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The AFC.comAl Sadaka 4-4 Al Rayyan. AET. (4-3 pens)Friday, 01 July 2011Doha: Jean Kotany was Al Sadaka's hero as he converted the winning penalty to help the Lebanese side overcome Al Rayyan and claim third place at the AFC Futsal Club Championship 2011.
After extra time had finished all square at 4-4, Kotany held his nerve to convert the winning spot kick after Mohammed Zadeh and Hamad Kassab had missed for the hosts. Sergio had skied Al Sadaka's first penalty over the bar.
Al Rayyan had drawn first blood when keeper Rabie El Kakhi was unable to hold onto the ball and Zadeh bundled home.
The same player was unfortunate to see a long-range effort come back off the inside of the post and Al Sadaka should have equalised but Hassan Bajouk hit the woodwork with the goal at his mercy.
Mohammad Tahiri then rattled the frame of the goal with a free-kick as Al Rayyan went in at half-time a goal to the good.
Al Sadaka levelled when keeper Badi Johar's throw was intercepted and Khaled Takaji squared for Kotany to side-foot home.
Both sides had chances to win the game but it was Al Sadaka who took the lead with three and a half minutes to go when a quick break ended with Takaji finding the back if the net.
Ali El Homsi then extended their lead almost immediately but Tahiri reduced the deficit with a fine long-range strike before Al Rayyan equalised with just under a minute to go when Sergio put through his own net.
Kotany grabbed his second in the first-half of extra time when he fired past Johar but Al Rayyan hit back when Zadeh's deflected free-kick beat El Kakhi as the game eventually went to penalties, where Al Sadaka prevailed.
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The AFC.comDib delighted plan paid offFriday, 01 July 2011Doha: Al Sadaka boss Hussein Dib was pleased his plan to wear down injury-ravaged Al Rayyan paid off even though the Lebanese side needed penalties to clinch third place at the AFC Club Futsal Championship 2011.
After extra-time finished level at 4-4, Jean Kotany coolly converted the winning penalty as Al Sadaka prevailed 4-3 in the shoot-out.
"Our key today was to employ more rotation and it worked, especially in the second-half," said Dib.
"Unfortunately they scored two goals from our mistakes, one was by one of our players, but our strategy was to make the Al Rayyan players more tired.
"Our aim was to finish third, we did a very good job especially in the semi-final. Our goal was to make them tired and in the second-half and we attacked more.
"I did not think the game would go to extra time, especially after yesterday's games, but I was prepared for it. You saw today three or four players who had not played before in the tournament, this was our weapon.
"You cannot leave a player out there for more than six, seven minutes at a time. The rotation was our weapon today. To get the first-team players some rest and come back on with new energy."
Al Rayyan coach Hassan Rhouila, on the other hand, has been forced to deal with a litany of injuries throughout the tournament and felt the hosts' exertions finally caught up with them.
"I thank my players because they faced a huge challenge, it is hard to play such a huge tournament with only six players," he said.
"We tried our best, we competed with high-level teams in this tournament but in the end, I'm satisfied with my players.
"I think the Rayyan management were focusing only on hosting this tournament and not the team. We need some more players. We only had six players for the whole tournament. I think they will sit together and discuss this tournament. It is difficult to play in a tournament of this level with only six players."
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The AFC.comTime to lift Lebanese futsal declares DibFriday, 01 July 2011Doha: Futsal in Lebanon is on the rise and its popularity will no doubt be boosted by Al Sadaka's third-place finish at the 2011 AFC Futsal Club Championship but coach Hussein Dib knows that it is critical to develop the club game in the Middle East country in order to help build a strong national team.
Al Sadaka defeated hosts Al Rayyan 4-3 on penalties in the third-place playoff on Friday to cap an impressive performance in Doha, which included a victory over Uzbekistan's Ardus, a draw with GH Bank of Thailand and narrow, extra-time loss to Japanese powerhouse Nagoya Oceans in the semi-final.
And Dib insists the time is right to start advancing the club game in Lebanon in order for the national team to achieve similar success in the continental arena.
Speaking to www.the-afc.com prior to the third-place match, which finished 4-4 at the end of extra-time, Dib said:
"The problem Lebanon facing is that its national team was formed before the evolution of club futsal. But clubs are getting recognised now. For example, more than 3,000 fans thronged the venue which hosted the best-of-five finals to decide the league champions. It's a good number.
"Futsal players are quite popular in the country and it's up to everybody associated with the game to improve it. We should be thinking of ways to take the game forward. We've pretty decent facilities at ten different indoor halls so that part is taken care of.
"The main cause for concern is that our national team has a high average age of 29. They'll all retire in a few years' time and I'm afraid that'll create a big vacuum."
The 44-year-old, who led Al Sadaka to last season's Lebanese futsal league and cup double, defeating All Sports on both occasions, turned his attention to grassroots futsal in the country, speaking of the importance in getting youngsters involved in the game before adding that there must be a concerted effort from all involved in order to take futsal forward.
"It's the duty of clubs like Sadaka to feed the national team with young players and we're willing to do that.
"Children must start playing futsal at the age of eight or nine, but that's not happening in our country at the moment. We don't have any age-group tournaments either. That affects clubs' progress. Still we're ranked in the top 10 in Asia and top 50 in the world, which is quite good.
"Events like the AFC Futsal Club Championship will do a lot of good to the game in West Asia.
"The second edition has been organised in a flawless manner. The overall standard of the games and talent on display offer a lot of hope as well. But it's equally important that the AFC comes up with various new ideas and projects to lift the game in countries like Lebanon, where the national League is just four years old.
"I feel the AFC should guide the administrators, who also should be made accountable with regular reviews. If Iran can become fourth in the world, why can't other West Asian nations follow suit? Our national League isn't professional and we need the support of all to make it strong."
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The AFC.comNagoya Oceans crowned championsFriday, 01 July 2011Doha: Tamoaki Watanabe's goal in the second-half of extra time saw Nagoya Oceans win the AFC Futsal Club Championship 2011 with a thrilling 3-2 victory over Shahid Mansouri at Al Rayyan Main Hall.
The Iranians had opened up a two-goal lead at the interval but Nagoya dug deep to level the contest despite the dismissal of captain Wataru Kitahara before Watanabe struck the winner in the second period of additional time.
Shahid had the better of the opening 20 minutes and almost took the lead in spectacular fashion but Ahmad Esmaeilpour's brilliant turn and shot smacked the crossbar and flew over.
The Iranians did strike first, though, when following a corner, the ball came back off the bar and a mighty scramble ensued before Hamid Nasiri slid home.
They doubled their lead 23 seconds before the break when Morteza Azimaeidivkolaei forged down the right before finding the top-left corner of the net with an unerring finish.
Worse was to follow for Nagoya at the start of the second-half when skipper Kitahara was dismissed for a professional foul - his second red card of the tournament - and Masoud Daneshvar almost made them pay moments later but his shot clipped the outside of the post.
The Japanese returned to full numbers without conceding and pulled a goal back when Rafael Henmi centred for Kenichiro Kogure to slot home.
Nagoya then equalised when the ball fell loose from a corner and Morioka Kaoru stabbed it into the back of the net and while both sides pushed hard for a winner, none was forthcoming as the game went into extra time.
The first period proved goalless but Nagoya took the lead for the first time with under three minutes to go when from a corner, keeper Mojtaba Nasirniaiefarouji pulled off an unbelievable double save but could not prevent Watanabe from eventually tucking home the loose ball.
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The AFC.comAmarante: "mission accomplished!"Friday, 01 July 2011Doha: Boss Jose Amarante declared it was mission accomplished after Nagoya Oceans captured the AFC Club Futsal Championship Trophy with a thrilling 3-2 extra-time victory over Shahid Mansouri.
The Japanese side found themselves two goals down at the break and then had skipper Wataru Kitahara sent-off but strikes from Kenichiro Kogure and Morioka Kaoru hauled Nagoya level before Tamoaki Watanabe's goal in the second additional period clinched victory.
"We say that our mission is accomplished, it is a very important title," said Amarante.
"When I took over, the club asked me to improve the quality of the team's play and, if possible, become the best team in Asia.
"In the past three years, we have been able to do a great job but to become the best in the world, we still have a long way to go and we have to keep working hard to achieve that.
"The game was of very high-level. We played really well, we came back from two goals down, our players' desire, will and ambition to win the game helped us to score the winning goal in extra time.
"At half-time we talked to the players to correct some things and when the player was sent-off, we were able to get through that and when we were back to full-strength, the players dug deep and played really well.
"As a European coach, I got to two finals in Europe but I lost both. This is quite an achievement for me personally, and I am very happy for that.
"Finally I want to give special thanks to my backroom staff as they worked so hard for me. My mother passed away two weeks ago and I had to go back to Brazil and they kept everything going."
Shahid Mansouri coach Reza Lak did not attend the post-match press conference.
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The AFC.comKeshavarz claims MVP awardFriday, 01 July 2011Doha: The pain of losing the AFC Club Futsal Championship 2011 final was eased slightly for Mohammad Keshavarz after the Shahid Mansouri FC played was named Most Valuable Player of the tournament.
The Iranians missed out on the trophy in heartbreaking fashion as they let slip a two-goal lead to Nagoya Oceans to go down 3-2 in extra time.
Keshavarz was fully deserving of the award, scoring two goals in the tournament including the extra-time winner in the thrilling 6-5 semi-final victory over Al Rayyan on Thursday, and was a major driving force behind their success.
Hassan Zadeh picked up the top-scorer award after netting 10 goals in five games for Al Rayyan as the hosts finished fourth. The Iranian scored twice in the third-place play-off game against Al Sadaka but missed a penalty as they lost out to the Lebanese. Al Rayyan also collected the Fair Play Award.
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