Courtesy: JFA


FUGA win All-Japan Futsal Championship

Fuga Meguro, a qualifier from the Kanto region, battled to a 6-4 win over F. League champions Nagoya Oceans to clinch the All-Japan Futsal Championship on Sunday at Yoyogi Gymnasium in Tokyo.

Deucao Kobe beat Shriker Osaka 3-1 on penalties following a 2-2 draw to take third-place honors.

“This title is the product of a team effort,” Fuga coach Takehiro Suga commented.
In a rematch of a group-stage game, which Nagoya won 3-2, Fuga allowed last year’s runners-up to take the lead in the 11th minute through an own-goal.
But Takeshi Kanagawa equalized a minute later and Fuga quickly widened the lead to 3-1 with goals from Taro Aramaki and Ryo Sato, both in the 15th minute.
Nagoya rallied hard after the break, hitting 22 shots to Fuga’s seven in the second half. The F. League champions leveled the scores at 4-4 with goals from Brazilian Sidnei in the 25th minute, his compatriot Marquinhos a minute later and Kenichiro Kogure in the 29th minute.
But Aramaki broke the tie by curling in a free-kick in the 36th minute, and Kanagawa wrapped things up for the Tokyo-based team with a slick volley shortly before the final whistle.

Fuga advanced to the elimination round thanks to the wild-card system, then beat F. League runners-up Bardral Urayasu 3-0 in the quarterfinals and Kobe 5-1 in the semifinals.

Fuga’s Aramaki was named the Most Impressive Player of the tournament.
“I got this prize thanks to the support of my teammates,” said Aramaki. “Our win in this tournament should boost the Japanese Futsal world.”
“No one thought we would win this tournament,” Kanagawa said. “But we’ve made it by giving 100 percent.”
“I am thankful to our players and team staff,” Suga said. “We’d like to work hard to return to this stage next year.”







Posted by Luca Ranocchiari --> luca.ranocchiari@futsalplanet.com