Russian Cup finished with a flurry of goals in Sochi as a St. Petersburg Derby on October 4th saw Kristall hoist the Cup
Kristall overcame their bitter rival Zolotoi on the 4th of October in a thrilling final which capped a fantastic year for the Orange and Black. The Russian National League and its many competitive tournaments have been at the forefront of the beach soccer world for years now, as the two FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup championships for the Russian National Selection, in 2011 and 2013, are proof. The tradition has more than been carried on, with help of the Russian Cup from September 25th until the final on October 4th. The Cup began with two group stages, followed by the play-offs and quarterfinals, then the semi-finals, and lastly the final, which pitted Kristall against Zolotoi.
The first Group Stage 18 teams, 22 teams participated in the Cup but the top-4 teams from the Superfinal of the Superleague joined in the second Group Stage, and it occurred from September 25th until the 27th with the two best teams from the six groups advanced to the next round. The second Group Stage had the four teams who had a first round bye join the other 12 and they clashed from the 29th of September until October 1st. The winner and runner-up from each of the four groups advanced to the knockout stage, the Quarter-finals. The elimination rounds, including the Semis, 3rd Place Match, and Final happened from the 2nd-4th of October.
The Russian League has always fielded the World’s best players, local and international, and this Cup was no different with players from 10 different countries pitching in to help one of the Russian clubs. The players hailed from Portugal, Spain, Brazil, Germany, Ukraine, Belarus, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Estonia, and Latvia. Kristall had one of the most diverse line-ups all year and it showed as they were able to win the OBSL (Russian Premier League), the Euro Winners Cup, the Russian Championship and now the Russian Cup. Interesting enough, it was the first time that a team from St. Petersburg won the Cup, the previous editions had been won by teams from Moscow (five times), Samara (once), and Volgograd (once). Next up for the Russians is to have their National Team playing in Dubai in November in the Samsung Beach Soccer Intercontinental Cup 2015.
