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2001 Euro Beach Soccer League

Tournament details
Dates	1 June – 2 September
Teams	8 (from 1 confederation)
Venue(s)	7 (in 7 host cities)
Final positions
Champions	Spain (3rd title)
Runners-up	Portugal
Third place	Italy
Fourth place	France
Tournament statistics
Matches played	40
Goals scored	441 (11.03 per match)
Top scorer(s)	Madjer
Best player(s)	Amarelle
Best goalkeeper	Roberto Valeiro
← 2000 2002 →

The 2001 Euro Beach Soccer League, was the fourth edition of the Euro Beach Soccer League (EBSL), the premier beach soccer competition contested between European men's national teams, known as the European Pro Beach Soccer League at the time, occurring annually since its establishment in 1998. The league was organised by Beach Soccer Worldwide (BSWW) between June 1 and September 2, 2001 in seven different nations across Europe.

This season, whilst the teams remained part of one overall cohort, they were split into two groups. Meanwhile, the concept of a regular season and post-season system was introduced. Each team competed in their respective group to try and earn a place in the season-finale and title-deciding event, the Superfinal.

Spain entered the competition as two-time defending champions and successfully defended their title, to win their third European crown.

The league also doubled as the qualification process for the 2002 Beach Soccer World Championship. The nations finishing in first, second and third place qualified.

Format changes

In 2001, BSWW introduced major changes to the EBSL. No longer would the stages of fixtures be played as small knockout tournaments; this was changed to having the stages played in a round robin format, with the results tallied up in a table to determine the winners of the stage. The bonus points awarded in previous years for being stage winners and runners-up was also scrapped. Teams now earned points for the league table solely on match wins.

2001 also saw the introduction of the famous Superfinal play-off event, seen in every edition since. The league champions were no longer to be determined after all the stages were complete based on the league table. The league would now be split into a regular season and post-season system. It was decided from this edition forward, the teams with the most points at end of the regular season stages of fixtures are to qualify for the newly founded post-season playoff event to be known as the Superfinal in which the title is then to be contested directly. The winner of the Superfinal then becomes league champions.

Teams

This season 8 nations took part in the Euro Beach Soccer League whom were and were distributed as follows.

Superfinal berths

For the inaugural Superfinal, there were four berths available to the top four teams with the most points in the league at the end of the regular season, after all the stages of fixtures were complete. This successful quartet advanced to the season-finale playoff event to contest for the league title. The table summarises in what positions nations needed to finish in their respective groups in order to qualify to the Superfinal.

Allocations:

The groups were seen as being on an equal footing in terms of the distribution of the quality of the teams between the two and so both were allocated two of the four berths to reflect this. The winners and runner-up of both groups qualified for the Superfinal.

Group A

Group A consisted of three rounds of fixtures known as stages, hosted in three of the four countries participating; France, Spain and England. The remaining Group A nation, Switzerland, did not host a stage. All four teams took part in each. In each stage, the teams played each other once. The nation who earned the most points at the end of the stage was crowned stage winners.

At the end of the three stages all results were tallied up in a final league table.

Stage 1

The first stage took place in Hyde Park, London, England. Spain commenced their EBSL campaign with a stage crown.

Matches 22 June 2001 England  8–6   Switzerland Spain  9–6  France 23 June 2001 England  3–6  Spain France  7–1   Switzerland 24 June 2001 England  2–10  France Switzerland  6–6 (a.e.t.) 0–1 (pens.)  Spain

Final standings Pos Team Pld W W+ L GF GA GD Pts 1  Spain 3 2 1 0 21 15 +6 8 2  France 3 2 0 1 23 12 +11 6 3  England 3 1 0 2 13 22 –9 3 4   Switzerland 3 0 0 3 13 21 –8 0 Awards Best player: Eric Cantona Top scorer(s): Amarelle (8 goals) Best goalkeeper: Roberto Valeiro

Stage 2

The second stage took place in Marseille, France. The Spanish won a second consecutive stage.

Matches 6 July 2001 France  6–4   Switzerland Spain  13–5  England 7 July 2001 France  15–3  England Spain  6–1   Switzerland 8 July 2001 France  6–7  Spain Switzerland  8–5  England

Final standings Pos Team Pld W W+ L GF GA GD Pts 1  Spain 3 3 0 0 26 12 +14 9 2  France 3 2 0 1 27 14 +13 6 3   Switzerland 3 1 0 2 13 17 –4 3 4  England 3 0 0 3 13 36 –23 0 Awards Best player: Thierry Ottavy Top scorer(s): Amarelle (12 goals) Best goalkeeper: Roberto Valeiro

Stage 3

The third stage took place in Málaga, Spain. Spain's victory in the final round meant a clean sweep of all three stage titles for the hosts.

Matches 3 August 2001 Switzerland  3–8  France Spain  11–0  England 4 August 2001 France  13–5  England Switzerland  2–5  Spain 5 August 2001 England  6–5 (a.e.t.)   Switzerland France  5–7  Spain

Final standings Pos Team Pld W W+ L GF GA GD Pts 1  Spain 3 3 0 0 23 7 +16 9 2  France 3 2 0 1 26 15 +11 6 3  England 3 0 1 2 11 29 –18 2 4   Switzerland 3 0 0 3 10 19 –9 0 Awards Best player: Amarelle Top scorer(s): Amarelle (9 goals) Best goalkeeper: Roberto Valeiro

Final table

The top two teams qualified to the Superfinal. The remaining nations in third and fourth place exited this season's EBSL.

Spain were crowned decisive winners of the group, finishing the three stages without loss. They earned a place in the Superfinal alongside runners-up France. England and Switzerland were left far adrift of the Superfinal qualification spots.

Pos	Team	Pld	W	W+	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Spain	9	8	1	0	70	34	+36	26	Advance to Superfinal
2	France	9	6	0	3	76	41	+35	18
3	England	9	1	1	7	37	87	–50	5
4	Switzerland	9	1	0	8	36	57	–21	3

Group B

Group B also consisted of three rounds of fixtures known as stages, hosted in three of the four countries participating; Portugal, the Republic of Ireland and Italy. The remaining Group B nation, Germany, did not host a stage. All four teams took part in each. In each stage, the teams played each other once. The nation who earned the most points at the end of the stage was crowned stage winners.

At the end of the three stages all results were tallied up in a final league table.

Stage 1

The first stage took place in Dublin, Ireland. Portugal won the first stage of Group B.

Matches 1 June 2001 Republic of Ireland  1–8  Portugal Germany  4–4 (a.e.t.) 1–2 (pens.)  Italy 2 June 2001 Republic of Ireland  4–6  Italy Portugal  3–1  Germany 3 June 2001 Republic of Ireland  4–6  Germany Portugal  5–3  Italy

Final standings Pos Team Pld W W+ L GF GA GD Pts 1  Portugal 3 3 0 0 16 5 +11 9 2  Italy 3 1 1 1 13 13 0 5 3  Germany 3 1 0 2 11 11 0 3 4  Rep. of Ireland 3 0 0 3 9 20 –11 0 Awards Best player: Tommy Coyne Top scorer(s): Madjer (11 goals) Best goalkeeper: Zé Miguel

Stage 2

The second stage took place in Carcavelos, Portugal. The Portuguese won a second consecutive stage.

Matches 15 June 2001 Italy  6–5  Germany Portugal  6–1  Republic of Ireland 16 June 2001 Republic of Ireland  1–4  Italy Portugal  7–1  Germany 17 June 2001 Germany  8–3  Republic of Ireland Portugal  6–3  Italy

Final standings Pos Team Pld W W+ L GF GA GD Pts 1  Portugal 3 3 0 0 19 5 +14 9 2  Italy 3 2 0 1 13 12 +1 6 3  Germany 3 1 0 2 14 16 –2 3 4  Rep. of Ireland 3 0 0 3 5 18 –13 0 Awards Best player: Madjer Top scorer(s): Madjer (6 goals) Best goalkeeper: Danilo Pagani

Stage 3

The third stage took place in Riccione, Italy. Portugal won the third and final stage crown ensuring they were the victors of all three.

Matches 24 August 2001 Italy  10–0  Republic of Ireland Portugal  7–1  Germany 25 August 2001 Italy  5–4  Germany Portugal  22–1  Republic of Ireland 26 August 2001 Germany  5–3  Republic of Ireland Italy  5–12  Portugal

Final standings Pos Team Pld W W+ L GF GA GD Pts 1  Portugal 3 3 0 0 41 7 +34 9 2  Italy 3 2 0 1 20 16 +4 6 3  Germany 3 1 0 2 10 15 –5 3 4  Rep. of Ireland 3 0 0 3 4 37 –33 0 Awards Best player: Daniele Massaro Top scorer(s): Madjer (18 goals) Best goalkeeper: Zé Miguel

Final table

The top two teams from qualified to the Superfinal. The remaining nations in third and fourth place exited this season's EBSL.

Portugal dominated the group and were crowned winners, finishing without dropping a single point. They earned a place in the Superfinal alongside runners-up Italy. Germany and the Republic of Ireland finished well off the pace of the Superfinal qualifiers.

Pos	Team	Pld	W	W+	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Portugal	9	9	0	0	76	17	+59	27	Advance to Superfinal
2	Italy	9	5	1	3	46	41	+5	17
3	Germany	9	3	0	6	35	42	–7	9
4	Rep. of Ireland	9	0	0	9	18	75	–57	0

Superfinal

Qualified teams

This is a summary of the teams who qualified for the Superfinal.

#	Team	Group	Round entered
1	Spain	A	Semi-finals
2	France
3	Portugal	B
4	Italy

Results

• Dates: 1–2 September 2001
• Location: Monte Carlo, Monaco

This season the inaugural Superfinal was played as a straight knockout tournament. All four teams contesting the title started in the semi-finals. The teams played one match per round until the final when the winner of the 2001 Euro Beach Soccer League was crowned. The losers of the semi-finals played in a third place play-off match to decide third and fourth place in the final league placements.

The format of the semi-finals saw the winners of Group A play the runners-up of Group B and the winners of Group B play the runners-up of Group A.

	Semi-finals					Final
	A1	Spain	8
	B2	Italy	4
						A1	Spain	3
						B1	Portugal	2
	A2	France	6
	B1	Portugal	8			Third place play-off
						B2	Italy	9
						A2	France	7

Semi-finals

Spain	8–4	Italy
Setien Beñat Salinas Amarelle	Report	Vierchowod Albore Ganz Soldà

Portugal	8–6	France
Hernâni Madjer Alan Barraca	Report	Marquet Ferhaoui Cantona Ottavy

Third place play-off

France	7–9	Italy
Bonora Santini Ottavy Di Fraya Jairzinho Fournier	Report	Ganz Massaro Soldà Fruzetti Vierchowod

Championship final

Spain	3–2	Portugal
Setien Amarelle	Report	Madjer Alan

Winners

2001 Euro Beach Soccer League champions
Spain Third title

Awards

Best player: Amarelle

Top scorer(s): Madjer (5 goals)

Best goalkeeper: Roberto Valeiro

Final standings

Spain beat Portugal in the final to extend their run of two successive Euro Beach Soccer League titles, to three, at just their fourth attempt.

Finishing in the top three positions also earned those nations qualification straight into the upcoming World Cup.

Pos	Team	Notes	Qualification
1	Spain	EBSL Champions	Qualified to 2002 Beach Soccer World Championship
2	Portugal	Runners-up
3	Italy	Third place
4	France
5	Germany
6	England
7	Switzerland
8	Republic of Ireland

Notes

1. It can be confirmed that when combining the full-time result and penalty shootout result of this game into one single cumulative scoreline, the result was 6–5. However be aware of the breakdown of the scoreline into its separate full-time and shootout results as shown – these individual scores cannot be comprehensively validated and may potentially be incorrect.

Sources

1. "Calendar – September 2001". beachsoccer.com. September 2001. Archived from the original on 16 September 2001. Retrieved 7 April 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
2. "Spain is the champion of the EPBSL 2001". beachsoccer.com. 2 September 2001. Archived from the original on 27 June 2002. Retrieved 7 April 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
3. "LIGA EUROPEIA: PORTUGAL PERDE (3-2) COM ESPANHA NA FINAL" (in Portuguese). record.pt. 2 September 2002. Retrieved 2 April 2017.
4. ^ "Mundial 2002" (in Portuguese). beachsoccerbrasil.com.br. Archived from the original on 24 November 2002. Retrieved 7 April 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
5. ^ "EPBSL 2001-To Begin June 1 in Dublin". beachsoccer.com. 23 May 2001. Archived from the original on 29 March 2002. Retrieved 7 April 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
6. "2001 - Stage 3 - London - U.K. - 22 to 24, June". Beach Soccer Worldwide. Archived from the original on 24 February 2002. Retrieved 24 February 2002.
7. "2001 - Stage 4 - Marseille - FRANCE - 6 to 8, July". Beach Soccer Worldwide. Archived from the original on 24 February 2002. Retrieved 24 February 2002.
8. "2001 - Stage 5 - Malaga - SPAIN - 3 to 5, August". Beach Soccer Worldwide. Archived from the original on 20 February 2002. Retrieved 24 February 2002.
9. "2001 - Stage 1 - Dublin - IRELAND - 1 to 3, June". Beach Soccer Worldwide. Archived from the original on 22 April 2002. Retrieved 22 April 2002.
10. "2001 - Stage 2 - Costa do Estoril- PORTUGAL - 15 to 17, June". Beach Soccer Worldwide. Archived from the original on 22 April 2002. Retrieved 22 April 2002.
11. "2001 - Stage 6 - Riccione - ITALY - 24 to 26, August". Beach Soccer Worldwide. Archived from the original on 24 February 2002. Retrieved 24 February 2002.
12. "Portugal wins the Italian tournament". beachsoccer.com. 26 August 2001. Archived from the original on 29 March 2002. Retrieved 7 April 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
13. "2001 - Stage 7 - Monte Carlo- MONACO - 1-2 , September". Beach Soccer Worldwide. Archived from the original on 24 February 2002. Retrieved 24 February 2002.

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