New Zealand Futsal coach Erkin Osman is looking to combine his experience with the teams enthusiasm and raw talent to guide the side to their first ever Futsal World Cup.
Osman – who was a late replacement for coach Rod Crighton – was a member of the Australian Futsal team from 1983 – 1984 and is the only Australian to have played at four Futsal World Cups.
He only joined the NZ team three weeks ago and said that though he has only had a short time with the side is very confident in their ability.
“I have only had eight training sessions together with the squad, maybe totalling 23 hours.
“The assistant coach has been working with the guys when I haven’t been around and there has been a lot of positives to come out of the last three weeks,” Erkin said.
“Once we started training, there were some important lessons learned very quickly and I believe we have a great shot at winning this thing. There will be no excuses from me if we don’t.”
Osman – who lives in Sydney – was the coach of the Australian Futsal team for several years and now runs his own soccer academy in Australia.
“When the occasion comes up for a job like this I don’t mind coming in late into the piece. I have the trust in the players and the confidence that they can do the job.
“The guys all have the Futsal World Cup in their sights and they are jumping out of their skins to get there. If we come up short it won’t be for lack of effort.”
Osmans squad consists of four players who travelled to Australia for the OFC Futsal Championship in 2004.
“We will look to our experienced players like Eliah Billeh, Josh Martin and Andrew Gwilliam for leadership and guidance on the field.
Of the new guys Marvin Eakin has been one of the most impressive. He picks things up very quickly and is a good motivator and that is why I have named him Vice Captain.
Osman noted that the tactics of football are totally different to football, which many of his team play throughout different leagues in New Zealand.
“In Futsal you can’t afford to have players who can’t defend. Possession turnover is a very big deal and there is an extremely quick transition between attack and defence.
“Everything is very intense, especially in defence where you have to be an extremely tight knit unit.”