Courtesy: Orlando Sentinel


Montverde coach Robbie Aristodemo joining Canadian National team

by Joe Williams

June, 19 2012

Montverde girls soccer coach Robbie Aristodemo leaves Wednesday morning to join the Canadian National Futsal team for training in Costa Rica.

The Canadian team will be playing in a World Cup qualifying tournament in Guatemala July 2-8. If Canada finishes among the two top teams in the qualifying tournament, they will compete in the Futsal World Cup in Thailand in November.

Futsal is a sport similar to indoor soccer. It is played on a court about the size of a basketball court with a smaller, heavier ball and smaller goals than in traditional soccer. Unlike indoor soccer, there are no walls and instead of five field players and a goalkeeper, futsal has one less field player.

“This is actually my first time with the futsal side,” said Aristodemo, 35, who retired as a player 1 1/2 years ago and coached at Montverde this past year. “It’s really a totally different game, really popular around the world.”

Aristodemo, a midfielder originally from Toronto, has played professional indoor and outdoor soccer and has been a part of the Canadian National teams for Under-17, Under-20, Under-23, Olympics and World Cup. He also played at the University of Tulsa.

He has played for the Baltimore Blast (Major Indoor Soccer League), the San Diego Sockers (Professional Arena Soccer League), the Cleveland Force (Major Indoor Soccer League), the Toronto Lynx (United Soccer League Premier Developmental League) and the Seattle Sounders (Major League Soccer).

“The call [to the national team] actually took me by surprise,” Aristodemo said about being named to the national team on April 1. “I have played for the coach [Sipho Sibiya] before. I talked to my wife and family and they said to go for it. Since then, I have been training on my own. It was a very big commitment after taking more than a year off.

“This kind of gives me one last hurrah.”

Aristodemo plans to return to Montverde in the fall for his second season as the girls coach.




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