Courtesy: The FA.com


Colley ready for Futsal action

Wednesday, 31 March, 2010

Experienced star wants to taste victory against Malta on Friday.

England v Malta
The FA Futsal Four Nations Tournament
England, Finland, Malta, Turkey
2-3 April 2010
Point 4, The Royal College of the Blind, Hereford

England return to Futsal action this Friday, when Hereford hosts the latest Four Nations Tournament.

Under the charge of Head Coach Peter Sturgess, England have continued to develop at international level and will be hoping they have enough to see off opposition from Malta in order to reach the Tournament Final on Saturday.

The squad’s ‘old head’ is Nick Colley, who has now picked up over 30 caps for the Three Lions and was part of the team which picked up their first ever international win against Greece in December 2007.

Colley, who plays for Team United Birmingham in The FA National Futsal League, is still keen to add more international success to his CV and hopes that can start this weekend.

“I still have the same desire to learn and compete at the very highest level in this sport,” he revealed.

“What’s more satisfying to me, is that I’ve played in every victory for England so far and sometimes even played full matches which in this sport is very difficult to do due to the energy and effort involved.”

The squad has changed in its make-up since the days of former Head Coach Graeme Dell when Colley first became involved and he now feels that England are starting to get a better understanding of the game and how it should be played at international level.

Colley is also hopeful that the sport can continue to grow in popularity across England, in order to help young players develop their skills and technique as many of the current world stars did in their formative years.

“We hope that as we develop as players that it inspires the younger generation to take up Futsal early, as this is where the best players in the world like Ronaldo, Ronaldhino and Deco all learnt their skills before going on to eleven-a-side,” explained Colley.

“We have many talented players in this squad, however, this game needs a collective effort with occasional individual brilliance.

“The lads will say I don't do the brilliance bit and I’d tend to agree, but they know that the 'old man' can be relied on when the experience is needed.”



Courtesy: The FA.com


Sturgess ready for Futsal feast

Thursday, 01 April, 2010

Head Coach targeting further improvement from Three Lions.

England v Malta
The FA Futsal Four Nations Tournament
England, Finland, Malta, Turkey
2-3 April 2010
Point 4, The Royal College of the Blind, Hereford

England’s Futsal Head Coach Peter Sturgess believes the team is on the right tracks, as they go into a Four Nations Tournament this weekend.

The Three Lions take on Malta on Friday at thePoint4 venue in Hereford, before facing a further game against either Turkey or Finland in a second match on Saturday.

Sturgess is looking forward to the games too, after seeing positive signs over the last few months from his squad despite defeats against Israel and Cyprus coupled with an impressive win against African Champions Libya in Tripoli.

“It has been somewhat of a ‘roller coaster’ ride over the past few months for the England team,” admitted Sturgess ahead of the Tournament.

“The excellent performances against Libya late in 2009 ended the year on a real high and gave enough positive signs to indicate that there was progress being made and, optimistically, more to come.

“If everything had gone to plan, the team’s progress would have been consolidated during the two games against Cyprus in February. However, Futsal does not always go to plan and a talented, well prepared Cyprus team won both hard fought games.”

The squad have enjoyed regular training camps together inbetween games and Sturgess has seen enough to give him belief that they can continue to improve at international level.

Victories have been relatively few and far between for England in Futsal, but the belief is that the next good result isn’t too far away.

“The England team is continuing to make good progress and it is hoped that the next few games will consolidate the improvements made,” added Sturgess.

“This will be very challenging as the three teams invited to Hereford for this tournament are all capable of playing Futsal of the highest quality, so we will have to be at our very best.”


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