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AFC - Iran’s quest for a record eighth AFC
Futsal Championship title will be driven by a pack of youngsters, as the
Asian futsal kingpins look to rebuild in strength for the 2008 FIFA Futsal
World Championship.
As the tournament gets underway today here in the picturesque capital of
Uzbekistan, Iran is once again, as it has been for the last seven years, the
team to beat in the 16-team event. But the going got tough for an ageing
Team Melli in the last edition in Vietnam and they managed to cling on to
their title only by a whisker, with determined opposition coming from
eventual runners-up Japan and ASEAN powerhouse Thailand, who thoroughly
exposed the champions’ weaknesses.
At the pre-tournament press conference, Iranian head of delegation Mohamed
Deroudgar spoke about the power of youth. “This time we have a very young
team,” said Deroudgar. “After the 2004 edition itself we decided to
introduce young players and today we have three key players in the 18-20 age
group. We also have highly experienced players like Vahid Shamsaee and
Mohsin Zarei. It is a good mix.”
“We aim to defend our title and then prepare for the 2008 FIFA Futsal World
Championship.”
But first the Iranians, who are coached by Jurandir Dutra, need to finish on
top of Group D against tough opposition, some of which is familiar from the
last time round, like the Thais, who handed out to Team Melli their first
ever draw in the history of the tournament since 1999.
If Iran are banking on a mix of old and new, then, Japan, who have played
bridesmaids to them no less than four times in the finals, have stuck to the
tried-and-tested. Japan’s head of delegation Kuniya Daini said: “We have
come here to win the title and there are not many changes to our squad (from
the one which played in Vietnam). We lost in the final four times in a row
but this time our team has prepared well and we are confident that we will
lift the title.”
Japan earned the distinction of becoming the first team to ever beat Iran in
the AFC Futsal Championship last year in the group stage, which left the
champions stunned and teetering on the brink before receiving a helping hand
from their archrivals themselves who ousted Thailand in the knockout stage.
Had Japan then drawn with Thailand, Iran would have been out of the
tournament.
This time, Team Melli and Japan are on a collision course much earlier than
the final if both play to form. The players to watch in coach Sapo’s list
are Kenichiro Kogure and Takuya Suzumura, who are both capable of turning
around a match singlehandedly.
The two ‘Stans’ - Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan – had signaled their coming of
age in Vietnam after storming into the semifinals and Kyrgyzstan had come
close to upsetting Japan before losing narrowly. Uzbekistan are favourites
to advance to the last four this time, having been slotted in an easy group
but Kyrgyzstan will have to see off the likes of Australia and Lebanon for a
repeat of last year’s semifinal run.
Kyrgyzstan’s head of delegation Almaz Kadyrkulov said: “We have prepared for
this tournament throughout the year and our minimum aim is to qualify for
the semifinals.”
Uzbekistan coach Pavel Donchenko captured it in a nutshell: “Every team has
a dream. I hope our dream will come true.”
Newcomers Australia impressed in the qualifiers and are in the most open
group of the tournament in which, apart from Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon and Kuwait
could also prove to be difficult customers.
Six matches will be played everyday from 12 noon to 2100 hours through May
21-24 in the single round robin league with the four top points earners
advancing to the semifinals scheduled for May 26 (1600-2000 hours).
The third-fourth place playoff between the semifinal losers (1600-1800
hours) precedes the final (1800-2000 hours) on May 27.
Japan, Thailand and Australia will be in action on the opening day at the
3000-seater Yunusabad Sports Complex.
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