Courtesy: Bangkok Post


Thailand still proud despite heavy loss

3/06/2012

Thailand's Futsal stars still felt proud despite being thrashed 6-1 by Japan in the AFC Futsal Championship final in Dubai on Friday.

"Obviously we are disappointed but I have to tell the players that they must be proud of what they achieved here," said Thailand boss Victor Hermans, who missed out on becoming the first coach in the history of the tournament to lead two countries to glory after guiding Iran to the 2001 title.

The Dutch coach said his side could head back to Bangkok with their heads held high after an impressive campaign which featured an outstanding semi-final win over 10-time champions Iran.

The Thais beat Iran 5-4 after extra-time.

"Maybe we gave too much in the game against Iran but we must be proud of the way we played. This tournament was tremendously helpful in boosting the confidence of our young players."

Thailand's next major tournament is the World Cup which will be held here later this year.

Hermans earlier said that he had a nagging feeling the wheels would fall off Thailand's campaign at some stage _ and unfortunately for the Asean champions, he was proved right in the final.

In the encounter, Japan led 2-1 at half-time but the Thais ran out of steam in the second half as Japan scored four unanswered goals.

It was Japan's second Asian title after their win in 2006.




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