PTT Bluewave Chonburi coach Rakphol Sainetngam has vowed that his side will throw everything at Magnus Futsal in the World Intercontinental Futsal Cup semi-final, despite going into the game as underdogs.
“Everyone knows about Magnus in world futsal. For us, it is honestly just a bonus to be testing ourselves against a world-class team like Magnus. We have already fulfilled our target and expectations of reaching the semi-final. We won’t feel any pressure, and we will try to enjoy the game as much as we can,” he said.
Talking about his team’s impressive performance in the competition, he added, “We have progressed over the years, and a lot of this has come through experience. We also have Brazilian players like Xapa who helps to organise the players on the pitch. He tells the players where they need to position themselves, and it’s important to have leaders like that in the squad. We have come quite a way. To be playing world-class teams like Barbosa and Magnus in front of a huge crowd, really makes us think that we can’t take anything for granted”.
Expanding on the importance of the thunderous home support Chonburi has received in this competition, the coach added, “Even when we were down 3-0 yesterday, because of the support of the fans, we were able to come back and score two goals and make things difficult for them. We hope the stadium will be full even in the semi-final, and we can give a good show to all the fans”.
Ricardo Di Izeppe, coach of Magnus Futsal, spoke about the honour of playing in front a large crowd on Saturday. “We have come a long way for this competition, and we are an experienced team; I know it will be a good game against Chonburi. It will be an honour to play in front of a full stadium,” he said.
The Brazilian coach also shed his thoughts of the rise of futsal teams across the world, “It has been a lot of cultural change and exchange for us. We are familiar with European and Brazilian teams and their style of play but to learn more about teams from other parts of the world has been a learning experience. We know that Chonburi is a great team. The two Brazilian players who were champions with Brazil joining them has only enriched the team further. That is a good cultural exchange. We are learning from Chonburi and other teams in the competition. Chonburi is a fast team, the players run a lot, and to see this for us is a great learning experience”.
