By Doug Reed @DougReedFutsal

On Friday 25th October and Saturday 26th October Qatar will face England in two international friendlies in Doha. Leading Qatar from the bench is their recently appointed coach Eduardo García Belda, better known simply as ´Miki´. Here he has spoken exclusively with FutsalPlanet.

Miki was born in Valencia, Spain and played for 10 years in the Spanish 1st Division as well as making 35 appearances for the Spanish National Team. He was a runner up at the FIFUSA World Cup in 1985 held in Spain, losing 3-1 to Brazil in the final. After he retired from playing he began his coaching career.

His journey has seen him work at some of the Spain´s top clubs including FC Barcelona, El Pozo Murcia, Playas De Castellon and Valencia Vijusa. During this time he had lots of success and earned a glowing reputation as one of the top coaches in the country.

With futsal not being immune to the financial crisis in Spain he has had to earn his living outside his home country, first in Italy with 1st Division side Rieti and now with the Qatar national team since January.

It is a big change for this renowned coach who is used to working on a daily basis in clubs that were successful and of a high level. Alongside the different working environment he must also acclimatise to a new way of life. We speak with Miki as he prepares his team for the upcoming matches.

How have the first few months gone in Qatar?

We are adapting to the new culture. The truth is everything comes with ease but the different way of life is significant. We are all contributing so that the difference is as small as possible. The experience is spectacular.

How is futsal there and what do they need to develop further?

It is a new championship, the league is only 8 years old and there are just a few teams. The level is low. The first and most important is to increase the competitive level of the league through having professionals so that they compete and train more in their clubs. Although it seems a way to stop the progression of Qatari players (by having foreign players), the reality is there will be fewer players but they are much more prepared to compete at a high level and slowly this situation will change . The main question is if you prefer to begin increasing the quantity or quality.

What are the objectives for the Qatar National Team?

The objectives are to improve to the maximum and then see where we have arrived. It is a difficult job and we have to all put a lot in in all the areas.

How has futsal changed since you played? Has it been a positive or negative change?

Practically everything has been positive, above all the professionalisation of futsal. It is totally different. In Spain there was a before and after the arrival of the Brazilians (professionals). They arrived and we learned everything from them and now we are the highest level worldwide.

Your teams frequently use 4-0. What do you like about this attacking system?

The system is decided by the players’ characteristics. In teams we have decided to play 3 with a pivot and in others we change according to the game (characteristic of the opponent and the result). It is difficult to find players with the characteristics for the position of pivot (fixed) and for that reason we choose, more often, for mobility.

What do you expect from the two friendlies with England?

England is another emerging futsal nation and it will be nice to see the progression of both and know the different playing models to improve. For us international games are very important to know our improvement, we need to compete to improve.





Posted by Doug Reed -@DougReedFutsal --> info@futsalplanet.com