Courtesy: OFC Web Site


New Caledonia aim big

In the lead-up to the OFC Futsal Championship Invitational oceaniafootball.com will present a rundown on each of the seven teams who will participate in the tournament at Auckland’s The Trusts Arena from 23-27 July.

Today we are bringing you the latest on New Caledonia who will arrive in Auckland with the objective of preparing for the 2016 Futsal World Cup.

The two New Caledonia coaches Steeve Laigle and William Bret and their squad come to Auckland with strong objectives and the desire to learn from this tournament.

‘’We are coming to Auckland with goal of winning the OFC Fustal Championship. We know it will be difficult as we have just a short time to prepare for the competition. Our main project is to go on to win the OFC Futsal Championship in 2015 and qualify for the 2016 FIFA Futsal World Cup,’’ Laigle says.

Laigle and Bret both coach teams in the National Futsal Super League with Laigle in charge at Houailou while Bret manages Olympique andtheir respective teams are sitting in the top half of the league with Houailou currently third and Olympique second. The pair were recently selected to manage the national team together thanks in part to a partnership that works due to their complementary personalities.

‘’Steeve is more reserved than me. He specialises in the attacking strategy and the technical analysis of the team and our opponents. He was a good goalkeeper as well so he takes care of the goalkeeper training sessions,’’ Bret says.

‘’William takes care of the defensive part of the team’s strategy and on the playing system. He is the opposite of me and more outgoing than me on the bench,’’ Laigle explains.

New Caledonia aim to perform better against the strongest teams which is something they should be capable of doing given their track record which includes a win against New Zealand at the OFC Championship in Fiji in 2010.

Two years ago at the 2011 OFC Championship, again held in Fiji, Solomon Islands beat New Caledonia 13-5, the biggest loss for Les Cagous to date. This year, they will meet the Oceania reigning champions again and will be hoping not to make the same mistakes again.

“During the last OFC Futsal Championship in 2011 Tahiti nearly beat Solomon Islands in the final thanks to a good defending system and a performing player placement. It is the philosophy of the game that we want to put in place,” Bret says.

“Solomon Islands are very strong in attack with fast players but they have few weaknesses in defence. We will have to stay concentrated and solid against them.”

New Caledonia has more than 1,000 registered players and runs a national league with a total of ten teams and a national Futsal Cup called La Coupe de Nouvelle Calédonie.

Les Cagous futsal team has been placed in Group One alongside Solomon Islands, New Zealand and visiting AFC side Malaysia.

To see the draw for the OFC Futsal Championship Invitational 2013 click here






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