Russia (Runners Up)
Russia's focus since 2012 has been on how to beat Spain, after they were knocked out by their perennial rivals in both the EURO and World Cup. They identified the problem as being psychological and devised a plan to address this which included a meeting with the 1999 EURO Champions to inspire them. It achieved its objective with a 4-3 win against La Roja in the semi-final but ended up being a double-edged sword. After Herculean effort against Spain, in the final they were mentally fatigued and they showed lapses in concentration, frequently punished in futsal at this level.
Tactically they relied heavily on their pivots with almost all their goals involving them. This was effective early in the tournament but made them predictable and one dimensional. This threat was more or less nullified in the semi-final and final with masterful 1v1 defending by Jose Ruiz and Aircardo for Spain, and Murilo and Ercolessi for Italy. As they searched for passes to their pivots it often resulted in a lack of movement and slowed their ball circulation. With both Spain and Italy pressing for large parts of the games this led to them often losing possession easily.
Their other attacking option was 1v1s on the left wing with Fukin and Abramov but this was rarely successful, especially for Fukin. In both games they tried a plan B by adopting a 4-0 system but this is a formation based on mobility and they were unaccustomed to playing it, meaning it seldom worked. The lack of speed to their play also affected their counter attacking with players not running deep to take advantage when possession changed hands.
Gustavo and Cirilo are unlikely to play in 2016, possibly also Pula, but otherwise the other players will remain. I was impressed by two of their new editions, Kutuzov and Milovanov, and both have bright futures. Finally overcoming Spain will give them confidence and 2016 could be the moment they replicate the success of the 1999 generation.