Sporting star included in Futsal Planet's list of ten

Alex Merlim features in the list of 10 players in the running for the World Player of the Year, published on the website Futsal Planet.

List in full:

Fabricio Bastezini ‘Gadeia’ (ADC Intelli/Orlandia, Brazil)

Hassanzadeh (Tasisat Daryaei, Iran)

Keshavarz (Tasisat Daryaei, Iran)

Leo (Kairat Almaty, Kazakhstan)

Maxi Rescia (Pescara C5, Italy)

Alex Merlim (Sporting CP, Portugal)

Miguelin (El Pozo Murcia, Spain)

Ricardinho (Inter FS, Spain)

Rodrigo (Magnus Futsal, Brazil)

Simi (Sport Club Corinthians Paulista, Brazil)

Seven Alvalade stars in action in Belgrade

Alex Merlim and Rodolfo Fortino both feature in the Italian national futsal team for the European Championships final phase, being played in Belgrade from the 2nd to the 13th of February.

A total of seven Alvalade stars will be on international duty for the competition, with the Italian pair joining the Portuguese quintet of Djô, Fábio Lima, João Matos, Paulinho and Pedro Cary.

Alvalade winger wins 2015 nomination

Alex Merlim has been named Italian futsal's Player of the Year for 2015, in a vote through the Italian Football Federation's Vivo Azzurro website.

The Sporting winger tallied 40% of voted cast, beating the Acqua&Sapone goalkeeper Stefano Mammarella by 2%. The 2014 winner, El Pozo Murcia's Gabriel Lima, finished in third with 12% of the vote.

Alex Merlim signed in at Alvalade this season from Luparense, where he won two Italian Championships, an Italian Cup and a Super Cup. For Italy the 29-year old winger won the European Championships in 2014, after finishing third in the 2012 World Cup hosted in Thailand.