Courtesy: The Mercury


Viking calls it a Knight

by Julius Ross

May 31, 2011

GLENORCHY Knights striker Corey Smith played his last game in the southern Premier League on Friday night as he prepares to swap his Knights shirt for an Australian one.

The 28-year-old will also exchange soccer for futsal after being selected in the Australian Vikings national team in February.

Tomorrow he embarks on the sporting trip of a lifetime.

Smith, who is also the state co-ordinator for Vikings Futsal, flies to Perth for the final three-day training camp with the Australian team, before flying to Paris on Monday to play two practice matches.

Those matches serve as preparation for the Christophe Brisset Trophy, a 48-team tournament held in Nantes.

Smith then travels with the Aussies to Geneva to play a three-game series against the Swiss national team.

"We'll be playing against some good-quality opposition and mostly European teams, but there are a couple of sides from Asia and South America," he said.

Smith, who plays on the forward line for the Knights, will switch to a defensive role for his country in futsal, a variation of the round-ball game that is typically played indoors.

"I'll be more likely to play at the back in a 2-2 system, but we play a four-man rotation system, so players all switch position," he said.

"At this stage I will definitely be starting on the bench there are 12 people in the squad.

"To be honest I'd be happy to just come on and do little bits here and there. At the end of the day I'm playing for my country at a tournament, so I can't really complain with any role I have in the team.

"For me, it's the biggest thing I've ever achieved."

In 2008 Smith went to Brazil with a junior representative side and coached the team, which Tasmanians Trent Pearce and Amadu Koroma were also involved in.

Smith is the only Tasmanian in the Australian side.



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