AFC Futsal Asian Cup:
‘Toughest of the lot’: Shamsaei relishes hard-fought 14th title
Head coach Vahid Shamsaei was full of praise for his players after Iran defeated hosts Indonesia 5-4 in a shootout to lift the AFC Futsal Asian Cup trophy in Jakarta on Saturday.
The Asian powerhouse had to withstand a euphoric home crowd at the Indonesia Arena and come from behind on three occasions, with the match finishing 5-5 after extra time, before Hossein Sabzi’s composed finish with the final spot-kick secured a record-extending 14th title at the flagship continental event.
“From a technical point of view, all my players delivered today. I never wish such pressure on anyone, but the important thing is the trophy is now in our hands,” said Shamsaei, who won the competition eight times as a player and was also in charge when Iran was crowned Asian champion two years ago.
“I’ve lifted many trophies throughout my career, but this one was definitely the toughest of the lot,” added the 50-year-old, who went on to hail first-time finalists Indonesia for pulling off “the biggest development that I’ve seen in futsal.”
Prolific pivot Hossein Tayyebi gave Iran a third-minute lead, slicing his shot from inside the semi-circle beyond a diving Ahmad Habiebie for his sixth goal of the competition.
The contest, however, turned on its head inside three minutes as Reza Gunawan pounced on a rebound and poked his shot past Iranian goalkeeper Baqer Mohammadi in the seventh minute, before Israr Megantara added two in quick succession to send Indonesian fans roaring.
Mahdi Karimi reduced the deficit in the 18th minute when Salar Aqapour, from a free-kick on the edge of the circle, rolled the ball to him, with the winger side-footing his shot past the Indonesian wall and into the back of the net.
Saied Ahmadabbasi, who went on to pick up the tournament’s Most Valuable Player award, drew Iran level four minutes into the second half, only for Indonesia to restore the lead seconds later through Samuel Eko.
Aqapour and Mohammadhossein Derakshani both struck the woodwork before Karimi finished off a well-worked power play for Iran’s second equalizer in the 38th minute, forcing the match into extra time.
Iran looked destined for only a fourth defeat in Asian Cup history when Israr bagged his third of the afternoon with less than two minutes remaining, but Ahmadabbasi struck again moments later to ensure the final would be decided by a shootout.
Indonesia’s Muhammad Nizar saved Iran’s opening spot-kick from Masoud Yousef, before Iran’s second-choice goalkeeper Mahdi Rostami denied Dewa Rizki’s fourth attempt for the hosts. Israr then went from hero to villain after sending Indonesia’s final effort wide, allowing Sabzi to step up and clinch the title.
“It’s very difficult in this situation to say if I’m happy or unhappy,” said Shamsaei. “A lot of incidents have happened recently in my country. I believe futsal is a sport that brings everyone together.
“Since I started as a player, it was always about being of service to my country. That was my mentality – to show my best performance for my country. I believe everything I did was for my people.
“When I became a coach, my mentality stayed the same. The team and I were under a lot of pressure. I want to thank the federation, all the players and the team manager – hand in hand, we made our people back home happy.”
Meanwhile, Shamsaei’s opposite number on the Indonesian bench, Hector Souto, was proud of his team despite missing out on the title on home soil.
“I’m super proud of my players for doing an amazing job and for working so hard,” said Souto. “No one would have believed that we would make the final, with chances to win in 40 minutes, in extra time or on penalties,” said the Spaniard.
“The tournament went well for us and we were mentally super strong – probably the strongest team in the tournament – and we made it difficult for Iran, but we also made many mistakes.
“The team needs to build on their game in many areas, but today we talk about how good they were, their amazing performance and how we pushed Iran to the limit.
“We must remain humble because there are stronger teams in Asia like Iran and Japan with very good players, and we cannot yet match their speed.
“Sometimes you succeed and sometimes you don’t, but today we came really close, so we should be really proud.”