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The AFC.comHermans helped by inside knowledgeWednesday, 30 May 2012Dubai: Victor Hermans experience of coaching Iran helped the experienced Dutchman plot the downfall of the defending champions as Thailand won a dramatic 2012 AFC Futsal Championship semi-final 5-4 after extra-time on Wednesday.
Iran coach Al Sanei as well as veteran skipper Vahid Shamsaee, who scored twice in the thriller at the Al Wasl Indoor Stadium including an intelligent backheel that tied the score at 4-4, were among the players groomed by Hermans when he coached the Iranians to the 2001 AFC Futsal Championship.
And the former Hong Kong and Malaysia coach could resist a good-natured jibe at a nation and team he clearly has great affection for at the post-match press conference.
"I know the Iranian system and I know many of their players including Ali and Vahid so in the end maybe you can say it was the teacher giving the pupils a lesson," said the Dutchman following an epic final four encounter.
"I know Iranian futsal and I know they are a powerhouse in Asia but it's good for everybody to see other countries coming up as well."
Herman's one-time protégé Shamsaee opened the scoring in the fourth minute before Hossein Tayebi doubled the advantage three minutes later only for Thailand to hit back almost immediately through Suphawut Thueanklang as the first-half ended 2-1.
Javad Ashgharimoghaddam made it 3-1 with 11 minutes remaining before a Suphawut penalty and a Jirawat Sornwichian effort soon after sent the thrilling semi-final into extra-time.
Apiwat Chaemcharoen gave the Thais a 4-3 lead but in a dramatic end to the absorbing contest Shamsaee equalised before Suphawut sealed the win after missing a penalty seconds earlier.
"It has been the same every game we go behind but then get back into the match but these young players really believe in themselves.
"In my heart I think we deserved the win but we cannot stay in this euphoria for too long. We will celebrate tonight but then we must prepare for the final.
"We had luck at the end but we also created three or four chances but we just needed to remain calm and this is something we must work on before the World Cup."
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The AFC.comOverconfidence our undoing says SaneiWednesday, 30 May 2012Dubai: Iran coach Ali Sanei hit out at what he perceived to be overconfidence permeating through the ten-time champions as their hopes of an 11th title were ended in dramatic style by Thailand Wednesday’s AFC Futsal Championship UAE 2012 semi-final.
Asian futsal icon Vahid Shamsaee opened the scoring in the fourth minute before Hossein Tayebi doubled the advantage three minutes later only for Thailand to hit back almost immediately through Suphawut Thueanklang as the first-half ended 2-1.
Javad Ashgharimoghaddam made it 3-1 with 11 minutes remaining before a Suphawut penalty and a Jirawat Sornwichian effort soon after sent the thrilling semi-final into extra-time.
Apiwat Chaemcharoen gave the Thais a 4-3 lead but in a dramatic end to the absorbing contest Shamsaee equalised before Suphawut sealed the win after missing a penalty seconds earlier.
“We started the game very well but some of the players started doing things that were not necessary,” Sanei lamented at the post-match press conference.
“I think today they were too proud of themselves and after scoring two early goals they thought that they would be able to score six or eight and this attitude helped our opponents change the game.”
Sanei did also concede that the four matches in six days had taken its toll on his side, with the Iran coach unable to call upon a number of his key personnel.
“Our players were also very tired and some of our squad were carrying injuries so this limited my choices,” he said.
“In the last seconds we knew the ball would go to their number nine as we had earlier conceded a goal from a similar situation and this was disappointing.
“It’s not the first time we have lost and it will not be the last. Look at Brazil who recently lost at home to Paraguay. Even the strongest teams lose. Now we must look at want went wrong and rectify these mistakes before the World Cup.”
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The AFC.comDepartures didn’t help our cause says KnightWednesday, 30 May 2012Dubai: Australia’s amateur status deprived them of two key players in the semi-final defeat to Japan but head coach Steve Knight insisted that the East Asian’s were worthy winners on Wednesday.
Work commitments meant that Brazil-born Fernando de Moraes and Chris Zeballos had to return to Australia on the evening of the final four-clash at Al Wasl Stadium, where the Futsalroos gave a good account of themselves until fading midway through the second-half of a hard fought encounter.
The amateur Aussies put up a brave resitance but in the end Japan’s experience told as the 2006 champions ran out winners courtesy of second-half goals from skipper Kenichiro Kogure (29th), Wataru Kitihara (32nd) and Rafael Henmi (40th).
“A couple of players left to get back to work and it doesn’t help to lose players of that quality,” Knight said at the post-match press conference.
“The difference between teams is often the strength of the bench and we conceded at a point in the game when I was trying to rest players and the participating players were less experienced.”
“But I can’t be too disappointed with that result against a team like Japan.”
Australia’s top-four finish, and with it a place in the 2012 FIFA World Cup taking place in Thailand in November, has been one of the surprises of an entertaining tournament with the Futsalroos defeating Kuwait 3-2 in extra-time of a tight quarter-final after recording Group Stage wins over Qatar (3-1) and Korea Republic (6-0) and a 9-0 defeat to Iran, who they will meet in Friday’s third-place playoff.
And Knight believes the hectic schedule has finally caught up with his players.
“In the last couple of games the players sat back a bit and I asked them to step up and play higher up the court,” he said.
“Our target is a podium finish. After the quarter-finals the target was reset. We were hoping for a win tonight but it didn’t happen but that’s futsal.”
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The AFC.comRodrigo rues ‘ugly game’Wednesday, 30 May 2012Dubai: Japan coach Miguel Rodrigo declared himself happy with the 3-0 win over Australia that took the East Asians through to the final of the 2012 AFC Futsal Championship but insisted that their game with the Futsalroos stood in stark contrast to Thailand’s hugely entertaining 5-4 extra-time win over Iran.
A combination of resolute Australian defending and disappointing finishing meant that the 2006 champions had to wait until the 32nd minute to break the deadlock at the Al Wasl Indoor Stadium when skipper Kenichiro Kogure opened the scoring before goals from Wataru Kitihara and Rafael Henmi put the gloss on the victory.
“This was a difficult, ugly game for us. It was not a good game when compared with the earlier semi-final,” Rodrigo said at the post-match press conference.
“The first semi-final was pure futsal and a very attractive game. That game shows why futsal is precious and deserves to be promoted. In Spain and Brazil there are regularly games like that and that is why you regularly get 3000 spectators at the gymnasium there.
“In the first half I suppose we were a little bit nervous and we couldn’t penetrate their defensive block. We lacked movement and we lost simple balls but the worse thing was our finishing. We had three or four clear chances but didn’t take them and we have been seeing this is the last few games.
“The second half started very much like the first until ten minutes in and we scored. The players relaxed a little bit after that and played their usual game. But generally speaking we deserved the win.”
Japan’s victory set up a final showdown with Thailand, who overcame an early 2-0 deficit to defeat defending champions Iran 5-4 after extra-time to ensure there will be a name other the Iran on the AFC Futsal Championship for only the second time in the tournament’s history.
But Rodrigo knows that Japan need to improve their finishing if they are to defeat a free-flowing Thailand side that the Spaniard insists are now favourites for the title.
“If we are to beat Thailand then we really need to improve in many areas but particularly in shooting,” he said.
“This is a very Japanese problem. It’s a problem of decision making.
“This is not an excuse but there were three occasions when there were open goals that we missed. Of course in this match the players were tense, nervous and a little bit tired but futsal requires maximum decision making at all times. T
‘This is very difficult for a coach to work on and that is why those that have this sense of scoring in football earn a lot of money and are very precious.
“The problem in Japan is that players start playing futsal from about the age of 20 and this is too late to acquire a sense a making an immediate decision when confronted with a small target. In Brazil or Spain kids are learning this from about the age of six.”
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Luca Ranocchiari -->
luca.ranocchiari@futsalplanet.com
