AFF FUTSAL CUP 2010 UP FOR GRABS

The Thais, who have won the crown for the past seven years, will not be in Ho Chi Minh City this year as they have opted to play in the Thai 5s which is being held around the same time in Nakhon Ratchasima.

As such, teams like hosts Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia did not hide their aspiration for the crown even though Philippines and Myanmar have an even chance of causing upsets along the way.

Vietnam, the only other team to make the AFC Futsal Championship this year when they waylaid Malaysia enroute, seem to be riding high following their recent signing of Italian Sergio Gargelli as their new head coach.

Gargelli replaced former Thai coach Pattaya Piemkum, who has had some mixed results during his tenure.

“Our aim is to win the tournament even though in Futsal, we know that the level of Malaysia and Indonesia are round the same as us,“ said Vietnam assistant coach Ngo Le Bang.

“I believe that we are playing the game at a much better level than we did last year and the key was in signing Gargelli. He has had a tremendous impact in the way we play and injecting confidence into the squad.“

The Malaysians, who are undergoing certain changes on their own following the exit of former head coach P. Balakrishnan, will be banking on the old guns to give some sense of pride which was battered in Jakarta following losses to Indonesia and then Vietnam.

Malaysian team manager Hamidin Mohd Amin was uncompromising in his statement although he admitted that hosts Vietnam have made the most progress in the past year.

“They (Vietnam) are playing at a different level and they are definitely stronger than they were last year,“ said Hamidin.

“But for us, nothing less than winning the Cup will suffice after what we felt as a disaster in Jakarta when we failed to make the AFC meet for the first time in years.”

For Indonesia, their new-look squad seems to be delivering the results expected of them following their qualification into the AFC Futsal meet 2010.

“We hope that we can win the cup,” said Indonesian assistant manager Yudha Pratama.

“We have played these teams before last month, so there will be no surprises. We just have to maintain our focus.”

Yei Htut Tin, the team manager for Myanmar said that following their experience in Jakarta last month, the team will be out to make sure that they build on it.

“The Myanmar team is very young where for these few year, the important thing is that they get all the exposure they can get,“ added Htut Tin.

“The ultimate target is for them to be a strong team for the SEA Games which Myanmar are planning to host in 2013.”

For the Philippines, who will be banking on several Iranian-born players, whether they can make the final this year will depend on how well they can play together as a unit.

“I hope that the AFF will hosts more Futsal tournament, so that the players in ASEAN can improve their skill further,” added Philippines head coach Ismaeil Sedigh.

The AFF Futsal Championship will begin tomorrow at the Phu Tho Stadium in Ho Chi Minh City with the matches to be played at 1400hrs and 1600hrs respectively.

FIXTURES

5 April 2010: Malaysia vs. Philippines (1400)/ Vietnam vs. Myanmar (1600)

6 April 2010: Philippines vs. Vietnam (1400)/ Indonesia vs. Myanmar (1600)

7 April 2010: Indonesia vs. Malaysia (1400)/ Philippines vs. Myanmar (1600)

8 April 2010: Malaysia vs. Myanmar (1400)/ Vietnam vs. Indonesia (1600)

9 April 2010: Philippines vs. Indonesia (1400)/ Vietnam vs. Malaysia (1600)

10 April 2010: REST DAY

11 April 2010: Winner vs. Runner-up (1600)