Araz-Nakhchivan strengthen squad by signing Brazilian player

Araz-Nakhchivan have strengthened their squad by signing Brazilian player Giovanni Valerio, Azeri News defeated.

The winger, who previously played for the Portuguese club “Torreense”, will now join the team to contribute to the success of the “red and whites” in the coming year. Valerio, a 26-year-old futsal player, has also represented teams such as “Corinthians”, “Jaragua”, “Marreco” and “Santo Andre” in different years.

Araz Naxcivan was founded in 2004 to replace a defunct football club in the Azerbaijan Premier League and has dominated indoor football in Azerbaijan ever since.

The team made their debut in the UEFA Futsal Cup in 2005, taking four points from three matches in the first qualifying round, but reached the Elite round the following season.

Araz reached the semi-finals of the 2010 UEFA Futsal Cup, but lost to Interviú FS.(4)(5) However, they finished third after beating Luparense on penalties.

The club’s players and coach Alesio formed the core of the Azerbaijani selection that made its debut at the 2010 European Indoor Football Championship, reaching the semi-finals in Hungary.

In 2014 the club repeated their success by taking third place in the UEFA Futsal Cup

It is striking that futsal is a ball sport played on a hard court, smaller than a football field, and mainly indoors. It has similarities with 5-a-side football.

The game is played between two teams of five players each, one of whom is the goalkeeper. Unlike other forms of indoor soccer, the game is played on a hard court surface that is demarcated by lines; no walls or boards are used.

Azerbaijan had never qualified for the FIFA Futsal World Cup until 2016, although national futsal players had participated in the last five editions of the European Championship.

Today, the futsal team successfully represents Azerbaijan in various international futsal competitions, such as the FIFA Futsal World Championship and the European Championship.

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Laman Ismayilova is the resident journalist of AzerNews. Follow her on Twitter: @lmntypewriterrr

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