11 Feb 2020

Mundialito de Clubes just one day away

Wednesday will see the 2020 beach soccer season begin in Moscow’s Megasport Sports Palace

The 2020 season officially kicks off with the return of the Mundialito de Clubes to the Russian capital.

Eight of the world’s top clubs, including the defending champions SC Braga (POR), will battle it out in a five-day competition in Moscow between 12 and 16 February.

The format of the competition is to be the same as the previous edition, whereby the eight sides compete in two groups, directly followed by semi-finals and then the final and play-offs on the last day (Sunday 16 Feb).

The teams

Alongside the defending and European champions SC Braga, the two host clubs Spartak Moscow and BSC Lokomotiv (who are two-time champions of the competition) will return to the fray, as well as the Spanish champions Levante UD, and the holders of the World Winners Cup, Brazilian giants CR Flamengo, who have competed in every edition but are yet to win the Mundialito de Clubes.

Completing the star-studded line-up, and making their debut in the tournament, are Alanyabelediye Sport from Turkey, Tokyo Verdy, spear-headed by the Japanese powerhouse, Ozu Moreira and Swiss side Grasshopper Club from Zurich, banking on experienced players from the National side such as Sandro Spacca and Dejan Stankovic.

Big names such as Jordan and the Martins brothers (SC Braga), Llorenç (Lokomotiv), Edu and Antonio (Levante UD), Zemskov (Spartak) and Elinton Andrade (Flamengo) will be representing their teams again in 2020, but there are other big surprises...

Players such as Catarino and Thanger, two stars of the 2019 edition with Spartak Moscow, will reinforce the Tokyo Verdy and Flamengo rosters, who, on top of that, have also recruited Brazilian international Rodrigo. 

Lucão, top scorer in the last edition, in which he helped Catania BS reach the final of the competition, will be joining Russian powerhouse Lokomotiv Moscow, a team that has also secured the Iranian supertalents Akbari and goalkeeper Behzadpour. 

The new teams joining the competition will also provide top-class rosters, including World Cup best player Ozu and Mauricinho (Tokyo Verdy), Stankovic and Hosseini (Alanya Belediyespor), as well as Sydorenko and Spacca (Grasshopper CZ).

Click here to see the full squad lists

To kick us off…

Day 1 at the Megasport Sports Palace, an incredible indoor arena in the centre of the city, will see the first-timers Toyko Verdy (JPN) test themselves against the Spanish champions Levante, while in a classic Portuguese/Brazilian bout, Braga will take on Flamengo.

Local side Spartak Moscow welcome their Swiss debutants, Grasshopper Zurich, in the third game, while the final tie of the day will see their Muscovite neighbours, Lokomotiv, do the same with Turkish club Alanya Belediyespor.

With so much beach soccer firepower concentrated in clubs from across the globe, the season looks set to get underway in style. Who are you backing for the 2020 Mundialito de Clubes Moscow 2020 title?