Courtesy: FIFA.com


Nanez: I’m going to keep on watching

21 Sep 2016

It was little wonder that Colombia’s Carlos Nanez ended his side’s FIFA Futsal World Cup last-16 match against Paraguay red-eyed and wearing a look of despair on his face. The Cafetero goalkeeper was his team’s outstanding performer, keeping a clean sheet against their South American rivals, but still ended up on the losing side as the hosts exited the competition on penalties.

“I don’t know where to begin. We’re very sad,” the Colombian No1 told FIFA.com afterwards. The only player in the home squad to hail from Cali, the city where they played all four of their matches at Colombia 2016, Nanez struggled to contain his disappointment at their untimely elimination: “To see so many people here, and to know that my family, friends, wife and daughter were all here supporting me… It really hurts that we couldn’t make them happy.”

His forlorn words echoed around the corridors of the Coliseo el Pueblo, while his coach Arney Fonnegra made his way to the past-match press conference and his team-mates filed out of the dressing room one by one. Breaking the silence, the 31-year-old custodian looked back at the game.

“We showed the same kind of solidity at the back as we did in Thailand four years ago,” he said. “We made fewer mistakes and we were more focused. I think we lacked a bit of poise in front of goal, though, and as for the penalties, well they’re just a lottery.”

Bitterly disappointed as he was with the result, Nanez could at least take consolation from knowing he did his job: “The coach told me that he needed me to make the rest of the team feel secure, and I think I showed today that they can rely on me. I gave it everything, as we all did.”

Refusing to think about what might have been had the suspended Angellott Caro and Jorge Abril been able to play, along with Yulian Diaz, who had recovered from injury but did not make it on to the court, the keeper said: “Maybe things would have turned out differently, but it’s too late to talk about that now. The coach selected the 14 players because we all had the ability to come on and play when needed. And we lost on penalties!” he added, as if by way of an explanation.


Looking forward
Turning his attention to what the future might hold for him and his team-mates, Nanez said: “We’ll just have to see what the coach, the technical committee and the national FA decide. We’ve got a great squad, a great group of players and a bright future ahead of us.”

Contemplating his own prospects, the Club Deportivo Lyon player added: “I’m going to carry on working to keep my place in the national team.” A futsal player since 2011, when he gave up on the idea of making it in 11-a-side football and accepted an invitation to play from a group of friends before falling in love with the game, Nanez is nevertheless thinking of making a change or two in his life: “My aim was to play in the World Cup as the first-choice keeper and I’ve achieved that. To do it I had to put a few things on hold, like my physiotherapy degree. I’m going to start thinking about me now and my future.”

In the short term, Nanez will be licking his wounds: “I’ll be talking to my wife. She’s a huge support for me and she’ll help me put this sadness behind me.” He also plans to watch the rest of the tournament unfold: “It’s going to be painful, but I’m going to come and watch the games because this is the sport I love and because the business end of the competition is coming up. I used to dream about the World Cup coming to Colombia and I’m not going to turn my back on it now.”




Courtesy: FIFA.com


Sobral in bullish mood ahead of Spain test

21 Sep 2016

Out of breath but with a swagger in his step, Kazakhstan coach Ricardo Sobral went through a rollercoaster of emotions on Sunday evening. All smiles after watching his charges comfortably dispose of Solomon Islands (10-0) in their final FIFA Futsal World Cup Colombia 2016 group-stage match to qualify for the Round of 16, he took great delight in their excellent all-round team performance. For a country whose sport fans often only have eyes for boxing, this scenario would have been inconceivable only a few years ago.

The Brazilian tactician’s blood pressure subsequently rose even further, when he found out that Argentina were losing 2-1 to Costa Rica, a result that would have seen the Kazakhs paired up with Ukraine in the last 16.

“It was really intense to follow the match and feel so powerless,” Sobral told FIFA.com. “The stakes were huge for us.” A few minutes later, Argentina equalised to make it 2-2. And that one little goal had a far-reaching impact: Kazakhstan would now lock horns with futsal heavyweights Spain. “Let’s not beat around the bush – I would obviously have preferred to play Ukraine in the Round of 16. Spain are big favourites, but despite that, we’re not scared. We do have great respect for them, though,” he added.

Sobral will look back to their clash on 11 February for inspiration, when his players came close to definitively placing Kazakhstan on the futsal map after opening the scoring against Spain in the semi-finals of the 2016 UEFA European Futsal Championship in Serbia. Had it not been for a positioning error, a top-notch save and a sprinkling of bad luck, they perhaps would not have gone down to the eventual tournament winners and two-time world champions by an eventual scoreline of 5-3.


Revenge in the air
As is often the case at the highest level, there was not a marked difference between the teams. The absence of their suspended goalkeeper, Higuita, had a significant impact, however. “The futsal world was blown away by our performance,” said Sobral. “Everyone was sure that Higuita would have made all the difference, if he’d been able to play. That wasn’t just me talking, it was objective observers – and they were right. My goalkeeper is on a completely different level.”

On Wednesday in Medellin, nearly seven months after that duel, the ambitious Kazakhs will be presented with a second chance of upsetting the odds. “Don’t expect me to keep a low profile or engage in false modesty. We have world-class players, and our team is also firing on all cylinders,” pointed out the confident 45-year-old, never one to mince his words. “Higuita, of course, but also players like Douglas, Leo, and our captain, Dinmukhambet Suleimenov, would all be capable of playing for any team, including Spain.”

The Spanish machine has already been running smoothly, picking up three victories in the group phase. Boasting finely-honed tactics, physical strength, exceptional technique, a proven fighting spirit, possession dominance, and a high-quality bench, La Roja’s success should come as a surprise to no-one.

Sobral, however, remained undaunted at the thought of taking on one of the world’s best sides. “We want to, and we can, eliminate them, even though I wouldn’t mind removing Miguelin and Lozano from their team, if I could,” said the charismatic AFC Kairat coach with a grin. “We’re planning to let our own game do the talking. The key will be to counter-attack more precisely and quickly than them.”





Courtesy: FIFA.com


Borisov's leading role

21 Sep 2016

He can delve into foreign worlds and imagine himself in diverse leading roles. Perhaps he even occasionally dreams about experiencing for himself a story like the seemingly impossible ones often told in the movies. And yet, he is currently playing the central character in his own blockbuster.

The 34-year-old is representing Azerbaijan at the FIFA Futsal World Cup Colombia 2016, where he fills the opposition with fear – just like Al Pacino's character Michael Corleone did in Borisov's favourite film The Godfather. The eastern Europeans may be Futsal World Cup debutants, but they still reached the knockout rounds in impressive fashion.

They did so thanks to a comfortable victory over African champions Morocco, a narrow loss to European champions Spain and a draw with Asian champions Iran. Those three games in seven days have not left much time for television.

"I haven't been able to watch any films here yet," Azerbaijan's No10 told FIFA.com. "The only thing we watch on TV are the World Cup matches in order to observe the opposition." That includes Thailand, who they will face in the next round.


Unhappy substitute
The striker will once again have to give everything to succeed in that game, just as his side did in their last Group F fixture against Iran. Azerbaijan secured a draw, and second place in the standings, thanks to a compact defensive showing coupled with rapid transitions. While that should have been reason enough to celebrate, Borisov was not entirely satisfied during the encounter.

He repeatedly cut a frustrated and unhappy figure on the bench. "I'd have loved to play more and help the team, so that's why I wasn't too happy at being substituted off," he said. "But that's normal. It's a team sport and you have to accept the coach's decision."

He is clearly not a fan of merely spectating. It is therefore no surprise that Borisov, who has a three-year-old daughter, is not content to experience the world through films alone. Alongside futsal and Hollywood productions, travelling is his other passion, making it all the more appropriate that he is currently able to combine two of the three. In 2002, eager to try something new, Borisov switched to futsal because "it was becoming really popular in Azerbaijan at the time". Consequently, he is now spending several weeks in South America.


Support from home
"Unfortunately I haven't had time to look around much yet," Borisov said. "Hopefully we can do something as a team in the next few days. The hotel and stadium are really cool, but I want to see more," he laughed. Another reason, therefore, to beat the team that hosted the last Futsal World Cup.

And in order to ensure everything goes to plan, the KMF Ekonomac player – the only member of the Azerbaijan squad to play abroad – was given a small good luck charm by his wife. Thanks to that, and the team's performances so far, he is full of confidence going into the last 16. Asked how he assesses his side's chances, Borisov initially just grinned before giving a diplomatic answer: "They're very good technically, but I think it'll be an evenly balanced match."

The Godfather went on to become a trilogy, and Borisov enjoyed each of the films. Now it is up to him to determine if his own story has a gratifying sequel.




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