Courtesy:
The AFC.comWhen Japan ended their several years of heartache12 May 2007 OSAKA: The previous edition of the AFC Futsal Championship was staged in Tashkent , Uzbekistan, and is best remembered for the outstanding performance of 2007 hosts Japan, who posted their inaugural Championships success in emphatic style.
So long the bridesmaids at Asia’s premier annual futsal event, Japan were nothing short of clinical in Tashkent, slamming home 35 goals and conceding just five in their five matches.
Leading the charge for the East Asian powerhouse was AFC Futsal Player of the Year Kenichiro Kogure, who was responsible for over half of Japan’s goals.
Japan were quite simply unstoppable throughout the tournament, and, pointedly, recorded a more than comprehensive win over hosts Uzbekistan (5-1) to lift the trophy on 27 May.
For all their efforts, the Uzbeks were left to lament a second AFC Futsal Championships final loss, though this particular defeat was an improvement on their previous final attempt – a 9-0 thrashing at the hands of Iran in Tehran in 2001.
Buoyed by some exceptional local support at the Yunusabad Sports Complex, including a sell-out 2,500 attendance for the final, Uzbekistan’s progression to the last two articulated their emergence on the Asian, and world futsal stage.
Perhaps as noteworthy as Japan’s dominance was the stalled progress of seven-time AFC futsal champions Iran.
Team Melli failed to qualify for the showpiece match for the first time in the eight-year history of the championship, having suffered elimination at the hands of the Japanese at the semifinal stage.
As has become commonplace, lynchpin attacker Vahid Shamsaee was integral to Iran’s chances – netting 16 goals to claim the championship’s Golden Boot prize for an amazing eighth consecutive time.
Rounding out the final four, which was bizarrely an identical semifinal line-up to that in Ho Chi Minh of one year previous, were rapidly improving Central Asian nation Kyrgyzstan.
Despite being listed by FIFA’s World Rankings for the eleven-a-side version of football at 151, below all but three of their rivals in Tashkent, Kyrgyzstan proved their place in the top echelon of Asian futsal with another credible showing.
The 2006 tournament signalled the arrival of AFC newcomers Australia, whose first tournament since joining the AFC from Oceania ended at the group stage after a defeat to the Kyrgyz.
With only the top team from each group progressing to the second round, many traditionally strong performers were ousted from the tournament after only three matches, including China, Tajikistan, Thailand and the aforementioned Australia , three of whom have competed at a FIFA Futsal World Championships at least once previously.
Kuwait , one time semifinalists in 2003, finished a disappointing third in their group, behind Kyrgyzstan and Australia , while 2004 FIFA Futsal World Championships hosts Chinese Taipei left Tashkent pointless and with only four goals to their name.
In all, the 2006 tournament in Tashkent was symbolic for its alterations to the hierarchy of Asian futsal.
Japan cast aside several years of heartache to post their maiden championship victory, breaking the monopoly Iran had enjoyed in Asia since the inaugural tournament in 1999.
Emerging nations such as Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan continued to impress, while newcomers Australia added further depth to Asia’s increasingly impressive field of world futsal contenders.
With the eyes of the Asian futsal world now focused on the 2007 edition in Osaka and Amagasaki, the reigning champions and tournament hosts, and their cast of challengers, will be eager to pen another exciting chapter in the history of the AFC Futsal Championship.
Japan’s title was seven campaigns in the making and is not likely to be relinquished without a fierce struggle, with perennial finalists Iran, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan set to mount a challenge to prise open the champions’ grip.
Posted by
Luca Ranocchiari -->
luca.ranocchiari@futsalplanet.com
