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Oceania Football Web SiteTAHITI EMBRACE FUTSAL FOR FIRST TIMESaturday, 07 June 08If the Tahitian Futsal team are to have success at the OFC Futsal Championships in Suva this week a lot of credit will go to Scott Gilligan, the technical advisor working with the side.
Since April of this year, Gilligan and head coach Rani Bea have been living with the squad in a football academy in Tahiti, training twice a day with every Sunday off.
Gilligan is the current Australian futsal coach and was approached to help prepare the Tahiti team for the OFC Championships.
“Tahiti embraced Futsal for the first time last year,” Gilligan said. “The first ever tournament attracted 20 teams and the winner earned the right to represent Tahiti at the OFC Futsal Championships.”
Gilligan said that eight players in the Tahitian side are from the small island of Rapa – where there is no airport and they have to take a boat across to the main Island.
Though the team has only been playing Futsal for a short time Gilligan said he was impressed with how far they have come and developed.
“There have been big improvements across the board for all our players, everyone has really improved a lot. There are no outstanding stars but collectively we work well as a unit. I think we will shock a few teams.”
Gilligan was level headed about his expectations from the tournament.
“The intention is to come here and win but I think realistically Solomon Islands are the team to beat. However there are some aspects of the game like pressure defence and scoring goals on the back post that Tahiti do better than the Australian team so you never know.
“But it is a learning curve for them, only the goalkeeper has ever been out of the country from the squad.”
Gilligan said it was difficult to try and control their excitement because he didn’t want it to affect their game.
“They are very excited. I want them to feel like it’s just another game but I know their level of excitement is just going to keep them buzzing.”
Gilligan said Tahiti carries a young squad with an average age of 22 and have had the advantage of training in some quality facilities in Tahiti.
“We trained on full sized pitches – which were a godsend in more ways than one. A lot of countries haven’t been training on a full court, and we have trained for 100 minutes, rather than 70, so we are very well conditioned.”
Tahiti have a bye on Match Day One and will face Tuvalu first up at 20H00 on match day two.
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Oceania Football Web SiteNEW NZ COACH NOT LOOKING TO MAKE EXCUSESSaturday, 07 June 08New Zealand Futsal coach Erkin Osman is looking to combine his experience with the teams enthusiasm and raw talent to guide the side to their first ever Futsal World Cup.
Osman – who was a late replacement for coach Rod Crighton - was a member of the Australian Futsal team from 1983 – 1984 and is the only Australian to have played at four Futsal World Cups.
He only joined the NZ team three weeks ago and said that though he has only had a short time with the side is very confident in their ability.
“I have only had eight training sessions together with the squad, maybe totalling 23 hours.
“The assistant coach has been working with the guys when I haven’t been around and there has been a lot of positives to come out of the last three weeks,” Erkin said.
“Once we started training, there were some important lessons learned very quickly and I believe we have a great shot at winning this thing. There will be no excuses from me if we don’t.”
Osman – who lives in Sydney – was the coach of the Australian Futsal team for several years and now runs his own soccer academy in Australia.
“When the occasion comes up for a job like this I don’t mind coming in late into the piece. I have the trust in the players and the confidence that they can do the job.
“The guys all have the Futsal World Cup in their sights and they are jumping out of their skins to get there. If we come up short it won’t be for lack of effort.”
Osmans squad consists of four players who travelled to Australia for the OFC Futsal Championship in 2004.
“We will look to our experienced players like Eliah Billeh, Josh Martin and Andrew Gwilliam for leadership and guidance on the field.
Of the new guys Marvin Eakin has been one of the most impressive. He picks things up very quickly and is a good motivator and that is why I have named him Vice Captain.
Osman noted that the tactics of football are totally different to football, which many of his team play throughout different leagues in New Zealand.
“In Futsal you can’t afford to have players who can’t defend. Possession turnover is a very big deal and there is an extremely quick transition between attack and defence.
“Everything is very intense, especially in defence where you have to be an extremely tight knit unit.”
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Oceania Football Web SiteVANUATU FUTSAL SQUAD AS READY AS THEY WILL EVER BE Saturday, 07 June 08 “We are 100% physically, mentally and spiritual ready. We have been training five times a week for four months for this tournament.”
That was the staunch, confident opinion of Vanuatu Futsal assistant coach Marco Herrominly who has been grooming the experienced squad based in Port Vila, alongside head coach Marcellino Barthelemy.
Herrominly said that he didn’t mind the team thinking ahead to the thought of competing at the countries first ever FIFA World Cup event.
“This is their dream,” he said. “Now they are like a hungry dog... waiting.”
Vanuatu’s preparation program has involved four months of training with inter-squad games serving as trial runs.
“The facilities in Vanuatu are not like here, we play on concrete inside back home,” Herrominly said.
“There are no stars in our team but instead it is the collective, team effort that will get us through.”
Barthelemy brings with him an experienced squad with four players making appearances for Vanuatu at the OFC Futsal Championships in both 1999 and 2004.
Vanuatu has an active Futsal foundation consisting of 38 teams throughout different leagues from Premier level right through to Women’s Futsal and a U-12 junior league.
Barthelemy said there is an interesting transition he has noticed from football players to Futsal.
“When players go from futsal to football there is no problem,” he said. “But when it is flipped the other way around and players go from football to futsal they struggle to adapt to the new environment.”
Vanuatu kick-off their 2008 OFC Futsal Championship campaign when they meet Tuvalu at 18H00 at the Vodafone Arena in Suva.
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Oceania Football Web SiteOFC FUTSAL CHAMPIONSHIP STARTS TODAYFriday, 06 June 08The Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) Futsal Championship kicks off in Suva, Fiji today with seven nations competing for a place at the FIFA Futsal World Cup in Brazil in September.
There was a late change to kick off times in the tournament and the first match between Solomon Islands and New Zealand will now kick off at 16H00 (local time) followed by Tuvalu v Vanuatu at 18H00 and Fiji v New Caledonia at 20H00.
Oceaniafootball.com will provide up to date results, photos and match reports of all games at the tournament.
The tournament is destined to have a new winner this year as New Caledonia, New Zealand, Solomon Islands, Tahiti, Tuvalu and Vanuatu all compete for the championship which Australia has dominated since the tournaments conception.
Australia has won four titles in a row since 1992 with New Zealand and Fiji both earning runners up honours on two occasions, New Zealand in ‘92 and ‘04 and Fiji in ‘96 and ’99.
Australia left OFC on January 1, 2006 to join the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and their absence provides a pathway for another nation to represent Oceania at the FIFA Futsal World Cup in Brazil in September.
Australia was cast in the same group as world champions Brazil at the FIFA Futsal World Cup - Chinese Taipei 2004 and finished the group stage of the tournament without a win.
Futsal – an indoor form of football played with five players per side and a weighted ball – has become increasingly popular throughout countries in OFC and the lure of a FIFA World Cup and the absence of heavyweights Australia will make this tournament well received throughout all competing nations.
The OFC Futsal Championship kicks off on Sunday 8 June at 16H00 with the Solomon Islands entertaining New Zealand in the tournament opener.
The tournament follows a round robin format based on a league system and runs from Sunday 8 June through to Saturday 14 June.
All match results, news and photos can be found at www.oceaniafootball.com
2008 OFC Futsal Championships
Dates 8 – 14 June 2008
Venues Vodafone Arena, Suva, Fiji
Format Round robin tournament based on a league system. The winner will represent OFC at the FIFA Futsal World Cup Brazil 2008.
Teams Fiji, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Solomon Islands, Tahiti, Tuvalu, Vanuatu
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Oceania Football Web SiteSOLOMON FUTSAL SIDE TO RELY ON YOUTH Friday, 06 June 08Solomon Island Futsal coach Victor Wai’ia has the anomaly of having the youngest and yet the most experienced squad at the OFC Futsal Championships in Suva.
The squad boasts two 17 year olds with the oldest player only 22 and yet seven of the side remain from the Australia National Futsal Championship in Canberra this year.
That experience combined with a pre-tournament trip to Sydney next week makes the Solomon Island side very well prepared for the test ahead of them in Fiji.
Wai’ia was the assistant coach in the 2004 OFC Futsal Championships in Sydney and has since risen through the ranks to take charge of the young side that he has been grooming for many years.
“I coached these boys since they were 12 and were put together in the school of excellence and the junior league that we organised back in Honiara,” Wai’ia said.
The Solomon Island side have had a healthy preparation campaign where they travelled to Sydney, Australia and met competition from the Dural Warriors (7-4 win), North End Beaches (6-5 win) and Sydney Magic (3-4 loss).
Wai’ia said that three of his squad play outdoor football in lower divisions back home and the rest are all specialized Futsal players.
“Futsal is really growing in the Solomon Islands,” said Wai’ia. “We now have 109 registered teams from U-12 to U-16 level.”
“The open category league started three weeks ago and my squad all play for open category clubs.”
Wai’ia said he will look to two utility players to lead his team when the tournament starts on Sunday.
“Elliot Ragomo and Jack Whetney both have experience paying in the high profile European and Australian Futsal leagues.
Wai’ia said that the Vodafone Arena will provide a different feel to the courts the Solomon Island team are used to playing on.
“We don’t have specialized Futsal facilities in the Solomon’s so intead we play on Netball courts, where the dimensions are a little smaller.”
“We will have to adjust to the bigger field size but will have a good chance to have a look when we train at the arena tomorrow evening.
“The players are very excited and have been looking forward to this for a long time.”
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Oceania Football Web SiteFIJI FUTSAL COACH KHAN TARGETS OPENING GAMES Friday, 06 June 08Fiji Futsal coach Intiaz Khan describes his teams opening three matches of the OFC Futsal Championships in Suva as ‘crucial’ to their quest to reach the FIFA Futsal World Cup later this year.
The indoor, five-a-side tournament kicks off on Saturday and the host side plays their pacific island neighbours in its first three games and has set their sights set on raking in maximum points from the opening three days play.
Khan is in his first year of coaching though attended two world cups qualifiers as a player in 1996 and 2000. Khan was a member of the Fiji side that lost to Australia 2-1 in ’96.
Khan said that the recently completed Fiji FACT tournament will have an impact on his squad.
“All of my squad were involved in the Fiji FACT and there are some tires legs in the camp,” said Khan. Fatigue will be a factor, at the moment we are just letting the players rest up and relax the muscles.”
The Fiji squad has only one member left over from the Futsal side that contested the last World Cup Qualifier in Australia.
Khan see’s the Vanuatu squad as his biggest threat and said that the amount of Futsal they play compared to Fiji is huge.
“They are like pro footballers for indoor, I think New Zealand will also be very strong.”
“We all know its international level and the whole of Oceania will be competing. We will play our guts out and just try to do our best.”
“I’ll need the support from local fans to be like a sixth player for us.
The inclusion of Lautoka midfielder Alvin Avinesh and Navua’s Siga Ali has been a major boost.
“The two combined well with the other players making us become a stronger unit,” Khan said.
The former Suva rep has been able to assess his sides with the matched played against local teams.
“It has been improving daily and I am happy with the progress,” he said.
Suva defender Mira Sahib and Rewa striker Kamal Hassan are contenders for role of skipper in the week-long tourney.
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Luca Ranocchiari -->
luca.ranocchiari@futsalplanet.com
