Courtesy: The AFC.com


AFC Futsal Championship – Semi-finals

Thursday, 11 March 2010

Asia’s four finest futsal club teams are in action at the Pirouzi Stadium with a place in Friday’s historic final and the chance to write their name in the annals of the sport’s history as winners of the inaugural AFC Futsal Championship at stake.

Local favourites Foolad Mahan Sepahan are confident of their chances against Port Authority but the Thai side have already proven in the group stage that they are no pushovers.

Awaiting the winners of the first semi-final will be whoever emerges victorious form the battle between East and West as Japanese champions Nagoya Oceans take on Qatar powerhouse Al Sadd.



Courtesy: The AFC.com


Futsal refs benefit from international exposure

Wednesday, 10 March 2010

Esfahan: The referees have so far performed well in the AFC Futsal Club Championship and can only improve with more international exposures, believes AFC Elite Futsal referee instructor Adel Shatti.

“The referees have performed well so far and met our expectations despite the fact that they come from different countries where level of futsal is different,” he told www.the-afc.com after the group stage of the inaugural AFC Futsal Club Championship.

"Considering that futsal is still in the development stages in the continent, the referees have performed well in general.”

“The referees attend daily discussions and watch video clippings after the matches to review their performance. This certainly helps them to improve,” he added.

"I think more international exposure will make them better.”

Hosts Foolad Mahan Sepahan will meet Port Authority of Thailand while Japan’s Nagoya Oceans will play Qatar’s Al Sadd in the semi-finals on March 11.

The final will be played on March 12.




Courtesy: The AFC.com


Thais can surprise insists Port’s Udom

Wednesday, 10 March 2010

Esfahan: Port Authority coach Udom Taveesuk is hoping the drive and determination of his players will be enough to see the Thais cause an AFC Futsal Club Championship upset and defeat Foolad Mahan Sepahan in their semi-final clash on Thursday.

Iran powerhouse Foolad swept aside all before them during the group stage with only Japan champions Nagoya Oceans threatening to end their unbeaten record before succumbing to a 6-2 defeat on Tuesday.

Just as throughout the group stage, Foolad will be backed by a vociferous home crowd at Pirouzi Stadium while Vahid Shamsaee – the world's most lethal futsal player – will certainly take some stopping if he is not to walk away with the top goal scorer award.

But Port Authority proved they will not relent easily when faced with difficult odds in their final group game against Wuhan Dilong of China on Tuesday.

The Thais needed to win by four clear goals if they were to snatch second place in Group B and it looked as though the task was beyond them as they led 7-5 with 30 seconds of the game remaining.

But Nattavut Madyalan struck twice in the dying seconds to secure the winning margin they needed and Udom knows his players will need to show the same kind of determination against Foolad.

“For us we are already lucky to get through to this round,” said the Port coach.

“We will prepare for the game. Our players are very, very happy to be able to get to the next round.

“We all have 100% determination in our hearts to be ready for the game and if God is with us then hopefully we can get to the final.”

For much of the game against Wuhan there seemed to be little cohesion in Port Authority's tactics as they switched from defending and attacking seemingly on a whim.

And coach Udom admitted it is hard to keep his players focused on his instructions in difficult games but is hopeful there will be more unity against Foolad.

“We have many different plans but it is not easy for the players to follow the plans exactly,” he added.

“Many times they made mistakes and things change depending on how the match goes. Hopefully we can be better in the semi-final.”




Courtesy: The AFC.com


Confident Afzali already planning for final

Wednesday, 10 March 2010

Esfahan: Foolad Mahan Sepahan coach Hossein Afzali confidently predicted his side will beat Port Authority of Thailand on Thursday to take their place in the final of the inaugural AFC Futsal Club Championship.

The Iranians are the only side at the tournament able to boast a 100% record having beaten AUB Altyn Tash Bishkek of Kyrgyzstan, Uzbeks Stroitel Zarafshan and Japanese giants Nagoya Oceans to take first place in Group A and set-up a clash with the Thais.

Nagoya Oceans take on Al Sadd of Qatar in the other semi-final game and Afzali admitted he will have one eye on that game in order to prepare for who Foolad will play in the final.

“We need to analyse the game between Al Sadd and Nagoya so that we can see who we will face in the final once we have won our semi-final game,”said Afzali.

“Unlike many experts who think the Japanese team will be in the final I believe Al Sadd have some good players, especially their foreign players, and Nagoya are mentally down after their defeat to us so I believe we will face Al Sadd in the final.”

Nagoya had threatened to end Foolad's unbeaten record as they more than matched their Iranian opponents in the first half to go into the break with honours even at 2-2.

However, the tournament hosts came out strong after the restart and Afzali felt the spaces between his defensive players and attacking players were being exploited by the Japanese in the first half.

“We had a big gap between the players who attacked and the players who defended,” he added. “I advised them to decrease this gap so we could score more goals in the second half.

“Undoubtedly we will have a different strategy against the Thai team. Their unity is much less than the Japanese side who try to put the pressure on the whole team and so we believe we can win.”

Iran coach Hossein Shams, who is working with the Foolad team as technical manager, praised the form of national team legend Vahid Shamsaee.

No team has been able to prevent the 36-year-old from scoring against them so far and Shams believes he is only going to get better as the tournament goes on.

“Shamsaee was playing more as a team player against Nagoya,” he said.

“In the first two games he was too individual but now he is playing more for the team and we hope we can use this as a weapon in the final.”




Courtesy: The AFC.com


Only Al Sadd on Oceans’ horizon

Wednesday, 10 March 2010

Esfahan: Nagoya Oceans coach Adil Amarante is refusing to look beyond his side's semi-final showdown with Al Sadd of Qatar on Thursday as the inaugural AFC Futsal Club Championship heads towards a thrilling finale.

The Japanese side suffered their first defeat at the tournament with a 6-2 loss to Foolad Mahan Sepahan in their final Group A game on Tuesday meaning they had to settle for second place with the Iranians finishing top of the standings.

Nagoya had given Foolad arguably their most difficult test yet though and the match could possibly be seen as a dress rehearsal for the final.

But Amarante is focussed solely on overcoming Al Sadd with the Qataris having been one of the other stand-out performers at the tournament so far.

“I am concentrating only on the semi-final match,” said the Portuguese coach.

“We need to win the next game so there is no point looking too far ahead yet.

“Al Sadd have had a day extra to prepare for the game so we also need to prepare and work out how to play against them.”

Like Nagoya, Al Sadd lost just once in the group stage as they were surprisingly beaten 11-6 by Chinese side Wuhan Dilong on Monday.

The result does not reflect their true ability, however, as coach Fabiano Ribeiro opted to use his key player Xavier Rodrigo sparingly with the Brazilian on a yellow card and another would have seen him forced to sit out the semi-final.

Rodrigo is certain to start against Nagoya and, along with Mohssein Amro, will be Al Sadd's main threat.

Amrante felt his side made too many little mistakes against Foolad that ultimately proved costly and acknowledged that these need to be cut out if they are to secure victory on Thursday.

“We lost concentration (against Foolad) and made too many little mistakes,” he added.

“We have a plan during each match and depending on the opponent and how things develop in the game we change this plan accordingly.
“We must get to the final, we are prepared for this semi-final and we will go for the win.”




Courtesy: The AFC.com


Ribeiro grateful for Wuhan wake up call

Wednesday, 10 March 2010

Esfahan: Al Sadd coach Fabiano Ribeiro believes Monday's defeat to Wuhan Dilong gave his side the wake up call they needed ahead of their crunch AFC Futsal Club Championship semi-final match with Japanese champions Nagoya Oceans on Thursday.

With successive victories over Lebanese side Pro's Cafe, Australians NSW Thunder and Port Authority of Thailand securing Al Sadd's place in the semi-finals, the Qataris lost 11-6 to Wuhan Dilong of China in their final group game.

But Ribeiro did not see the defeat as a blot on an otherwise faultless campaign, instead insisting it will prevent his players from becoming complacent as they look to claim a place in the final.

“Always when you lose one match it is not good but we have looked at the good points and the bad points,” said the Brazilian (pictured).

“If you underestimate the opponent then you will lose the game and maybe because we had the three victories in the last three games this made the team think this way.

“The defeat will be a different point for us because the red light is blinking and the players are at attention. That result means they will concentrate more for the next game.”

Xavier Rodrigo started on the bench against Wuhan with Ribeiro keen for the exciting forward to avoid picking up an unnecessary yellow card.

His absence proved telling though and Ribeiro was forced to hand him fleeting appearances in the hope of snatching a result.

“The whole team did not work very well since the first second (against Wuhan),” added Ribeiro.

“We had one strategy for the game and if our team worked it well then we would not have needed Rodrigo.

“The problem was all of them were out of concentration. We want to win every match but it makes no difference as the team must help (Rodrigo) and they did not help him.”

Finishing top of Group B meant Al Sadd avoided playing unbeaten Foolad Mahan Sepahan in the last four but Ribeiro stressed it does not matter who they face at any stage of the tournament, highlighting the fact they will need to be beat the best if they are to emerge as the historic first winners of the AFC Futsal Club Championship.

“We came here with two objectives and the first was to get to the semi-final,” he said.

“We did not expect to play against the weakest team in the semi-final and it will be a hard match against any team.

“It makes no difference, against Nagoya it will be hard game and against Foolad it would also be a hard game so all we can do is play.”


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