World United FC of Mountain View managed to
clinch the Men's Division of the 2001 California State
Cup on a come-from-behind victory over its new
arch-rivals, MACSA of San Jose. Brilliantly coached by Vavá
Marques, who is also the assistant coach of the US
National team, the new generation of the World United FC
was able to set the tempo on the rematch of the 2001
National Championships of Las Vegas. <br><br>MACSA's first
goal was a beautiful header by Fabian Garza on a
throw-pass from goalkeeper Epinino Garcia. World United FC
tied with a goal by Alex Ferreira, excellent forward
transferred from Di Bufala SC. Vicente Figueroa - what a
skillful player - put MACSA once again ahead and a minute
later Cleverson Pereira equalized, bringing concern to
MACSA fans and joy to his team’s fans. <br><br>On the
following minutes, until the end of the game, the new
generation demonstrated the greatest Futsal moments ever
seen in the US. The movements off the ball into the
open space; the quickness and precision of the passes;
the set-plays, orchestrated over and over again by
both teams; the tactical discipline and the
concentration needed to surf* and defend person-to-person; and
the enthusiasm of the players, causing positive
vibration on the fans of both teams, made history on April
29 at the Alameda Naval Base Gymnasium. With a few
minutes to the end of the regulation time, Cleverson
Pereira, putting in practice the theory of the extra
pass** faked the shot and found Adriano Soares open, in
front of the goal. Adriano just knocked it in and ran
to celebrate with his teammates.<br><br>This made
clear who the best teams in the nation are at this
moment, MACSA and World United FC, in whichever order one
may prefer. The Professional Futsal League has a
bright future ahead, if the level of the players is
going to be close to the one seen at this State
Championship. Also, the US National Team finally has a place to
find their future stars, with the promise that this is
just the beginning of the Futsal renovation in the US.
<br><br>To illustrate this, just look at the work MACSA is
doing in the Silicon Valley. They were present in every
division of this year's State Cup. Not only that, they
took a medal home in every division:<br>Gold and
Silver in the U-12 Boys;<br>Gold in the U-14 Boys -
Silver to Santa Rosa Galaxy;<br>Silver in the U-14 Girls
- Gold to Tracy Boys & Girls Club
Hericanes;<br>Silver in the U-16 Boys - Gold to Santa Rosa
Aztecs;<br>Gold in the U-19 Boys - Silver to San Francisco Boys &
Girls Club;<br>Gold in the U-19 Girls - Silver to World
United FC; and<br>Silver in the Open Men's Division -
Gold to World United FC.<br><br>*Surf is Futsal jargon
used when a player bends his/her knees (as in surfer's
position), keeps his/her eyes on the ball and moves
(side-to-side and back-and-forth) to defend against an
opponent.<br>** The theory of the extra pass states that at
times, instead of taking an obvious shot at goal, the
player will find an open teammate in a better position
to score.