:2) - Ricar had two goals with one in extra time to move Uruguay to another Semi-Final.
The Semi-Finals
Switzerland vs Uruguay (7:4) – Dejan Stankovic scored four goals and this game was never in reach for Uruguay.
Brazil vs Portugal (8:2) – Portugal was looking to repeat the 2005 Semifinal when they beat Brazil in penalty kicks. The Brazilians were having none of it and led 6:1 to start the third period.
The Finals
Brazil vs Switzerland (10:5) – The game was 8:1 at the end of the second period and Dejan Stankovic was kept under wraps by the Brazilians scoring an unimportant goal in the final minute of the game. For Sidney, Benjamin, Mao, Betinho, Andre and Buru, it was their fourth World Cup final and Title.
Third Place Game
Portugal vs Uruguay (14:7) – No defense was played as 86 shots produced 21 goals – 10 of them in a 12 minute timeframe- in the highest scoring game in Beach Soccer World Cup history. Madjer notched seven goals, breaking the record for number of goals by a player in a game.
Top Honors
Mao from Brazil earned the Adidas Golden Glove award for being the best goalkeeper. Dejan Stankovic from Switzerland was voted the Most Valuable Player with Madjer from Portugal coming in second. These two were also one/two for the Golden Shoe with Stankovic scoring 16 and Madjer scoring 13 throughout the week in Dubai.
What’s Next?
The Beach Soccer World Cup moves from an annual event to being held every two years. Many players are making pleas to various beach soccer organizations. One was from Madjer, "I hope they take on the responsibility of organizing beach soccer tournaments until the next World Cup comes around. This sport isn’t like football and we need competitions to stay in shape and keep improving."
To learn more about the 2009 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup, the teams, and players please go to www.fifa.com/beachsoccerworldcup.
Marc Koehler can be reached at marc@beachsoccerUSA.org. (760) 473-8329. To learn more about The Beach Soccer Championships, a tour of Beach Soccer Festivals in the USA for youth, adults, and professionals, please visit www.beachsoccerUSA.org
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