Courtesy: The AFC.com

Late goals see Japan edge China

18 May 2008

BANGKOK - Japan ended the 2008 AFC Futsal Championship on a winning note as they claimed third place with a 5-3 victory over China at Nimibutr Stadium on Sunday.

An entertaining encounter saw Sergio Sapo's side take a two-goal lead before twice being pegged back by the Chinese only to seal victory in the final minute of the game.

Japan enjoyed the majority of the possession in the first-half and nearly took the lead in fortuitous circumstances when Kenichiro Kogure's run ended with a weak cross that a Chinese defender diverted onto his own post.

However, they went ahead soon after when Daisuke Ono was given time outside the area and picked his spot with a low, left-foot strike past keeper Zheng Tao.

Japan threatened to extend their advantage and Kenta Fujii twisted and turned before seeing his shot deflected narrowly wide.

China looked to get back into the game as the half drew to a close and Liang Shuang brought a smart save out of Hisao Sadanaga with a powerful free-kick before Liu Xinyi lifted an effort over the bar when bearing down on the Japanese keeper.

Japan doubled their lead with less than two minutes gone in the second half when Yusuke Komiyama's cross took a slight deflection into the path of Yusuke Inada and he tapped in at the back post.

China soon pulled a goal back, however, as Wang Wei found space in the area before laying the ball off to Zhang Xi, who side-footed home.

Liu saw a close-range header clawed away by Sadanaga before the keeper denied Hu Jie after he had created an opening for himself.

But China did draw level when Li Jian was body checked after a forceful run but the ball broke to Liu and he calmly rounded Sadanaga before applying the finish into an empty net.

Japan regained the lead with just over five minutes remaining when Kogure fired home but Farinha's side hit back straight away as Liang found the bottom corner with an angled strike.

Li was then superbly denied by a fingertip save from Sadanaga before Japan went ahead once more with just under a minute left when a well-worked move saw Komiyama side-foot the ball between Zheng's legs.

Inada then made sure of victory when he scored from his own half into an empty net with Zheng out of position.




Courtesy: The AFC.com

Third not enough for Sapo

18 May 2008

BANGKOK - Japan coach Sergio Sapo admitted he still felt a lingering sense of disappointment despite seeing his side end their 2008 AFC Futsal Championship campaign in positive fashion with a 5-3 victory over China at Nimibutr Stadium.

Yusuke Inada scored twice to eventually seal third place for Japan after China had fought back from two goals down but while pleased to overcome their fierce rivals, Sapo was still smarting from the narrow semi-final loss to Iran on Friday.

"I'm happy to win but I'm not 100% satisfied because we were here to go to the final and win the championship," said the Brazilian.

"So if you're asking if I'm 100% satisfied, I'm not. We finished with a win in the end so it was very good for the team and what we need to do now is to prepare for the World Cup.

"Mentally the game is very difficult because if you win, you just get third place.

"I knew it was going to be a difficult game also because there is a big rivalry between Japan and China.

"We also gave everything against Iran, so we were more tired, whereas China perhaps at the very end against Thailand did not work as hard because of the score, so they had more power.

"But we're happy with the result because it's always a difficult game against China."

China coach Farinha, on the other hand, sounded a very different note insisting he was delighted to push one of Asia's powerhouses so close.

"If we consider the whole tournament I think we had a wonderful tournament except for the first-half against Thailand," he said.

"Especially today against a team who are usually number two in Asia. They were two goals ahead and we came back and the game was decided in the last seconds, so I'm very proud of the players.

"This morning we had a meeting and I said 'I want you to show people why you qualified for the World Cup' and I'm proud because we showed we are now a very good team.

"I'm very happy. We played well especially to get back to 2-2 so I have nothing to complain about. Obviously I'm sad we did not finish third but when we play like this, I don't leave the court sad.

"I'm very proud of the players and have nothing to complain about today."




Courtesy: The AFC.com

Number nine for unstoppable Iran

18 May 2008

BANGKOK - Vahid Shamsaee scored twice to give retiring skipper Mohammad Reza Heidarain the perfect send-off as Iran beat Thailand 4-0 at Nimibutr Stadium to win the 2008 AFC Futsal Championship.

Majid Latifi and Heidarian grabbed the other goals as Hossein Shams' side claimed their ninth title in 10 years in a game in which they always held the upper hand over their plucky opponents.

Iran had the first clear chance when Javad Asghari Moghaddam found himself clean through on goal but keeper Somkid Chuenta saved well with his legs.

Panomkorn Saisorn was then inches away from connecting with a cross before Iran took the lead as Latifi picked up the ball from a corner and drilled a low shot past Somkid.

Thailand had a good chance to get back on level terms seconds later but Eakapong Suratsawang fired well wide when handily placed before Somkid pulled of a tremendous double stop to deny Ali Asghar Hassanzadeh.

But Iran increased their lead through the prolific Shamsaee as he broke down the left before dispatching a low finish into the bottom corner.

Shamsaee netted Iran's third just over two minutes into the second period when he bamboozled a Thai defender to create space for himself before firing between Somkid's legs.

Mohammad Keshavarz cleared Anucha Munjarern's shot off the line as Thailand looked to spark a fightback before Eakapong drew a huge cheer from the partisan crowd when, on for keeper Somkid, he produced a fine last-ditch tackle to halt Moghaddam, who was clean through on goal after a Thailand attack had broken down.

Mostafa Nazari had to be alert to beat away Prasert Innui's powerful effort at his near post before Heidarian fittingly netted the final goal of the game after he was the beneficiary of Shamsaee's good work to slide the ball into an unguarded net and seal yet another triumph for unquestionably the best futsal team in Asia.




Courtesy: The AFC.com

Shams: We controlled the game

18 May 2008

BANGKOK - Iran coach Hosseim Shams underlined the ease at which his side collected their ninth AFC Futsal Championship title after a 4-0 victory over Thailand saw the Asian heavyweights claim the 2008 edition on Sunday.

Vahid Shamsaee scored twice to finish as the tournament's top-scorer and also scoop the Most Valuable Player Award, while Majid Latifi and skipper Mohammad Reza Heidarain, who announced his retirement before kick-off, also found the back of the net to ease past the hosts and disappoint a full house at Nimibutr Stadium.

Iran were deserved winners, conceding just two goals in six games as they swept all before them on the way to lifting the trophy.

Indeed they were only seriously tested in their narrow semi-final victory over Japan, an encounter Shams stressed was more taxing than Sunday's contest as Iran consigned their quarter-final loss to Thailand at the KL World 5s firmly to the history books.

"The game we had with Japan was much tougher, it was a more difficult game than the one we had today," he said.

"It was much easier because the pace of Thailand's play was much slower than that of Japan and it could be controlled nicely.

"It's been a long time since KL. I've worked well with the players and just taught them how to defend, how we should play and what each player should be doing.

"No doubt Thailand are better than before, step by step they are growing up, but the level of Iran is quite different.

"We knew exactly what to do. Minute by minute everything was under our control and really we could have scored more. But we just wanted to be sure about everything."

After a draining week that saw Thailand exceed expectations by making the final, coach Jose Maria Parzos Mendez admitted his side under-performed in the showpiece encounter and were simply outclassed by the Iranians.

"I think we didn't play as well as we could," he said.

"Maybe we were chasing the game, maybe we were tired, maybe because it was our first final of this type, it's not easy to play in these games.

"Iran were always better positioned, more concentrated on the task and they were much better than us.

"If you want to play competitively against a team like Iran, you cannot make two mistakes like we did in the first-half.

"The first goal was from a corner that we've seen a lot of on video and we momentarily lost concentration. Today we did not play like we can.

"But it was a very important game because it is a young team, it is a team that can play in more finals and this game can be a lesson for the future."

Mendez's own future is also under scrutiny as his contract expires next month but the Spaniard indicated he would like to remain at the helm.

"I don't know if my contract will be renewed, we must speak this week and see what happens," he added.

"I am happy here, I have no problem. I'm happy with the team, I think it has a lot of potential and I think the team can grow a lot."




Courtesy: The AFC.com

Shamsaee hails retiring ‘Reza’

18 May 2008

BANGKOK - Vahid Shamsaee may have finished as the top-scorer at the AFC Futsal Championship and scooped the Most Valuable Player Award, but the Iran star hailed retiring skipper Mohammad Reza Heidarian as the true driving force behind his success.

Shamsaee notched his 12th and 13th goals of the tournament to help Iran claim their ninth continental title in ten attempts courtesy of a 4-0 victory over hosts Thailand at Nimibutr Stadium on Sunday.

But despite scoring over a quarter of his team's goals in the entire competition, Shamsaee insisted he would not have accomplished anything if it were not for team-mate Heidarian.

"Mohammad Reza Heidarian is not just someone I play with, he is my teacher," he said.

"I have learnt many things from him and many of the skills I have are because of him. If he is not that confident to play a pass that makes it easy for me, I cannot score. I will never forget Reza, he will stay with me forever and he will always be my teacher."

In a team full of stars, Shamsaee has always stood out as perhaps Iran's most crucial player.

And he got off to a promising start in Bangkok, scoring twice in the 12-0 rout of Kuwait.

Two more followed against China before he netted five in the 14-0 drubbing of Tajikistan as Iran romped to top spot in Group D.

Shamsaee found it relatively hard going against Lebanon in the quarter-finals, notching only one of his side's nine goals, before again underlining why he is such a vital part of Iran's success in a tight semi-final contest with Japan when he pounced on a defensive lapse to claim the only goal of the game.

Like Iran, the 32-year-old has finished top of the pile in nine out of ten editions of the AFC Futsal Championship and while he has collected the same hat-trick of trophies before, he insisted this time it held extra significance.

"This year is quite special," he added.

"I won these two prizes in the tenth year of the competition so this figure is quite special and I will just try to continue playing like this in the future.

"I enjoy what I am doing in futsal, I am just thinking about my family and my team and I am just trying a lot and training a lot and I think if I continue like this, no doubt my level will always be high."




Courtesy: The AFC.com

Japan win Fairplay award

19 May 2008

BANGKOK - Japan may not have walked off with the AFC Futsal Championship trophy but their style of play and conduct on court certainly won over many fans and saw them pick up the Fair Play Award.

Sergio Sapo's side overcame China 5-3 on Sunday to claim the bronze medal and finish their 2008 campaign on a high after the disappointment of failing to make the final following the heart-breaking loss to Iran in the last four.

But while other teams were losing their cool and picking up yellow cards and suspensions for dissent or reckless challenges, Japan collected just two bookings throughout the competition.

Indeed, after Daisuke Ono saw yellow in his side's opening game, the 8-2 victory over Chinese Taipei, the entire team did not pick up another booking until Sunday's encounter with China when Yusuke Inada was penalised for encroaching.

That record is particularly impressive given the nature of some of Japan's contests and the fact they were playing with a level of intensity geared to winning the entire competition.

Although the opening victory over Chinese Taipei was a sedate affair, the following triumph over Turkmenistan was a niggly affair before a somewhat bruising encounter with Australia.

Two goals down at half-time, Japan roared back in the second period, scoring four times in a game that saw their opponents pick up four bookings.

But it was in the semi-final with Iran that their temperament was really highlighted.

After falling behind thanks to a terrible defensive error just before the interval, Sapo's men gave their all in the second period rather than let their heads drop, fighting all the way to the end and pinning back their more illustrious opponents towards the end of the game.

And while other sides may have resorted to more underhand tactics such as simulation and intimidating the referee, or let their frustration get the better of them, Japan channelled their competitive spirit in the right way and it nearly paid off as they came within a whisker of finding an equaliser against the Asian powerhouses.

Even the third-placed game could have descended into a fractious affair given the intense rivalry between Japan and China but they showed their sportsmanship until the very end to come away with the bronze medal and, deservedly, the Fair Play Award.





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