the power of five #6 december 2012

24
THE MAGAZINE OF NEW ZEALAND FOOTBALL FUTSAL ISSUE 6 DECEMBER 2012 ASB TRANS TASMAN CUP 2012 ASB NATIONAL LEAGUE NEWS & INTERVIEWS ASB JUNIOR FESTIVAL GIRLS & WOMEN’S TOURNAMENT PHOTO: PHOTOTEK

Upload: the-power-of-five-nz-football-futsal-official-magazine

Post on 07-Apr-2016

219 views

Category:

Documents


3 download

DESCRIPTION

New Zealand Football Futsal Magazine

TRANSCRIPT

Page 1: THE POWER OF FIVE #6 December 2012

New Zealand Football | FUTSAL “The Power of Five” Black & White © CreativeBank 2010

New Zealand Football | FUTSAL “The Power of Five” Black & White © CreativeBank 2010

THE MAGAZINE OF NEW ZEALAND FOOTBALL FUTSAL ISSUE 6 DECEMBER 2012

ASB TRANS TASMAN CUP 2012ASB NATIONAL LEAGUE NEWS & INTERVIEWSASB JUNIOR FESTIVAL GIRLS & WOMEN’S TOURNAMENT

New Zealand Football | FUTSAL “The Power of Five” Black & White © CreativeBank 2010

New Zealand Football | FUTSAL “The Power of Five” Black & White © CreativeBank 2010

PHOTO: PHOTOTEK

Page 2: THE POWER OF FIVE #6 December 2012

WELcOME...

As 2012 comes to a close we can reflect on yet another year of development across the board. From the launch of the Futsal in Schools primary programme at grassroots level to the first FIFA futsal internationals in New Zealand we have led the way in many aspects of best practice futsal development.

The figures for quarter four 2012 are yet to come in but up until quarter three we have had 10,000 players in federation futsal leagues and close to 8000 in primary and secondary school programmes. This success highlights the commitment of the nationwide futsal development team with the support of their federations and the integration of futsal into the Whole of Football Plan.

We must thank the continued support of Sport NZ, the regional Sports Trusts, the regional Football Federations, the NZF board and our great friends at ASB. Above all, we must thank the volunteers, coaches and referees who continually put futsal as a priority in their already busy lives.

Happy christmas to you all and we look forward to announcing the plans in the next issue for what is shaping up to be the biggest and most exciting year for futsal in New Zealand yet.

Dave PayneNZF Futsal Development Manager

02

New Zealand Football | FUTSAL “The Power of Five” Black & White © CreativeBank 2010

New Zealand Football | FUTSAL “The Power of Five” Black & White © CreativeBank 2010

PHOTO: PHOTOTEK

Page 3: THE POWER OF FIVE #6 December 2012

03

New Zealand Football | FUTSAL “The Power of Five” Black & White © CreativeBank 2010

The ASB Futsal Girls and Women’s Tournament not only found a winner on the court, but has also proved a catalyst for New Zealand Football to integrate futsal and women’s football development.

On the court Mainland red defeated all-comers, including NSW Super League champions Sutherland Shire, on their way to claiming back-to-back titles in the open category.

Waikato-BOP rotorua won the U-15 category going through the six match group stage unbeaten and defeating Mainland in the final.

“The standard has dramatically improved, which is pleasing because we haven’t put a framework for girls and women’s futsal in place,” said NZF Futsal Development Manager Dave Payne, “but what we have done is deliver a FIFA Level 1 Futsal coaching course in May and many of the coaches were on that course.”

Off the court NZF Women’s Development Manager Emma Humphries was a keen observer of the tournament as a whole after helping out at the tournament last year in her role with capital Football.

“I went with a purpose this year to get a feel for where girls and women’s futsal is at and to see what the current futsal structure is like,” said Humphries.

Both Payne and Humphries are no strangers to integrating their respective disciplines into a bigger picture.

“Futsal and women’s football come under Goal 5 of the NZF Strategic Plan which is to ‘Expand the Game’, so it makes sense for us to integrate and work together in order to grow the game,” said Payne.

The majority of the girls junior framework is played as small sided games so the inclusion of five-a-side futsal would not be difficult, although Humphries believes a dedicated female pathway would need to

ASB GIrLS & WOMENSGIrLS AND WOMEN HELP SHAPE FUTSAL

FrAMEWOrk

be developed to build a long-term strategy for getting more girls and women into futsal.

“I think it’s important to add a girls-only pathway, because while there are a lot of girls playing, they’re often playing in mixed futsal competitions.

For the sport to succeed long-term girls would prefer to play with girls, so if we want to get them hooked early you have to offer a girls-only pathway which is exactly what we’ve done with football,” said Humphries.

PHOTO: PHOTOTEK

Page 4: THE POWER OF FIVE #6 December 2012

PHOTO: PHOTOTEK

Page 5: THE POWER OF FIVE #6 December 2012

05

New Zealand Football | FUTSAL “The Power of Five” Black & White © CreativeBank 2010

New Zealand Football | FUTSAL “The Power of Five” Black & White © CreativeBank 2010

MATcH ONE – 21 SEPTEMBEr 2012

Futsalroos take first blood

NEW ZEAlAND 0 AuSTrAliA 3 (Basger 14’; Gomez 19’; De Moraes 32’)

Australia took the advantage in the three match ASB Trans Tasman cup with a clinical 3-0 win over the Futsal Whites in the first ever futsal international to be played in New Zealand.

First half goals to Jarrod Basger and Laureano Gomez gave Australia a 2-0 half time lead before a toe poke from close range by Fernando de Moraes closed out the match at ASB Stadium as the Futsal Whites were continually thwarted by Futsalroos custodian Peter Spathis.

Futsal Whites coach Scott Gilligan was happy with the performance of his young charges especially their patience in defence.

“We’ve come a long way in a short space of time,” said Gilligan.

“We tweaked our defensive structure and I think it unsettled the Aussies a little bit. We still need some work in attack but I think the second half was a lot better we created some chances but we just couldn’t score,” added Gilligan.

FUTSALrOOS TAkE THE HONOUrS IN GrOUNDBrEAkING INAUGUrAL SErIES

The Futsal Whites started energetically, unsurprising considering their opposition had only arrived in the country hours before the match after boarding a flight from Sydney at 5am.

Both sides failed to create any clear cut opportunities in the opening exchanges until 17-year-old debutant Elliot collier hit the Futsalroos upright after tidy lead up work from Marvin Eakins and Dylan Manickum.

Moments before the opening goal Australian captain Tobias Seeto struck New Zealand’s post with a rasping drive. From the ensuing restart starting ‘keeper David Plowright could only parry a deflected roberto Maiorana shot into the path of the Basger for an easy tap in.

James Vaughan had the Futsal Whites best opportunity in the first half after solid work by Daniel Burns but his sliding effort was blocked in double-teamed defensive effort by Dean Lockheart and Lachlan Wright.

A second goal seemed inevitable after a series of saves from Plowright towards the end of the first spell, and the Futsal Whites resolve was broken seconds before the break, another back post tap-in this time in more cheeky fashion from Gomez.

In the second half New Zealand looked to attack on the break with chances falling

ASB TrANS TASMAN cUP

to Manickum and Burns. In the Futsalroos goal Spathis was in fine form quick off his line and saving at point blank range from Eakins.

At the other end clayton chappell put in a solid second half display and engaged in a personal duel with Aaron cimitle. Three times the Australian was denied, twice at full stretch in spectacular fashion.

chappell’s heroics kept the Futsal Whites in the match, but De Moraes made sure of the result slamming a toe poke from close range after Burns was dispossessed by Wright near the touchline with eight minutes remaining.

Happy with the victory Futsalroos coach Steven knight was looking forward to some well earned rest.

“It’ll be a big sleep day for us tomorrow, and hopefully we can put in another good performance,” said knight.

NEW ZEAlAND: 1-clayton cHAPPELL (gk); 2-James VAUGHAN; 3-Dylan MANIckUM; 4-Jan FIScHEr; 5-Miro MAJOr; 7-Marvin EAkINS (c); 8-Daniel BUrNS; 9-Jakub SINkOrA; 10-Lucas SILVA; 11-Micky MALIVUk; 12-David PLOWrIGHT (gk); 13-Elliot cOLLIEr; 14-Tai BArHAM; 15-Bakr AL-SAUDI. coach: Scott GILLIGAN

Page 6: THE POWER OF FIVE #6 December 2012

AuSTrAliA: 1-Peter SPATHIS (gk); 2-Daniel FULTON; 3-Jarrod BASGEr; 4-Dean LOckHArT; 5-keenan DUIMPIES; 6-Laureano GOMEZ; 7-Tobias SEETO (c); 8-Fernando DE MOrAES; 9-Daniel FOGArTY; 10-Lachlan WrIGHT; 11-Nathan NISkI; 12-roberto MAIOrANA; 14-renagi David INGrAM (gk); 15-Aaron cIMITLE. coach: Steven kNIGHT

MATcH TWO: SATUrDAY 22 SEPTEMBEr

History not enough for Futsal Whites

NEW ZEAlAND 1 (Bakr al-Saudi 36’) AuSTrAliA 6 (Fernando de Moraes 8’; Jarrod Basger 24’, 39’, 39’; Nathan Niski 30’; Dan Fogarty 39’)

Bakr al-Saudi created history for the Futsal Whites scoring New Zealand’s first goal in a FIFA-sanctioned international on home soil, but it wasn’t enough as Australia claimed the ASB Trans Tasman cup following a 6-1 defeat of New Zealand in Match Two.

The final score flattered the visitors, who netted three goals inside the final sixty seconds when Futsal Whites coach Scott Gilligan rolled the dice and deployed skipper Marvin Eakins as a ‘flying goalkeeper’ in the final few minutes, and failed to reflect the closeness of the match.

There was a moment to savour for the hosts in the 36th minute when Bakr al-Saudi scored the historic first-ever Futsal Whites goal on New Zealand soil much to the delight of the 600 spectators who turned out at ASB Stadium.

“It was an absolute honour and a great thrill to get something for the crowd and the boys,” said al-Saudi whose goal brought the Futsal Whites back into the match after they conceded three Futsalroos goals to Fernando de Moraes, Jarrod Basger and Nathan Niski.

But it was little more than a consolation in the wash-up after Eakins was thrust into an unfamiliar role playing as a fifth man, essentially a power-play option to outnumber the opposition and create chances although Gilligan was unconcerned about the gamble.

“I’m not worried about the last three minutes because we had to try something and this is the place to try it, and we nearly scored from the first attack,” said Gilligan.

The Futsalroos came out strong and dictated the tempo of the match by holding onto the ball for much of the opening five

06

New Zealand Football | FUTSAL “The Power of Five” Black & White © CreativeBank 2010

New Zealand Football | FUTSAL “The Power of Five” Black & White © CreativeBank 2010

PHOTO: PHOTOTEK

Page 7: THE POWER OF FIVE #6 December 2012

minutes and pressing the Futsal Whites whenever they were in possession.

However, it was the Futsal Whites who had the first opening of the match when Micky Malivuk and James Vaughan linked up to create an opportunity for the former to force a top save from Australian custodian Angelo konstantinou. Miro Major forced another save moments later with a drive from distance which was smothered easily.

The deadlock was broken in the 8th minute by the impressive de Moraes who thundered one in from an innocuous position midcourt after cutting in from the left. The goal seemed to kick the Futsalroos into gear and in a matter of minutes Plowright was called into action on three occasions.

De Moraes was causing havoc by this stage and his nonchalant step over was kicked clear by Plowright and the ensuing rebound was slammed against the upright by Daniel Fulton. It was the second time the framework was disturbed after Basger had earlier hit the base from an acute angle.

For the second time in as many matches Vaughan had the Futsal Whites best chance of the night when his snap shot was saved by konstantinou.

Immediately after the half time interval the Futsal Whites enjoyed a period of sustained pressure, but four minutes into the second spell once again it was a de Moraes moment of magic resulted in a goal, a delicate lay off for teammate Basger, who took the ball in his stride while running at

full pace before sliding home past clayton chappell.

Shortly after chappell was unluckily beaten again after al-Saudi was guilty of showing too much of the ball to Niski in front of the Futsal Whites goal. The Futsalroo poked the ball home between the legs of al-Saudi and past chappell to take the score to 3-0.

It was then the Futsal Whites turn to take the momentum back through Malivuk who almost created a moment of magic of his own when he spectacularly tried a lob from the sideline after konstantinou charged out of his area to close the threat down.

Accumulated fouls became a factor for the Futsalroos, who gifted New Zealand an opportunity back into the match after a

07

New Zealand Football | FUTSAL “The Power of Five” Black & White © CreativeBank 2010

New Zealand Football | FUTSAL “The Power of Five” Black & White © CreativeBank 2010

Page 8: THE POWER OF FIVE #6 December 2012

foul on Malivuk brought the tally to six for the half, and brought al-Saudi, something of a specialist, onto the court to smash the chance home from the spot.

With a sniff of a result Gilligan threw caution to the wind and Eakins was introduced when New Zealand has possession as the fifth man.

Unfortunately for the Futsal Whites the tactic did not bring another goal and in quick succession Australia had the ball in the New Zealand net three times, first to Daniel Fogarty and a brace to Jarrod Basger to complete his hat-trick.

With just over 12 hours until the third test rest and recuperation will be key as Futsal Whites captain Eakins pointed out.

“The bodies are pretty sore, we’ve worked hard all week, and we’ve had a couple of tough matches but we’re well looked after and we’ll get a good night’s rest and see how we go tomorrow.”

NEW ZEAlAND: 1-clayton cHAPPELL (gk); 2-James VAUGHAN; 3-Dylan MANIckUM; 4- Bakr AL-SAUDI; 5-Miro MAJOr; 6-Jan FIScHEr 7-Marvin EAkINS (c); 8-Daniel BUrNS; 9-Jakub SINkOrA; 10-Lucas SILVA; 11-Micky MALIVUk; 12-David PLOWrIGHT (gk); 13-Elliot cOLLIEr; 14-Tai BArHAM coach: Scott GILLIGAN

AuSTrAliA: 1-Peter SPATHIS (gk); 2-Daniel FULTON; 3-Jarrod BASGEr; 4-Dean LOckHArT; 5-keenan DUIMPIES; 6-Andreas GOMEZ; 7-Tobias SEETO; 8-Fernando DE MOrAES; 9-Daniel

FOGArTY; 10-Lachlan WrIGHT; 11-Shervin ADELI; 13-Angelo kOSTANTINOU (gk); 12-roberto MAIOrANA; 14-Aaron cIMITLE; 15-Nathan NISkI coach: Steven kNIGHT

MATcH THrEE: SUNDAY 23 SEPTEMBEr

High hopes ASB Trans Tasman Cup is here to stay

NEW ZEAlAND 2 (Dylan Manickum 31’; Jakub Sinkora 35’)AuSTrAliA 6 (Nathan Niski 11’; Aaron cimitle 13’; Daniel Fogarty 18’; Fernando de Moraes 19’, 29’; Jarrod Basger 39’)

The Futsalroos may have secured a series whitewash over New Zealand in the inaugural ASB Trans Tasman cup with a 6-2 win today, but there is unanimous agreement on both sides that the newly launched futsal concept should continue into the future.

A spirited Futsal Whites gave a good account of themselves in the final match of the series at ASB Stadium in kohimarama with goals to 2011 New Zealand player of the year Dylan Manickum and Jakub Sinkora ensuring honours were shared 2-2 in the second half.

Australia proved too strong for their opponents racing out to a commanding 4-0 lead at half time after goals to Aaron climitle, Nathan Niski, Daniel Fogarty and Fernando de Moraes. The Brazilian-born de Moraes added a second after the break before goal machine Jarrod Basger sealed the win with his sixth goal of the series.

The win completed a sweep for the FIFA Futsal World cup bound Futsalroos after a 3-0 win on Friday was backed up by a 6-1 victory last night. On the other side of the

08

New Zealand Football | FUTSAL “The Power of Five” Black & White © CreativeBank 2010

New Zealand Football | FUTSAL “The Power of Five” Black & White © CreativeBank 2010

PHOTO: PHOTOTEK

Page 9: THE POWER OF FIVE #6 December 2012

ledger the Futsal Whites can take pride in the fact that they got progressively better as the series wore on.

“I’m extremely happy with the progress we’ve made,” said Futsal Whites coach Scott Gilligan “and I think the second half today really showed how far we come.”

Many within the Futsal Whites camp were adamant that further international matches were crucial to their overall improvement, and despite the successful introduction of the ASB Futsal National League the step up to international level was significant.

“Our national league is getting better and better, but the step from the national league to international level is massive and the only way to get better is to play these sorts of matches,” said Futsal Whites goal scorer Jakub Sinkora, a former professional futsal player in Europe.

Gilligan was pleased his young charges had the opportunity to play internationally and could acknowledge the difference in standards.

“It’s great that the boys appreciate the step up. At the national league level they have that extra second and they can score lots of goals, but we don’t get many goals at the next level because you don’t have that time on the ball.”

The ASB Trans Tasman cup, the brainchild of New Zealand Football Futsal Development Manager Dave Payne, has been a welcome addition on both sides of the ditch with both team captains hoping it would be the first of many.

“It will be great to make it annual event, whether they come here or we go there, all you want is to be playing top quality

opposition every year so we can push each other on the world stage,” said Futsal Whites skipper Marvin Eakins.

His opposite Toby Seeto agreed, “In Australia we don’t play enough friendly international games and with New Zealand being our closest neighbour I would love to see this more often.”

NEW ZEAlAND: 1-clayton cHAPPELL (gk); 2-James VAUGHAN; 3-Dylan MANIckUM; 4- Bakr AL-SAUDI; 5-Miro MAJOr; 6-Michael SANNUM; 7-Marvin EAkINS (c); 8-Daniel BUrNS; 9-Jakub SINkOrA; 10-Lucas SILVA; 12-David PLOWrIGHT (gk); 13-Elliot cOLLIEr; 14-Tai BArHAM; 15-Harvey MILLS

coach: Scott GILLIGANAuSTrAliA: 1-Peter SPATHIS (gk); 2-Daniel FULTON; 3-Jarrod BASGEr; 4-Dean LOckHArT; 6-Andreas GOMEZ; 7-Tobias SEETO (c); 8-Fernando DE MOrAES; 9-Daniel FOGArTY; 10-Lachlan WrIGHT; 11-Shervin ADELI; 12-roberto MAIOrANA (gk); 13-Angelo kOSTANTINOU (gk); 14-Aaron cIMITLE; 15-Nathan NISkIcoach: Steven kNIGHT

09

New Zealand Football | FUTSAL “The Power of Five” Black & White © CreativeBank 2010

New Zealand Football | FUTSAL “The Power of Five” Black & White © CreativeBank 2010

PHOTO: PHOTOTEK

Page 10: THE POWER OF FIVE #6 December 2012

NZ Football Futsal Development Manager Dave Payne was in Thailand in November to witness the latter stages of the FiFA Futsal World Cup. Power of Five caught up with him to find out a bit more about the trip, why he was there and to get his impressions of the tournament.

Dave, tell us about what you got up to in Bangkok - were you mainly looking to create playing opportunities for the Futsal Whites?We went over with two programmes to display – ‘Playing with the World, Learning from the World’ and ‘Education for Play’. In terms of the Futsal Whites, we’re realistic in that we realise we can’t invest huge amounts of money into them at the moment, at least not until futsal has gone to another level in this country. But the Futsal Whites are essentially our ‘shop window’ for futsal and we do want to develop the team and make them more competitive. So we want to look at ways we can bring teams over to New Zealand to take part in the roadshows we have planned for 2013. Something we can offer in return to the other nations is our world-leading ‘Futsal in Schools’ programme which I presented in Bangkok. Everyone was very impressed with the quality so essentially what we’re trying to offer is our intellectual property and train up other countries in how they can deliver grassroots futsal. In return their national team can help us create events

NZ FOOTBALL FUTSAL DEVELOPMENT MANAGEr VISITS FIFA FUTSAL WOrLD cUP THAILAND 2012

- international games against the Futsal Whites and in doing so help build the awareness of and participation in futsal in New Zealand.

What teams did you see in Bangkok? Did you get a good feel for the different styles of futsal on display?I saw the games from the round of 16 onwards – so I saw teams like russia, columbia - who were a fantastic team to watch, Brazil, Spain, Italy, Ukraine – another nice team. Definitely you could see the different styles. columbia, for instance were almost cut from the old cloth in that they were more technically than tactically focused. Their players were quite happy to take players on in one on ones and create

PLAYING & LEArNING

opportunities, whereas you had the likes of Spain who utilise a highly tactical game – so two different styles there. I did notice a lot of use of the fifth man, or the five man press, which is relatively new. Whereas in previous World cups - where not a lot of teams were using it because they were a little bit unsure about it, this time the leading nations had mastered this tactic.

Brazil certainly used it in the final to good effect, with Falcao’s goal with four minutes left keeping them in the game. Speaking of the final, what were your impressions of it - the atmosphere inside the stadium and of course, the action on the court?It was a fantastic atmosphere with over 6000 people at the game. And a great

10

New Zealand Football | FUTSAL “The Power of Five” Black & White © CreativeBank 2010

New Zealand Football | FUTSAL “The Power of Five” Black & White © CreativeBank 2010

Page 11: THE POWER OF FIVE #6 December 2012

11

New Zealand Football | FUTSAL “The Power of Five” Black & White © CreativeBank 2010

New Zealand Football | FUTSAL “The Power of Five” Black & White © CreativeBank 2010

stadium. I was seated only four or five seats away from the FIFA President Sepp Blatter so it was a great occasion for me personally. With the result, I was a little bit disappointed to be honest – I did want to see Spain do it just because of our relationship with Venancio! But it was completely even, with nothing really between the two teams and neither team deserved to lose. If anything, Brazil’s style has actually become a little more similar to Spain, more tactical than technical. And that relates to my comment earlier about columbia who are perhaps like ‘old Brazil’.

Interesting, because Spain have also used variations on their 4-0 in the last few years. These days they also rely on a pivot in the classic style (Fernandao). Perhaps the two teams are becoming hybrids of one another? So how come Brazil won it, was it just down to some individual magic?Definitely some individual magic, from Falcao and of course Neto who scored two great goals. For Falcao especially… it was a big moment, his final game at that level and of

course he broke down in tears after scoring because of the significance of the goal and the occasion.

We didn’t see the trophy presentation in New Zealand - how were Spain at the end – they must have been pretty dejected?They were down for sure, but you could see the great spirit and respect between the two teams as many of them are team mates in the LNFS. The Brazilians were terrific though, consoling the Spanish, as they knew it could easily have been the other way around.

Looking at the overall level, do you feel that within the next four to eight years New Zealand can compete in this kind of environment?Scott Gilligan and I both feel – and Scott’s the expert here, not me – that there’s definitely teams in the 24 that we could beat in four years’ time. I thought the overall level was fantastic but you have different layers, with a big gap between the top three or four and the next layer, of which there is perhaps another ten or twelve teams. And then you

have ‘everyone else’ - that is, what’s left in the twenty-four. But we are very positive that we are on the right track, especially if we can get more games for the Futsal Whites to improve our own level. Which again, is why I was there in Thailand.

And finally – tell us a bit about Scott, what was his role at the tournament?Scott was there a member of the FIFA Technical Study Group, collecting data as part of a team that will put together the final report on the tournament. But because he is also New Zealand coach and he has a real passion for the Futsal Whites, he was able to use his spare time in Bangkok to talk to key contacts about the possibility of securing future matches for the Futsal Whites, to help us gain more experience and competition on our road to qualifying for the 2016 World cup. From that perspective, it was invaluable having Scott out there. So watch this space - we will have news about our 2013 international programme as soon as possible in the new year!

Page 12: THE POWER OF FIVE #6 December 2012

New Zealand Football | FUTSAL “The Power of Five” Black & White © CreativeBank 2010

Dylan Manickum (blue), 2011/12 ASB Futsal National League MVP and Golden Boot winner, in action against Mainland canterbury’s Josh cremenPHOTO: riCHArD BEll

Page 13: THE POWER OF FIVE #6 December 2012

11

New Zealand Football | FUTSAL “The Power of Five” Black & White © CreativeBank 2010

New Zealand Football | FUTSAL “The Power of Five” Black & White © CreativeBank 2010

13

New Zealand Football | FUTSAL “The Power of Five” Black & White © CreativeBank 2010

New Zealand Football | FUTSAL “The Power of Five” Black & White © CreativeBank 2010

Defending champions Auckland Football Futsal and Series One hosts Futsal South share the lead in the ASB Futsal National league following the conclusion of play in Dunedin.

Auckland’s campaign got off to a surprising start when they were defeated 3-1 by last season’s wooden spooners Northern in the opening round of matches in the two day series. It was the champions’ first loss in 14 matches. Auckland also dropped points in a goalless draw with capital, but defeated South, central Manawatu and WaiBOP.

South shares the lead a third of the way through the competition off the back of a strong individual performance from carlos Hermann. The big Brazilian target scored eight goals across the series as South defeated newcomers WaiBOP, Mainland and central Manawatu.

The big improvers were Northern who are the only unbeaten side left in the eight team competition after recording two wins and three draws in their five matches. runners up Mainland suffered two defeats

AUckLAND & SOUTH SHArE LEAD AFTEr SErIES ONE IN DUNEDIN

over the weekend and are in fourth place.

Newcomers WaiBOP prop up the table despite picking up points in creditable draws with capital and central Hawke’s Bay in fifth and sixth respectively.

central Manawatu sit in seventh spot after a solitary win over federation rivals Hawke’s Bay.

Futsal Whites coach Scott Gilligan was in attendance over the weekend and together with team manager carl Edwards launched the Technical Study Group for the league. The TSG will use statistics and video analysis to not only provide feedback to each of the participating

ASB NATIONAL LEAGUESeries One

teams, but to improve the level technical level of the national team.

“It’s very exciting to instigate the concept of Technical reporting during the 2012/13 ASB National League Series, said Edwards. I believe this will improve the standard of the game in New Zealand and also provide overseas nations with an insight into the level of our National League in New Zealand.”

Series Two of the ASB Futsal National League will be held at ASB Stadium in Auckland from February 9 to 10 next year, while Series Three takes place in Wellington in March.

TABlE P W D l F A GD PtsAuckland Football Futsal 5 3 1 1 14 6 8 10Futsal South 5 3 1 1 11 12 -1 10Northern Futsal 5 2 3 0 11 6 5 9Mainland Futsal 5 3 0 2 12 10 2 9capital Futsal 5 1 3 1 5 5 0 6central Futsal - HB 5 1 2 2 9 10 -1 5central Futsal - Mwt 5 1 0 4 8 16 -8 3WaiBOP Futsal 5 0 2 3 7 12 -5 2

GOlDEN BOOT 8 carlos Hermann (Futsal South)4 Bakr AL-SAUDI (Auckland Football Futsal) Daniel Burns (Mainland Futsal)3 Evandro Siquera (Mainland Futsal) Hicham kamri Northern Futsal Tai Barham (central Futsal - Hawke’s Bay)

ASB NATIONAL FUTSAL LEAGUE Series One 2012/13

Page 14: THE POWER OF FIVE #6 December 2012

14

New Zealand Football | FUTSAL “The Power of Five” Black & White © CreativeBank 2010

New Zealand Football | FUTSAL “The Power of Five” Black & White © CreativeBank 2010

SEriES ONE EDGAr cENTrE DUNEDIN 8/9 DEcEMBEr 2012

rESulTS

cAPITAL 0MAINLAND 2 E. Siqueira , D. Burns

FUTSAL SOUTH 3 c. Herrmann 3WAIBOP FUTSAL 1 k. Wisnewski

NOrTHErN FUTSAL 3 F. De Marchi Bernardi, O. ragued, H. kamri AUckLAND 1 D. Manickum

cENTrAL FUTSAL - MANAWATU 3 N. reddy , O. Tilley , M. SilvercENTrAL FUTSAL - HAWkE’S BAY 2 J. Stevenson , D. Ball

WAIBOP FUTSAL 3 k. Dallas , M. Jones , E. colliercAPITAL FUTSAL 3 o.g. k. Osman, M. Edridge

cENTrAL FUTSAL - HAWkE’S BAY 1 P. PilzNOrTHErN FUTSAL 1 F. De Marchi Bernardi

MAINLAND FUTSAL 3 E. Siqueira , J. Sinkora , S. MitchellcENTrAL FUTSAL - MANAWATU 1 o.g.

AUckLAND FOOTBALL FUTSAL 7 D. Manickum , B. Al Saudi , G. Powell , M. Manickum , M. Eakins , c. Manickum, S. AshbyFUTSAL SOUTH 1 c. Herrmann

cENTrAL FUTSAL - HAWkE’S BAY 0cAPITAL FUTSAL 2 M. Edridge, J. Sutherland

AUckLAND FOOTBALL FUTSAL 4 B. Al Saudi 2, D. Manickum , M. EakinscENTrAL FUTSAL - MANAWATU 1 I. robinson

MAINLAND FUTSAL 3 E. Siqueira , r. Batty , D. BurnsWAIBOP FUTSAL 1 E. collier

FUTSAL SOUTH 2 P. rae , c. HerrmannNOrTHErN FUTSAL 2 J. Fischer , Z. Jiong

cAPITAL FUTSAL 0AUckLAND FOOTBALL FUTSAL 0

WAIBOP FUTSAL 1 S. kiparacENTrAL FUTSAL - HAWkE’S BAY 1 D. Ball

cENTrAL FUTSAL - MANAWATU 2 S. Mudgway , W. Maxey-GrahamNOrTHErN FUTSAL 5 H. kamri 2, J. Fischer , c. robertson , Z. Jiong

MAINLAND FUTSAL 1 D. BurnsFUTSAL SOUTH 3 c. Herrmann 2, r. Ali

AUckLAND FOOTBALL FUTSAL 2 B. Al Saudi , J. VaughanWAIBOP FUTSAL 1 J. Tobias

NOrTHErN FUTSAL 0cAPITAL FUTSAL 0

cENTrAL FUTSAL - HAWkE’S BAY 5 T. Barham 3, J. rande , P. PilzMAINLAND FUTSAL 2 A. Pestana , D. Burns

FUTSAL SOUTH 2 c. Herrmann , S. DabouscENTrAL FUTSAL - MANAWATU 2 S. Mudgway

Page 15: THE POWER OF FIVE #6 December 2012

Around thecentresNFF FutsalFutsal comes to kawakawa in the far north!Our fabulous futsal (and football) coach Dan Johnston works within the kawakawa community and has managed to engage some enthusiastic parents and players to start a small programme for the end of term four. So far we have eleven players in this local programme and hope to continue on next year.

Northern Futsal ran a futsal tournament as a fundraiser for the ASB National League team on 24 November. A very successful day with 18 teams spread across junior, youth and seniors grades. We had Fantastic community support with donations from Pak’n’Save and over 200 people playing and supporting on the day. We raised close to $2500 and this included a sausage sizzle and drinks stall. We hope to grow this tournament into a bi-annual event in preparation for the National League each year.

Training hard in preparation for the National League. Our team is ready and we are very pleased with our performance in Series One. We are fortunate to have the former coach of the chinese national futsal team playing for us this series and we have received continued support from Dynamic Sport who have provided our team kit.

Felipe has been working in the colleges this term: North Shore - Takapuna Grammar and rangitoto college; Waitakere - Waitakere college. He is looking to harness the player numbers and capture in a college futsal league.

We are moving to futsal leagues in terms one and four 2013 with development programmes offered in terms two and three but are finding many do not want to deviate away from the current model of

development programmes. This is going to make the transition for Felipe and myself a tricky one next year but we hope that players and families will recognise the benefits that both present.

nff.org.nz

AFF Futsal

EAST CiTyThe longest standing and proudest futsal centre in New Zealand has continued to bring the highest quality in all age groups. With all AFF Futsal National League squad members all involved at East city (not to mention NFF players) it is not an unfair statement to say that East city Futsal is the host to the best league in the country. results below:Senior B WednesdayWinners: Sureshotrunners-up: Grassroots Senior B SundayWinners: Bang Brothersrunners-up: The YPs PremierWinners: Saetarunners Up: FutsaljahsGolden Boot: Milos Nikolic

eastcityfutsal.org.nz

PuKEKOHE FuTSAl CENTrEThe term three league saw the Manurewa selection go through undefeated and win the final in penalties. The success of the league resulted in its continuation into term four. This centre has also produced four players that have been named in the 2012/13 AFF Futsal National League squad. 2013 has plans for a junior and youth league on top of the current senior league.

rOSKill FuTSAl CENTrEAuckland Football has entered a joint project named connect2Sport, a three year partnership project between Auckland council, SPArc, Sport Auckland, Auckland Badminton and Auckland Football to connect people from diverse ethnic backgrounds to badminton and football. The project aims to get more people from diverse communities participating and volunteering in both sports and will also build the capacity of Auckland Football and Auckland Badminton to better connect with diverse communities. Initially, the pilot project will focus on 13-24 year olds in the suburb of Mt roskill and in time will expand to the Avondale, New Lynn, Lynfield and Blockhouse Bay areas. The term four league has just concluded, with two divisions running on Thursday nights. A lot of hard work has gone into this centre and all have that have contributed should be proud of what has been achieved in 2012. PAPAKurA FuTSAl CENTrEPapakura is one of two new centres in term four. The hard work of Papakura city Football club has seen a senior men’s league as well as a senior mixed league. The most promising initiative has been the introduction of a junior/youth league. If the same time and enthusiasm is put into this centre in 2013 it will only grow and produce quality futsal and football players in no time! PAPATOETOE FuTSAl CENTrEThe Papatoetoe Sports centre is host to the second of the new centres. Two leagues rare un from the state of the art facilities with a junior and a youth league in full swing. All players are new to futsal and

11

New Zealand Football | FUTSAL “The Power of Five” Black & White © CreativeBank 2010

New Zealand Football | FUTSAL “The Power of Five” Black & White © CreativeBank 2010

15

New Zealand Football | FUTSAL “The Power of Five” Black & White © CreativeBank 2010

New Zealand Football | FUTSAL “The Power of Five” Black & White © CreativeBank 2010

Page 16: THE POWER OF FIVE #6 December 2012

all that can be seen is smiles with a few competitive faces on to top of that! DEvElOPMENT PrOGrAMMESround 2 of the development programmes have flourished. There are three different programmes involving 9 - 16 year old boys and 13 - 16 year old girls. Improvements have been noticed week by week. AFF will have no worries of future talent with the junior/youth players coming through the ranks... ASB FuTSAl iN SCHOOlSThe South Auckland region has continuously been the focus of the ASB Futsal in Schools programme with opportunities being given to all sorts of different communities to learn about futsal. Feedback from the students and teachers has been extremely positive and AFF is looking forward to the continued growth in 2013. COllEGE PrOGrAMMEExciting times in the AFF college landscape, with big efforts underway to raise the awareness of futsal. Junior and senior teams are already looking towards 2013. Auckland teams will be challenging the New Zealand Secondary Schools Futsal championship in the years coming up, so other regions be prepared! NATiONAl lEAGuE PrEPArATiONExpectations are high for the AFF Futsal National League team going into the 2012/13. After such an outstanding 2011/12 huge efforts have been made by the backroom staff, players and volunteers to keep the culture and quality that has made AFF a powerhouse. Questions of AFF Futsal’s youth have definitely been answered with the introduction of exciting players. They will not be making up the numbers and will cause a few surprises

while keeping the more experienced players honest. THANK yOu2012 has been a real growth year and this could not have happened without the support and the expertise of all the volunteers that AFF Futsal is blessed to have. Bring on 2013!!

aucklandfootball.org.nz

WaiBOPThe first year of WaiBOP Futsal is coming to a close, with all of our hard work about to be tested in the ASB National League. The preparation for our first national league campaign has been driven by theplayers, with both coach and manager missing two weeks of training to attend the Futsal World cup. Now they have both returned, they are keen to put what they have learnt into practice in Dunedin, Wellington and Auckland. Expect a team with the confidence of Brazil, the elegance of Spain, the structure of Italy and the flair of columbia.

waibop.org.nz

Central FutsalWhat a year it has been! currently in central we have leagues running in Manawatu and Hawke’s Bay. In Hawke’s Bay we have 93 teams playing this term. Two new leagues were set up - these are the interschool league and the men’s club league.

These new leagues have made many new and talented players available for the central Hawke’s Bay national league team. The final of the club league was played recently and central League football champions Napier city rovers narrowly defeated Taradale AFc in extra time 8-7 to take out the inaugural club league championship.

In Manawatu we have a premier men’s league running out of the Highbury events centre. This league hosts a lot of very talented players, as seen by the success of the central-Manawatu national league squad. We hope to have leagues for all age groups up and running in the Manawatu next year. As for Wanganui, Gisborne and New Plymouth we are looking at starting leagues as soon as possible and copying the successful Hawke’s Bay model.

In Hawke’s Bay we have been successfully running the secondary schools futsal programme with all of the schools involved having entered teams into our secondary school leagues. This programme will be run in the other regions once leagues begin.

National league teams are ready to go and ready to win. With the new players involved in the central Hawke’s Bay Squad and central Manawatu building on the strong squad they had last year, look out for some good results.

Joga Bonito!

hbfutsal.org.nz

Capital Futsal

capital Futsal have welcomed Lisa Jones onto the team as a Futsal Administrator, a huge boost to the operation and extending the capacity of what we can offer. A Futsal Advisory Group has been setup to make recommendations to the board of capital Football to further strengthen the working relationship. Our volunteers, referees and players did us proud on and off the court at the ASB Futsal Girls and Women’s Tournament. Seatoun Fc losing by a goal in the final, with Waterside karori third and Wellington United winning the plate.

16

New Zealand Football | FUTSAL “The Power of Five” Black & White © CreativeBank 2010

New Zealand Football | FUTSAL “The Power of Five” Black & White © CreativeBank 2010

Page 17: THE POWER OF FIVE #6 December 2012

17

New Zealand Football | FUTSAL “The Power of Five” Black & White © CreativeBank 2010

New Zealand Football | FUTSAL “The Power of Five” Black & White © CreativeBank 2010

Young Francois cuccurullo made history reffereeing in the ASB TransTasman cup between the Futsal Whites and Futsalroos in Auckland. Dave Plowright, Lucas Silva and Micky Malivuk represented us well on the court too in a new squad laying foundations for the next World cup in 2016. Francois picked up the college Sport Wellington Official of the Year Award for the second consecutive year, with Matt Edridge picking up Futsal Player of the Year in a year that saw him represent capital at U19 Australian Nationals, grow with every National League Mens round, and break into the Futsal Whites training squad. Our National League team conceded the least goals, but scored the least in a congested start to the National League. The foundations are there to push on as the season progresses.

On the court we finished the junior season with a Fun Festival to wrap up the U11s and U13s. The National League team required a last minute winner from Stephen Heron to win the Men’s Premier over FullHouse, a team predominantly of Argentinian flair. We are gearing up for a big Term 1, particularly the college season, hosting regionals and Nationals. college Leagues in the Hutt are set to take off too. We look forward to hosting the Futsal community of NZ over college Nationals and the National League Finals in March.

For all info and updates refer to:

www.capitalfutsal.co.nz www.facebook.com/capitalfutsal

Mainland FutsalThe year comes to the end and it’s been another strong one for Mainland. The leagues are powering on and our Junior section is continually growing, both in size but also in ability. We have also welcomed all girls junior teams for the first time. Hopefully this is connected to our success at the ASB Futsal Girls and Women’s Tournament. A great competition played in excellent spirits saw Mainland win the Women’s section for the second time in a row and the girls get Silver. Bringing those kind of results home has to be good for the local competitions and so we look forward to keeping things rolling for the girls into 2013. At senior men level we are just about to play our first finals on a full court and hope to introduce a full court league in 2013. Youth is seeing more and more football teams entering into the competition and the resultant improvement in their outdoor game will hopefully see this trend continuing. Overall it’s been a great year for Mainland, we hurt for court space but the players, parents and coaches we have locally are a superb bunch and understand our situation well. Thanks to everyone who has played a part in 2012, especially the great bunch of coaches who put so many hours into the game. Here’s to 2013 and more and better Futsal for us and all the other Federations.

Page 18: THE POWER OF FIVE #6 December 2012

18

New Zealand Football | FUTSAL “The Power of Five” Black & White © CreativeBank 2010

New Zealand Football | FUTSAL “The Power of Five” Black & White © CreativeBank 2010

www.mainlandfutsal.co.nzFutsal SouthIt’s been a very busy term for Futsal South with a number of competitions and coaching in school programmes.

Our school competitions had their finals in the first week of December.

In term 4 we had 250 teams playing in a number of competitionsAdult 32 teamsYear 11-13 16 teams Year 9-10 18 teamsIntermediate 44 teamsPrimary 140 teams

For the 2012 year Futsal South has managed to run competitions that catered for 532 teams.

One of Futsal South highlights for 2012 is our coaching in schools programmes.

Page 19: THE POWER OF FIVE #6 December 2012

These have reach 34 schools with an average 5-7 lessons per pupil.

3200 pupils and 154 teachers now have benefitted from NZ Futsal guidelines in coaching with the introduction and understanding of the skills and rules of futsal.

These programs have become so successful that we have now pre-book a number of schools right through to December 2013. On December the 8th & 9th Futsal South hosted Series One of the ASB Futsal National League.

Our local team has been working very hard to improve its position from last year under our new coach Michael Sannum and Manager ronan Naicker.

After the weekend Futsal South are joint top of the table and we look forward to carrying on our good form into the next two series.

Merry christmas and have a safe New Year

cheersMike & Futsal South Team

www.footballsouth.co.nz

19

New Zealand Football | FUTSAL “The Power of Five” Black & White © CreativeBank 2010

New Zealand Football | FUTSAL “The Power of Five” Black & White © CreativeBank 2010

Page 20: THE POWER OF FIVE #6 December 2012

16

New Zealand Football | FUTSAL “The Power of Five” Black & White © CreativeBank 2010

New Zealand Football | FUTSAL “The Power of Five” Black & White © CreativeBank 2010

PHOTO: PHOTOTEK

Page 21: THE POWER OF FIVE #6 December 2012

21

New Zealand Football | FUTSAL “The Power of Five” Black & White © CreativeBank 2010

New Zealand Football | FUTSAL “The Power of Five” Black & White © CreativeBank 2010

you didn’t have much time on the ball which helps for quick decision making.

What about in school?I sure did (laughing). Every child in Brazil plays futsal in school - before the bell goes off, break time, PE lessons. Always futsal, but I was ok in the other sports too which later on drove me to a PE bachelor. degree. I knew that sport was what I loved and what I wanted to study.

How important is futsal in the development of young players in Brazil?I would say futsal is important anywhere in the world as a development tool for young footballers. It’s a really simple theory, you just need stop and think about it. Less players (allowing more touches on the ball), small sized court (quick decision making, otherwise you will get under pressure very quickly) and the most important thing for me - it’s fun. The best way to learn and discover more and more is when you enjoy what you do. That’s the first word that I use when I coach children – ‘fun’. Brazil is really traditional in football and most of the players came from futsal. ronaldo played futsal, ronaldinho played futsal, Pele played futsal and Neymar played futsal, just to name a few, and they had a huge success in football. If you ask them how important futsal was, the answer will be same. Their techniques come from futsal - no doubt.

Tell us about your job working for NFF. What is a typical working day like for you?For me it has been a big learning curve. I am a futsal coach and that was my

Auckland-basd Brazilian Felipe Bernardi has had a busy year. After winning the ASB National league with AFF in March, Felipe then crossed the bridge to take up an appointment as Futsal Development Officer for Northern Futsal. later in July, he joined the Futsal Whites as assistant to Scott Gilligan. And in finally in December, he can sit down to Christmas dinner as player coach of the only unbeaten left team in the National league. Power of Five sat down with Felipe to find out a bit more about one of the most knowledgable and colourful characters on the local scene...

Tell us about your early days of playing in futsal in Brazil. How old where you when you started to play - and did you only play futsal - or did you also play football?I started play futsal when I was three years old. kicking the ball in the court with my older brother and playing on the streets too. When I was five I joined a local club and had trainings and games at the weekends. It was great. When I was around 12-13 I also played football but didn’t enjoy it as much as futsal. So I’ve always been on the court!

Did you play futsal for a club? Yes, I was in a club which I ended up coaching in later on. It was called Associacao Atletica Veranopolis. I was training with the club since I was 11 and when I was 17 I got a chance to play for the senior team. Training every day and playing with high calibre players definitely helped me a lot as the game was fast and

background back in Brazil, Now, my new role as a futsal development officer it’s a bit different. I need think of ways to expand the game on the North Shore region. Loads of planning and strategy. It does involve some management as well as coaching. We are doing well and I have Sarah Payne as a Futsal Development Manager for NFF which drives me along and she is always are fully behind me and supportive. Without her things would be much harder. Also Dave Payne as a New Zealand Football Futsal Development Manager has been pushing me and trying get the best out of me. I think its important to have them and I am really grateful to both of them.

What is your feeling about the young players you work with in this country. Do you find the players are technically good? I had a chance to coach different ages and different levels here in New Zealand and also in Brazil. I would say the kids have the technique here, the right touch on the ball. However, futsal is a different sport than football and you can notice the difference between a football player and a futsal player. At the moment I am working for the National League and I have in the twelve squad list that will travel to Dunedin six players under 17 years old. They have an amazing touch on the ball, but once again, futsal requires more than a good touch and it will come just with experience on the court. It’s hard to explain and make it clear for those people that are new in the sport and don’t understand much about it. Hopefully we are on the right track and things will

FELIPE BErNArDIINTErVIEW

Page 22: THE POWER OF FIVE #6 December 2012

22

New Zealand Football | FUTSAL “The Power of Five” Black & White © CreativeBank 2010

New Zealand Football | FUTSAL “The Power of Five” Black & White © CreativeBank 2010

happen. I meet kids here that can do loads of tricks with the ball, amazing skills. But sometimes in the game situation when the quickest pass is on or even a little fake run to lose your defender is required it doesn’t happen. And these little things can make a huge difference in the game.

You are working now with Scott Gilligan, as assistant coach for the Futsal Whites. What does this job involve? What are your impressions of the squad after playing against the Futsalroos this year.Working with Scott is great. He has good experience and is a really open guy to talk to. And this is great because I feel important in the role as well (laughing). We had the thhree match series games against Australia and we only had a few trainings before it. The boys did a fantastic job and we are confident that we can qualify for the next World cup in 2016.

What do we need to do make sure that we can develop players good enough to compete at international level? can we get to the World cup in 2016 and if so, can we match it with teams from Europe or South and central America for example?We need the right people. If we work as a team with drive and passion and believe that we are good enough definitely we will have some players that could make international level. The programmes in New Zealand are taking off. Just as an example, we have almost 300 teams playing futsal in the southern region. That’s fantastic and basically more kids playing means more development for the future. I also think we should offer regional and national training camps for those who been taking futsal more seriously. As more as you play, better you will get. And if you have a quality environment with good coaches the scenario can change and more people will get involved with

futsal. regarding to the World cup, I do believe we can qualify for 2016. We have a few younger players coming through and once again it all depends on the work we will put in. To be competitive we have to play more international games and experience that level like we did against the Futsaroos.

Did you follow the Solomon Islands games in Thailand? How did you think they went in the tournament? They beat Guatemala who are ranked 14th in the world which was a great achievement.I did watch the game against russia and I thought they had good moments in the game. When they played colombia the game was incredible in the first half. However, I don’t think the players were prepared enough physically and it was clear with lapses towards to the end of each match. For the third and last game, I watched

just the three last minutes when they beat Guatemala and it was clear for me that defensively the Solomons were more ‘mature’. You do not have to put pressure for 40 minutes in the game and that’s exactly what happened. They were organised in the back and Guatemala couldn’t find the gaps. It was great to see the improvement. Juliano (Schmeling) has helped the team and I think he did a great job.

Last year you were part of the champion AFF ASB National League side. It was a great achievement to go through the season unbeaten. Why was this team so successful?The team spirit and union were fundamental for that achievement. Every single player that was part of it contributed and it was the key. We had a few experienced players on court like Miro Major, Bakr Al-Saudi and Marvin Eakins

“THE BEST WAY TO LEArN AND DIScOVEr MOrE AND MOrE IS WHEN YOU ENJOY WHAT YOU DO. THAT’S THE FIrST WOrD THAT I USE

WHEN I cOAcH cHILDrEN – ‘FUN’.”

Page 23: THE POWER OF FIVE #6 December 2012

23

New Zealand Football | FUTSAL “The Power of Five” Black & White © CreativeBank 2010

New Zealand Football | FUTSAL “The Power of Five” Black & White © CreativeBank 2010

and when they were having a breather we had players that were also sensational like richie Sullivan and James Hart. We also knew quite well each other quite well which makes things easier. I have played with Bakr and Ouadhah (ragued) for over 3 years now and I believe the combinations were there. Things happened naturally.

Talk us through your chip near the end of the semi-final…That was a lucky moment (laughing). I saw the goalkeeper coming out and fortunately I could read his pass before he actually played the ball. I also had a player to pass to but we were winning and there was less than 30 seconds left so I chipped and got it in. It was a nice goal and hopefully I will get more like those. Fingers crossed (laughing).

This year you are player coach of NFF. The squad looks a good one. Do you feel like it can improve on last year’s performances? can you tell us about the team and the players?When I named the squad I felt a little bit

sad because I also had a few players that I would love to have on board for Series One but unfortunately it didn’t work out. Half of the team will be under 17s and I am looking at it as development. When I thought about it at the beginning of this year my first idea was put a full team under 17s. But I came to the conclusion that having a few experienced players would help more and that’s what we did. Last year NFF struggled because the coach left and the players weren’t always available. We were lucky that James Vaughan came along and organised the team for Series Two and Three. This year I hope we get a few results but I know it would be really tough as a few teams are even stronger than last year. I just want to see the boys doing their best and putting into practice what we have trained.

Ok - World cup now. Brazil are champions again! What was going through your mind with 4’22” left on the clock and Torras had just hit the crossbar. Were you still feeling pretty relaxed?I just say ‘what a game’. Actually I wasn’t

too nervous as I was enjoying the game so much. But I was happy with the crossbar. If Torras scored I don’t think Brazil would come back. Luckily he didn’t and 37 seconds after that Falcao hit the top corner. It was amazing, a great game. And also Neto’s goal with 19 seconds to go…by that time I knew we would win again.

What was the difference in the end for you, between the two teams?Both teams are highly qualified technically and tactically, we are talking about the best two teams in the world right? What does make a difference in this kind of game is the individuality. It can be an individual mistake defensively or a one on one opportunity, where a player beats the opponent and can get a goal. That’s what happened in the final. That was the difference. Neto made the difference with 19 seconds to go. Apart from that, both teams were even.

Page 24: THE POWER OF FIVE #6 December 2012

New Zealand Football | FUTSAL “The Power of Five” Black & White © CreativeBank 2010

www.nzfootball.co.nz | www.nzffutsal.co.nz | Follow the Futsal Whites on Facebook