Courtesy:

Orlando Duarte: "We'll give it our all"

(FIFA.com) 29 Oct 2004

With just a few weeks to go to the FIFA Futsal World Championship Chinese Taipei 2004, Portugal are warming up in the Algarve, where the third-placed team from Guatemala 2000 have been joined by England, Belgium and Hungary in the very last tournament before the biggest event in world futsal kicks off. Portuguese manager Orlando Duarte took time off in between a record victory over England and the upcoming Belgium game to speak to FIFA.com.

FIFA.com: Orlando Duarte, your team just recorded a frightening scoreline against England in the Algarve International Tournament (24-1). What impact do you think this result will have?

Orlando Duarte: It's difficult to say. We're competing in this tournament right in the middle of our preparations, so it's pleasing we were able to put in a fantastic performance like that. But we shouldn't get carried away; England aren't the sort of team we can realistically measure ourselves against. They're making great progress, but they're new to the world of futsal. Believe me, though, with the good players, coaches and infrastructure at their disposal, England will be making up for lost time within a few years.

The 9th World University Futsal Championship took place in Mallorca earlier this month. Were you disappointed by Portugal's fifth-place finish?

Again, it's difficult for me to judge. Unlike most of the teams there, Russia and, above all, Ukraine brought very experienced squads for what is supposed to be a student competition. I'm not saying I have a big problem with that, but it is a little unfair. It's never easy for young players to face a national team, so I'm not surprised that Russia and Ukraine finished first and third. I tend to think the results were a little distorted by that.

Let's come back to Chinese Taipei 2004. What is your objective for this upcoming FIFA Futsal World Championship?

The same as it is before any competition: to give it our all. We've come on in leaps and bounds in the four years since we finished third at Guatemala 2000 and I can't wait to compare how far we've progressed with all the other countries. If we play the way we can, we should make the semi-finals, if not better.

Before that can happen, you'll have to get out of Group D, the toughest of all with Argentina, Iran and Cuba your opponents. When the draw was made, you seemed a little resigned. How do you feel about it now?

I'm not resigned, just realistic. I'm not saying we have no chance of qualifying, only that it will be very difficult. Iran and Argentina are real powerhouses, potential world champions even. And I don't know much about Cuba at all, except that if they've got this far it's because they deserve to be here. So, we're facing two huge matches to start with (against Iran and Argentina), followed by an unknown quantity to round off the group phase.

Talking of which, with less than a month to go, how are you planning to approach that first game against Iran (22 November)?

The first game will be very important because it will determine how the rest of our competition unfolds. But apart from that, it's difficult to say anything else at this point. We'll either qualify or we won't at the end of those three games, not before. You'll probably find this funny, but it's the only answer I can give you; after our first game, the second one will be the most important…and then the third (laughs).

What does your programme look like between the end of the Algarve International Tournament and your departure for Chinese Taipei?

We'll all be getting together around November 8, depending on the availability of each player. Then we'll spend two or three days training in Portugal before we go to Macao for our final stage of preparation. We've got two more friendlies to play over there, against the national team of Macao and against Brazil, and after that we'll head to Taipei City on November 17 or 18.

To finish with, what should we wish you?

All the best (smiles). It won't be easy for anyone - not for us, not for our rivals - so why not dream? And what does any coach in sport dream of if it isn't becoming world champion? The one thing everyone can bet on, though, is that my players will be giving it their all.