Courtesy: The AFC

Predator are Japan futsal champs

7 February 2006

TOKYO: Predator Futsal Club won the 11th All Japan Futsal Championship on Sunday with a 4-2 win over Forca Verde.

Twenty teams – regional and from varsities - divided into five groups played one round following which the group topper and three best runners-up advanced to the last eight.

In the final, Predator were dominant and took a 3-0 lead in the first period. Japan national team player Kensuke Takahashi fired the opener and Masaki Iwamoto unleashed a brace to put Predator in a strong position. However, Forca Verde rallied in the second half and clawed back to 2-3 with goals from Paolo Cesar da Costa and Japan international Rikarudo Higa. However, Arihiro Fukuzumi made sure of Predator’s victory with another well taken goal in the dying minutes. This was Predator’s first appearance in this tournament.

Meanwhile, the Japan national futsal team will fly to Macau to participate in the Macau Melco Futsal Invitational Tournament from February 10. The other teams are Thailand, Kyrgyzstan, China PR, Hong Kong, Chinese Taipei, Guam and hosts Macau. Asian runners-up Japan will clash with Hong Kong in the first match.

After this tournament, the team will tour Brazil from mid-March for two weeks. A training camp is later scheduled in Japan before the AFC Futsal Championship in May in Uzbekistan.



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