Courtesy: AFC.com

Kuala Lumpur: AFC Futsal Club Championship 2013 contenders Al Sadaka of Lebanon foresee their toughest challenge to come from hosting club Nagoya Oceans when the competition kicks off in August.

An official draw for this year’s finals to be held in Nagoya, Japan, pitted the Lebanese outfit into Group A along with Nagoya Oceans, Shenzen Nanling Tielang of China and Vietnamese side Thai Son Nam.

Al Sadaka punched their ticket to the finals after finishing second in their six-team Zone 1 Qualifiers in Malaysia in April after losing 5-2 to Qatar’s Al Sadd in the zone’s final.

And this year is Al Sadaka’s second continental campaign where they aim to at least repeat or better still improve their third-place finish in the 2011 edition in Qatar.

The-AFC.com managed to talk to Al Sadaka head coach Hussein Dib (pictured) who is also a coaching instructor attending a two-day AFC Elite Futsal Coaching Instructor Course in the Malaysian capital.

“All the teams in our group are tough opponents,” he said. “We don’t know much about Shenzen but I heard they have a new coach from Brazil. Thai Son Nam have national players while 2011 winners Nagoya Oceans are the hosts and favourites in the group.

“I think Nagoya Oceans will be toughest rivals to beat but we’d prefer to play them first so that the toughest challenge is over and done with early.”

Al Sadaka, who lost 2-1 after extra time to Oceans in the semi-finals in Qatar 2011, are aiming to surpass their third-place finish in the 2011 edition by hiring two new players from Kuwait and banking on top form they stand to get from their soon-to-start domestic league.

“We don’t have overseas friendlies to prepare ourselves because our domestic league will start on July 13, which is in the month of Ramadan and this alone will keep us busy and in top form which we need for our exploits in Nagoya,” he said.

“However, we do have interest in two Kuwaiti players whom we are trying to recruit to fortify our already strong squad that has six national players, a Serbian and an Iraqi, among others. This will help us in our target to at least equal our third-place finish in 2011.”

Al Sadaka have been scheduled to commence their campaign against Nagoya Oceans on Match Day 1 on August 27.





Posted by Kevin Hartwell