Courtesy: AFC.com

Kuala Lumpur: The characteristics of the five Asian teams who were in action in the 2012 FIFA Futsal World Cup Thailand were dissected during a seminar in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday.

Hosts Thailand, Australia, Kuwait, Iran and Japan flew the Asian flag at the world’s premier national futsal competition in November last year.

Their characteristics were discussed at a four-day FIFA/AFC Futsal Seminar on the FIFA/AFC Futsal World Cup 2012 legacy for Asia (pictured) in the Malaysian capital attended by 48 national futsal team coaches and AFC Elite Futsal Coaching Instructors.

FIFA Technical Study Group member and AFC Futsal Development Director Ali Targholizadeh, in his presentation at the seminar, shared some analyses and general tactical behaviours of the teams, as follows:

THAILAND
Team Analysis
Technical: Good individual techniques and strong dribbling skills
Tactical: Basic formation of 1-3-1, good counterattack
Physical: Fast players, physical strength not so strong
Mental: Excellent team spirit

General Tactical Behaviour
Attack:
• Good in ball possession
• Well prepared for set plays
• Good counterattack
• Pivot tactics
• Shots from a distance

Defence:
• Good in 1v1
• Good in blocking shots
• Good communication skills when defending
• Fast withdrawal and return back in transition


IRAN
Team Analysis
Technical: Good individual techniques, comfortable in possession when under pressure and strong dribbling skills
Tactical: Basic formation 1-3-1
Physical: Ball-winning ability in one-on-one situations
Mental: Ability to stay focused after falling behind and influential goalkeeper

General Tactical Behaviour
Attack:
• Sound ball possession
• Good goalkeeper distributions
• Good in set plays
• Fast transitions from defence to attack
• Good in pivot plays
• Lack of finishing

Defence:
• Ability to win in 1v1
• Good coverage of the first defender and closing the gaps
• Good communication with goalkeeper
• Good in balance / anchor play


JAPAN
Team Analysis
Technical: Good individual techniques
Tactical: Basic formation 1-4-0, tactical flexibility (adapting to state of play)
Physical: High fitness level, ball-winning ability in one-on-one situations
Mental: Excellent team spirit, ability to stay focused after falling behind

General Tactical Behaviour
Attack:
• Ball possession
• Experienced players
• Good in power play
• Effectiveness and good concentration

Defence:
• Fast transition from attack to defence
• Good communication when put under pressure from opponent half
• Well organised in compact defending
• Ball winning in 1v1
• Slow-start defensive concentration


AUSTRALIA
Team Analysis
Technical: Long-range shots, influential individual players
Tactical: Basic formation 1-2-2
Physical: Ball-winning ability in one-on-one situations
Mental: Ability to stay focused after falling behind

General Tactical Behaviour
Attack:
• Counter attack
• Shots from a distance

Defence:
• Good in 1v1
• Slow in transitions
• Lack of concentration with defensive errors


KUWAIT
Team Analysis
Technical: Good individual techniques, defence splitting tactics
Tactical: Basic formation 1-2-2, tactical flexibility (adapting to state of play)
Physical: Fast players
Mental: Excellent team spirit

General Tactical Behaviour
Attack:
• Good preparation to play power play
• Played power play from early first half to win third match (against Egypt)
• Far distance shots

Defence:
• Fast transition from attack to defence
• Good in 1v1
• Communication
• Lack of experience and concentration in first halves

Recommendations
Targholizadeh has concluded his presentation by saying that Asian futsal has the potential to soar higher on the world stage if improvement work is carried out in several areas.

“Futsal is growing rapidly however we should improve the technical knowledge of the coaches,” Targholizadeh said. “Also, domestic futsal club competitions or futsal leagues need to have a sufficient number of matches per year.

“The physical condition especially physical strength is one of the key elements of futsal so Asians should work more on this aspect.

“Successful teams in Futsal World Cups had ‘perfect goalkeepers’, therefore we need to reconsider goalkeeper development in your futsal development programmes.”





Posted by Kevin Hartwell