30/05/2012
Dubai: quarter finals reactions, part 1

AFC Futsal Championships - Dubai 2012
Courtesy: The AFC.com


Nerves got the better of us admits Araujo

Tuesday, 29 May 2012

Dubai: Lebanon coach Francisco Araujo conceded that ‘big-game’ nerves got the better of his side as their hopes of a place in the semi-finals of the 2012 AFC Futsal Championship ended with a 5-3 defeat to Thailand.

Lebanon made the perfect start when they raced to a two-goal lead inside the first four minutes thanks to a Kassem Kawsan double but goals from Jetsada Chudech, Suphawut Thueanklang and Apiwat Chaemcharoen saw the Thais go into the break with a 3-2 lead.

Nattavut Madyalan gave the Thais a two-goal cushion ten minutes into the second period and after Jirawat Sornwichan extended the Thais advantage with the fifth goal in the 36th minute, Ali El Homsi netted a late consolation for Lebanon.

“We wanted to give a good game but when the players took to the court they were very nervous. They didn’t control the game and they didn’t move or rotate well enough,” Araujo said at the post-match press conference.

“We were 2-0 up and they got very nervous and were unable to control the game and missed many chances.

“Their first goal came from a corner and this was unacceptable because we cannot be conceding such goals. We had some opportunities in the second half but the players were tiring and struggled with fatigue.”

The crestfallen former Costa Rica coach stated that Lebanon always had the proverbial mountain to climb given the limited futsal infrastructure in the Middle East nation and consequently should be proud of their efforts

“There is a big difference between our players and the Thais in that they have a good league and have been employing foreign coaches for a long time,” Araujo continued.

“Futsal in Lebanon is much smaller and needs a lot of development to progress but this is a long project and will take time.

“Of course I am not happy with the result and the fact that we failed to reach our target of a place in the World Cup but you could see that the bigger teams at this tournament have the advantage of playing futsal for many more years than we have and we have to start getting futsal into the clubs and schools so that we can learn the basics.

“So if you see the advantage that Thailand and Japan had in this regard then you have to give a lot of credit to my players who done so well against such strong teams.”




Courtesy: The AFC.com


Hermans happy to silence cynics

Tuesday, 29 May 2012

Dubai: Thailand coach Victor Hermans was delighted with his side's 5-3 come-from-behind win over Lebanon in the quarter-final of the 2012 AFC Futsal Championship as it silenced the cynics that suggested the young Thais might not be up for the match with a place at the FIFA World Cup already assured as tournament hosts.

Lebanon were battling not just for a berth in the semi-finals of the AFC Futsal Championship for the first time in their history but also a place at November's Futsal World Cup, which would be the first time a team from Lebanon had competed in the finals of a FIFA event.

As such the men from the Middle East appeared the hungrier of the two sides and raced to a 2-0 lead with just four minutes at the Al Wasl Indoor Stadium played thanks to Kassem Kawsan's early double.

But the Thais turned the tie on its head and after Jetsada Chudech, Suphawut Thueanklang and Apiwat Chaemcharoen gave the ASEAN champions a 3-2 half-time lead, second-half strikes from Nattavut Madyalan and Jirawat Sornwichan took the score to 5-2 before Ali El Homsi netted a late consolation for Lebanon.

"Our target was to win as many people were saying that because we already have a place at the World Cup as hosts we wouldn't be up for the game against Lebanon but we clearly were and I am very proud of the way the boys played," Hermans said at the post-match press conference.

"They are here to win every game they play and to show what they can do and with this win we have proved that we deserve to be at the World Cup."




Courtesy: The AFC.com


Sanei anticipating tough clashes

Tuesday, 29 May 2012

Dubai: Iran coach Ali Sanei believes that the tough tests are coming thick and fast in the AFC Futsal Championship and is happy that his team addressed Uzbekistan’s challenge professionally and clinically.

Iran defeated Uzbekistan 6-3 in the quarterfinal which ensured their place in the November’s FIFA World Cup Futsal Championship in Thailand and set up dates against the World Cup hosts in the semifinal of AFC Futsal Championship.

“I am pleased with our players’ effort in a very difficult match. It was pity that the Uzbeks faced us earlier than expected,” he said. “We never expected to face Uzbekistan at this stage of the tournament, they are good side and they deserve to go further than this but this is what it is.”

When asked about the possible clash with Japan in the final, the coach held his cards on chest and said the side is not thinking about the final as its premature ahead of a big clash against Thailand. “Thailand is one of the contenders of this championship, at the moment we are not thinking beyond the tie against the Thais.

“In Victor (Hermans) they have a master tactician, I know him better from his times in Iran and they know us better so it would be an interesting affair,” he said on Wednesday’s mouth-watering semifinal against Thailand at the Al Wasl Stadium in Dubai.

Sanei also admitted that the level of futsal in Asia has been significantly increased with countries like Japan, Thailand, Uzbekistan and China getting stronger. “All these countries’ target is Iran but we are also not staying quite,” he concluded.




Courtesy: The AFC.com


Mendez rues weak start

Wednesday, 30 May 2012

Dubai: Uzbekistan coach Jose Mendez has stressed that they have themselves to blame on the dismal 2012 AFC Futsal Championship campaign as they crashed out 6-3 against Iran in the quarterfinal and failed to book a berth of November’s FIFA Futsal World Cup in Thailand.

One of the favourites, Uzbekistan fared well in the tournament before meeting 10-time champions Iran in the quarterfinal at Al Shabab stadium on Tuesday.

“This match was not the reason of our early elimination, in fact we played to our capacity, scored some goals against world class opponent and gave them a good run,” said Mendez.

“The root is our first game against Kuwait, where we were not clinical and ended up being the second in the group and got Iran, we should have done better against Kuwait,” he said.

“It’s been 17 matches we have lost against Iran in 18 games but the gap is closing. There are countries in Asia who are very aggressively working on to develop the game and I am sure in 2014 Iran will get challenges from more countries than now,” he said.

Uzbekistan managed to draw 2-2 in pre-tournament friendly against Iran in Iran but Mandez believes that friendly are totally a different ball game. “You cannot compare a friendly result and a result in competitive tournament, it’s totally different.

“The players are under huge pressure while playing in competition and tend to get nervous like how our players were earlier today against Iran,” he said.


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


 


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