Courtesy: The AFC.com


Mendez monitoring Shenzhen closely

Thursday, 04 April 2013

Chonburi: Thailand’s Chonburi Bluewave GH Bank are pining high hopes of making it into the August finals of the AFC Club Futsal Championship 2013 after capturing experienced Spanish futsal tactician Pazos Mendez.

Mendez, who led Thailand's national team to the final of the 2008 AFC Futsal Championship where they were beaten 4-0 by eventual champions Iran, will lead the Thais in the upcoming AFC Club Futsal Championship 2013 qualifiers where they will face ambitious Chinese outfit Shenzhen Nanling Tielang as well as debutants Pasargad of the Philippines and Chinese Taipei’s Tainan City.

"The Chinese side (Shenzhen Nanling) have added many new and skillful players," Mendez, who have been involved in Asian futsal for more than a decade, was quoted by the club’s official website. "Especially Vahid Shamsaei, at 37-year age, still plays the major role for the team.

"Overall we had a very good season, we played well in the season of 2012-2013. I am confident that we can win all the matches in our group. The match against Shenzhen will decide the group champions however we will not underestimate the newcomers from Chinese Taipei and the Philippines too."

They meet Tainan City in the curtain raiser next Thursday and take on Shenzhen in their last match of the group after facing debutants Pasargad on Friday.

Bluewave have as many as four Thai internationals who played in the AFC Futsal Championship 2012 and who were later featured in the Thailand team during the FIFA Futsal World Cup 2012 which was organised in Thailand.

Star players Kritsada Wongkaeo, Jipech Sarawut, Apiwat Chaemcharoen and Suphawut Thueanklang, who had scored two goals in Thailand’s famous semi-final win over Iran in the AFC Futsal Championship last year, are expected to play in the Panasonic Futsal Complex in Kuala Lumpur.



Courtesy: The AFC.com


Tricky ties await Group A

Wednesday, 10 April 2013

Kuala Lumpur: Having unknown debutants in the ranks of Pasargad FC and Tainan City, the Group A of AFC Futsal Club Championship 2013 Zone 2 qualifiers promise tricky matches when it start at the Shah Alam's Panasonic Sports Complex on Thursday.

Chinese representative Shenzen Nanjing Tielang FC are also making a debut in the competition but given their experienced players, Chonburi Bluewave coach Pazos Mendez believes that the Chinese are the team to beat in Group A.

“I have lots of futsal friends in China and though I cannot claim that I know the in and out of Shenzen, I know that they are a team to beat,” Mendez told reporters.

“I have been following this competition from the very beginning and the quality has been improving with every succeeding year so I am expecting some highly contested matches in both the groups,” he said.

Shenzen’s coach Wu Zhuoxi, a former Chinese national futsal team coach, believes that their team’s ideal preparation ahead of the tournament will certainly help them qualify for the August finals.

“The main aim is qualifications and we are well prepared for it. The first concentration is to see off the group where Chonburi Bluewave certainly look stronger than any other sides but we respect the opponents from Chinese Taipei and the Philippines so making it into the knockout stages by no mean would be easy,” he said.

The group winners and runners-up will book a place in the semi-final and the top three of Zone 2 will qualify for the finals to be held in Nagoya in late August. The league champions of Japan, Iran and Uzbekistan and the winners and runners-up of Zone 1 will be other sides featuring in the eight-team competition.

Tainan City’s main aim in the tournament, according to the head coach Lo Chih Tsung, is to learn and gain experience at the international stage.

“This championship is a learning opportunity as at the end of the day, regardless of the results, we will gain invaluable experiences. We want to showcase our futsal to the rest of Asia,” Tsung said.

Thursday's Matches

Match Time Venue
Chonburi Bluewave vs Tainan City 12:30 Panasonic Sports Complex
Thai Son Nam vs Dural Warriors 15:30 Panasonic Sports Complex
Shenzen Nanling vs Pasargad FC 18:30 Panasonic Sports Complex





Courtesy: The AFC.com


Dural looking for durability

Thursday, 11 April 2013

Kuala Lumpur: Australian representatives Dural Warriors FC are planning to make a grand debut on the international stage during the qualifications for the August finals of the AFC Club Futsal Championship 2013.

The Australian club have played in only one finals and that was in 2010 when the tournament did not have the provision of qualifiers. Last year, Australian side Maccabi had played two matches and suffered defeats in both so Dural coach Robert Varela has taken a cautious approach.

“It’s difficult. We have an experienced opponent Thai Son Nam in Group B and at the same time Pelindo FC also prefer speedy and tricky futsal,” he told www.the-afc.com.

“However home work has been done. We have analysed a couple of videos from last year’s final in Kuwait to get information on Thai Son Nam while some local league matches of Pelindo were also analysed.
“The target is to get out of the group and then we will see how it unfolds,” the veteran tactician said.

Pelindo coach Dadang Iskandar believes that the other sides of Group B are strong and an added effort from his side is needed in the tournament to progress in the knockout stages.

“Both of them are tough opponents and we have to remain at our best. We had bitter experiences of missing out the finals last year against Thai Son Nam so I hope this time we would not have to suffer that disappointment,” he said.






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