Thai Son Nam eager to bring success to home fans
Ho Chi Minh City: Vietnam’s meteoric rise as one of the Continent’s top futsal nations has been nothing short of breathtaking.
2017 AFC Futsal Club Championship: The Experts’ View
The Golden Stars have indeed emerged as a defining image of hope, a new challenger eager to disrupt the traditional dominance matched only by the enormous expectations of a football-loving nation. For the next 10 days, the hope of the nation rests heavily on the shoulders of Thai Son Nam as they prepare to host Asia’s premier futsal club competition for the first time.
Head Coach Miguel Rodrigo, though, depicted a calm and collected figure as his charges prepare for their Group A opener against Kyrgyz Republic’s FC Erem at the Phú Th? Indoor Stadium in Ho Chi Minh City tomorrow, stressing the home crowd will serve to inspire rather than pressure.
“The level of Asian futsal is ever increasing, from the players, to the coaches and even the quality of the foreign imports. After qualifying for the FIFA Futsal World Club, our fans are beginning to expect more from us. The further we progress in the competition, the greater the interest from the fans.
“We see it as our duty to raise the profile of the sport in Vietnam. Not long ago, futsal was labelled mini-football in Vietnam but so much has changed in a short time. Absolutely, our players are motivated to do well for our fans.”
Presenting their first test are FC Erem, who incidentally will be looking to mastermind a revival of their own. Despite participating in their maiden competition, the Kyrgyz Republic champions boast six internationals who were instrumental in the Central Asian team's run to the AFC Futsal Championship Uzbekistan 2016 quarter-finals.
Head Coach Amirzhan Mukanov, who has been part of the national team set-up, stressed, “We have been preparing well for this tournament. Yes, drawing against the home team is not easy, but our aim is to qualify for the next round, and the journey begins tomorrow. We have a young team, many of whom are national players and all of them are eager to show their abilities.”
Meanwhile in the other Group A opening day tie, Australia’s Vic Vipers take on Al Dhafra FC from the United Arab Emirates (UAE). While little is known of his team's UAE opponents, Vic Vipers Head Coach Miltiadis Sakkos revealed he was leaving nothing to chance, suggesting there are no easy teams at this stage of the competition.
“We started in March this year. Our biggest challenge was that our league in Australia ended in October so it was not easy to keep our players sharp. But they are young, energetic and raring to go. We have never played against any of the opponents in this group so naturally we are excited by that prospect. Everyone here has the capability to do well and we cannot take anything for granted.”
His opposite number, Rui Daniel Guimaraes is hoping his side’s unfamiliarity to their opponents will prove an advantage. “I have been in this competition before so this is nothing new to me but yes, this team is relatively new. But I don’t see it as a negative, in fact it is an advantage because the less they know, the better it is for us. We want to do well and we are quietly confident we can produce an upset.”
GROUP A FIXTURES
20 July 2017, 16:30
Al Dhafrah (UAE) v Vic Vipers (AUS)
20 July 2017, 19:00
Thai Son Nam (VIE) v FC Erem (KGZ)
22 July 2017, 16:30
FC Erem (KGZ) v Al Dhafrah (UAE)
22 July 2017, 19:00
Vic Vipers (AUS) v Thai Son Nam (VIE)
24 July 2017, 16:30
Vic Vipers (AUS) v FC Erem (KGZ)
24 July 2017, 19:00
Thai Son Nam (VIE) v Al Dhafrah (UAE)
Photo: AFC
Source: the-afc.com
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