The Futsalroos have opened their AFF Futsal Championship campaign with a thumping 9-0 win over Timor Leste in Shah Alam, Malaysia.
Jordan Guerreiro starred for the Aussies with a second half hat-trick while Jordan Mundell netted a brace to put the stamp on a dominant performance.
The Aussies started the match brightly and took just two minutes to open the scoring through Tobias Seeto.
Australia doubled their advantage through Daniel Fogarty in the 12th minute before goals to Clayton Musumeci and Jordan Mundell in the 15th and 18th minutes gave them a 4-0 lead heading into half time.
The Futsalroos continued to press at the start of the second half and were rewarded in the 23rd minute with a goal to Wade Giovenali.
Jordan Guerreiro netted a quick fire double in the 25th and 27th minutes before Mundell completed his brace in the 32nd minute to make it 8-0.
Guerreiro netted his third five minutes before full-time to complete a comprehensive performance.
The 2014 AFF Futsal Championship is the 11th edition of the tournament which will be held in Shah Alam, Malaysia from 19 to 27 September 2014. The Futsalroos are grouped with Indonesia, Timor-Leste, Brunei and hosts Malaysia.
Mark Seeto caught up with new Futsalroos coach Robert Varela prior to the tournament and in part two of a wide-ranging interview he discusses his futsal philosophy, goals for the Futsal Championship and challenges for the sport in Australia.
Click here for part one with Robert Varela
Do you have a favorite formation that you like to use? If so, why?
Rob: Formations are just a starting point. Regardless of whether “you play 2x2, 3x1 or 4x0” once a player plays a pass and makes a run the “formation” is gone…
I prefer to use patterns of play, employing either attacking or defensive fundamentals, dominating space in defence or using supporting mechanisms to maintain possession.
How have players changed in the years since you first began coaching and how have coaches changed in that time?
Rob: The whole game has changed dramatically since I initially became involved in the mid 80’s: the laws of the game are different, the size and weight of the ball are different, the dimensions of the court are generally different and all that obviously has had a profound effect on how the game is played, specially at the elite level in most countries.
The game is faster now so players have to adapt physically to the new demands; there are few “specialists” nowadays, players need to be able to produce an all-court game in the modern game.
It is very important that local coaches realize that the game continues to evolve and that they continue to educate and equip themselves to keep up with the changes. Some have, but sadly, others have not.
Do you think Futsal can be a sport in its own right, or do you think it will always be seen by the football community as a training tool for football?
Rob: That is up to the Futsal purists. If we continue to “sell” the sport just as a training tool for football, that will continue to be the perception of the majority. The advantage of that approach is that it could get people involved that in general would not do so; the other side of the coin is that it could very well hinder Futsal status as a sport in its own right. For Futsal to be taken seriously as a sport in its own right, it must be able to offer a development and career path similar to other major sports, that is an entirely different issue in itself.
Do you think other non FFA affiliated Futsal bodies in Australia have done more good or damage to Futsal in Australia?
Rob: There are many different aspects to this issue. Futsal is a sport that lends itself quite easily for private operators to be involved in terms of running local competitions etc and a lot of them do a very good job of it and have the best interest of the sport at heart.
For the good of the sport it is important that there is a unified, common approach that encompasses all the different stake holders; for example, in an ideal world, private operators would run local, domestic competitions and the state federations with the support of the parent body would look after the representative, elite component of the sport including coaching education, player development and refereeing matters.
What do you think Futsal in Australia will look like in the future?
Rob: Futsal has the potential to be the best indoor sport in the country, and that has been the case since I became involved many years ago: it is exciting to play and watch, an ideal TV sport also.
Over the last 30 years Futsal has survived mediocre, bad and non-existing administration, self-interests and personal agendas; it has proved itself to be a very resilient sport.
There is an old saying that states that if one keeps doing the same things all the time one cannot expect different results. Futsal is at the crossroad of its existence; all the different parties need to come together and work for the development and betterment of the sport putting aside personal agendas.
The sport needs more leadership, support and involvement from the head body otherwise it will remain, at best, fragmented if not non-existing all together.
What do you think of Women’s futsal and do you think FFA will have a National Women’s team soon?
Rob: The girls put as much effort and show as much passion for the sport as the boys do, so they should be afforded the same opportunities as their male counterparts.
I am not privy as to FFA’s plans for a National Women’s team but I strongly believe that there is no reason why there should not be one, especially given that AFC has recently announced a timetable for a Women’s Championship.
What do you think of the F League and will it ever become a fully professional league?
Rob: The timing and scheduling of the league is vital if it is ever going to become a viable, professional competition that offers the elite players a definite career path and a goal for the young junior players to aim at.
One way to raise the playing standards is to ensure that the best players are taking part on a weekly basis; a summer competition will go a long way to ensure that this happens as it would not be in competition with winter football. At this stage it would be unrealistic to expect leading ALeague players to be enticed across so the main player base would come from State based football competitions, usually played in winter and elite Futsal specialists.
To make the league attractive to sponsors TV coverage and the participation of teams from every state is essential.
Do you think Australian Futsal has improved in the last 10 years compared to the rest of Asia?
Rob: We have been “trading water” in the domestic scene and overachieving in the international stage.
Our player base at the elite level has not increased in term of quality and players’ registration at the social/local level has been haphazard at best.
The coaching standards have, in general terms, stagnated and the refereeing standards need an overall improvement.
I know that many countries across Asia have devoted more resources than us to Futsal but I am more interested on what we need do to improve the game here.
Which teams do you consider the main threat to be at the 2014 Asean Futsal Championships in September and why?
Rob: We are going to the tournament with the mentality that the next team we play is our biggest threat. Obviously the rankings tell you that Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia would, on paper, present the biggest difficulties for us, but we can’t take any team lightly.
Those teams I have mentioned are very good athletically and technically; some of them have the use of some of the best coaches in the world so we know that they will be tactically very sophisticated.
What target have you set to achieve for the team in this Championship?
Rob: We can’t control results, but we can control the way we want to play, so we have set ourselves performance goals.
We want to become a highly respected, very hard team to beat in the area.
How do you rate the chances of Australia qualifying for the 2016 FIFA Futsal World Cup?
Rob: There are so many factors involved in qualifying for a World Cup, some we can control and some we can’t.
We need to develop a larger group of players able to compete for places in the final squad; we need to raise the standard and alter the style of play in the elite local competitions.
All this will need the cooperation and effort of elite local coaches. With a view to this we are in the midst of putting together processes to liaise and consult with elite coaches across the country to put steps in place to achieve the two goals mentioned above.
What are your interests outside of Futsal?
Rob: I am an avid reader and love spending time with my 3 kids and baby grandson, although, ironically, my involvement with Futsal keeps me away from them a fair bit.
Image courtesy of ASEAN Football