Chonburi’s Rakphol calls for focus
Ho Chi Minh City: At their first-ever AFC Futsal Club Championship in 2014, held in Nagoya, Japan, Chonburi Bluewave stunned the continent by clinching the title and in doing so, affirmed their position as a futsal powerhouse in Asia.
Since then, they have reached the final once and finished third when they hosted the tournament last year.
The electric and deafening atmosphere in Bangkok was a sight to remember for many, but yet somewhat bittersweet for the home side as they saw their chance for a third final slip away heartbreakingly in extra-time of their semi-final against Iraq’s Nafit Al Wasat.
The aftermath of the defeat remains vividly in the memory of Head Coach Rakphol Sainetgnam who has called on his side to remain focused in this edition as they prepare to open their campaign against Lebanon’s Bank of Beirut on Friday.
“We have been preparing well, we had a stint in Japan to prepare for this tournament. Beirut have signed two good players from IR Iran. Almalyk have a number of national players who participated in the FIFA Futsal World Cup,” said the 37-year-old.
“We need to take it one match at a time. The first match against Beirut is crucial and we will deploy a focused and patient approach. We need to keep things tight from back to front throughout the forty minutes.”
Bank of Beirut Head Coach Dejan Dedovic hopes his side’s impressive domestic form will transfer on the continental stage. “We had an amazing season last year so for preparation, we are pleased. But every team in this group has a chance to qualify. The first game is the most crucial.
“This is not our first competition; we know all our opponents’ best qualities and weaknesses. But that also means that they know ours. Our target is first to past the group stage,” said the Serbian who has been in-charge since Beirut’s first-ever appearance in 2014.
Echoing his sentiments, Almalyk FC Head Coach Aleksandr Petrov is looking to make amends against Chonburi in what could be a group deciding last match, adding: “In my opinion, this is the toughest group. We have faced the Lebanon teams three times. We lost to Chonburi in the last edition. Since then, we analyse our game to understand where we went wrong. We learnt from our mistakes and are better prepared now. Obviously, we don’t want to see a repeat of last year.
“We started taking our training to the next level two months ago, and our target is to make it past the group stage.”
GROUP D FIXTURES
21 July 2017, 14:00
Bank of Beirut (LIB) v Chonburi Bluewave (THA)
23 July 2017, 14:00
Almalyk (UZB) v Bank of Beirut (LIB)
25 July 2017, 14:00
Chonburi Bluewave (THA) v Almalyk (LIB)
Photo: AFC
Source: the-afc.com
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