Courtesy: Borneo Bulletin


Futsal team not Brunei of old, insists defiant manager

January 28, 2017

by Fadhil Yunus

BRUNEI Darussalam national futsal team manager Rosdin Abdul Aziz is convinced that it is not the Brunei of old after observing how the team fared in the recently concluded Asean Football Federation (AFF) Futsal Championship at the Indoor Stadium Huamark in Bangkok, Thailand.

The national futsal team showed steady improvement compared to past editions despite unfavourable results as it is emerged that they have introduced a pressing game and abandoned their waiting approach under the guidance of newly appointed head coach Qusmaini Noor.

Brunei were hit by a slice of misfortune when Norazizam Roslan was sent off for a second bookable offence while the goal-scorers succumbed to injuries and disrupted their rhythm of play.

“We pulled a good fight against Timor Leste. We led them twice, one 3-0 and the other 6-3 but because of the red card, our momentum disappeared,” said Rosdin in an interview with the Bulletin during their arrival at the Brunei International Airport yesterday.

“Under the guidance of our new national coach, we can see changes in our style of play,” he added.

The Wasps acquired the services of Malaysian Qusmaini as head coach who only took over more than a month.

Rosdin admitted that it is difficult to overcome Thailand at this current stage and pointed that their strong start against Timor Leste finding the target in the first minute.

He underlined the bright spots of their pressing game against the Small Table in the first half adding that they succeeded to preserve their position of going down 7-2.

“But in the second half we have to recognise the advantages favouring Thailand in the second half.”

The two goals scored by the national futsal team came from set-pieces with Rosdin expressing hopes that they will improve under the guidance of Qusmaini.

The national futsal team could be shifting their focus towards the inaugural Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Under-20 Futsal Championship in Thailand and the SEA Games but it is dependent on selection.

Qusmaini stayed behind in Bangkok to analyse the performances of the remaining teams still left in the competition.

Currently, the national futsal team boasts three under-20 players and looks likely to remain for future tournaments.

The manager also revealed that they were chasing for an equaliser and adopted power play which eventually led to an eighth Timor Leste goal.

Present to welcome the national futsal team and management were Haji Madli Haji Md Yusuf, Acting Deputy President of NFABD; Pengiran Mohd Amirrizal bin Pengiran Haji Mahmud, Acting General Secretary of NFABD and Dayem Ali, Competitions Director of NFABD.



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