MEDIA RELEASE
IRAN BOUNCE BACK TO BEAT HOLLAND IN SECOND GROUP GAME
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| Holland Antoine Merlion (No.2 in white) - Iran Mohammad Keshavari (No.4 in red) |
"When we play in any tournament, we always look to be in the final – not only at the semis. We are as good as any of the big teams," said Hossein Shams, the head coach for Iran. “We played really well in the first half and it was a lot better than yesterday. But today was about the three points, and really we have to conserve our energy for tomorrow since we will have to play two matches."
If spectators were wondering why both teams appeared to have similar playing styles despite coming from different parts of the world, it could be because Iran were once under the tutelage of Vic Hermans, the current head coach of Holland.
But while Holland relied mostly on young players, Iran is a team full of experience - which made all the difference in a game like futsal where patience and the ability to take advantage of small spaces are desirable qualities in a player.
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| Iran Majid Latifi (No.2 in red) - Holland's Antoine Merlino (No.2) and Marinho Letemahulu |
Holland responded immediately a minute later when Omar Neijari took advantage of a defensive slip-up to score.
However, Shamsaee scored the third goal five minutes before the end to give their fans a reason to celebrate, clinching three valuable points for Iran.
"We were up against a very strong Iran team and they deserved to win," said Hermans, who was the head coach for Iran in 2001.
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| Holland's Marinho Letemahulu (No.10) - Iran keeper Asghar Ghahremani |
FIXTURES and RESULTS (31 Jan, 2008)
| 10am: Australia vs Malaysia | (7-0) |
| 1pm: Holland vs Iran | (1-3) |
| 3pm: Indonesia vs Argentina | |
| 6pm: Brazil vs Thailand | |
| 9pm: England vs Australia |
CURRENT STANDINGS
| Group A | |||||||
| P | W | D | L | F | A | PTS | |
| ARGENTINA | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 2 | 6 |
| AUSTRALIA | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 1 | 6 |
| INDONESIA | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 10 | 3 |
| MALAYSIA | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 16 | 3 |
| ENGLAND | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 19 | 0 |
| Group B | |||||||
| P | W | D | L | F | A | PTS | |
| BRAZIL | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 6 |
| THAILAND | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 4 | 4 |
| HOLLAND | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 7 | 4 |
| IRAN | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 3 |
| CHINA | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 8 | 0 |
About the KL World 5's
The KL World 5's takes place between 29th January and 3rd February 2008 at Stadium Negara, Malaysia's first indoor stadium and a national heritage building. The event will be telecasted to over 310 million viewers across Asia on STAR Sports with over 100 hours of coverage, comprising 30 telecast hours, including 20 hours of live programming - translating into extensive media exposure for Malaysia.
The KL World 5's will have a total purse of US$150,000, and feature 10 teams in this prestigious tournament. The event is expected to draw futsal fans from Malaysia and the region with the pedigree of the international teams such as Brazil, Argentina, Holland and England will join the likes of Asian champion Iran, China, Thailand, Indonesia, Australia and hosts Malaysia in action.
ESPN STAR Sports and the Ministry of Youth and Sports have a rich tradition of partnerships stemming from a multi-year strategic alliance signed in October 2005 to raise participation and interest in sport in Malaysia.
For more information, please visit www.klworld5s.com
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ESPN STAR Sports is a 50:50 joint venture between two of the world's leading cable and satellite broadcasters. As Asia's definitive and complete sports broadcaster and content provider, ESPN STAR Sports combines the strengths and resources of its ultimate parent companies – Walt Disney (ESPN, Inc.) and News Corporation Limited (STAR) – to deliver a diverse array of international and regional sports to viewers via its encrypted pay and free-to-air services.
ESPN STAR Sports showcases an unparalleled variety of premier live sports from around the globe 24 hours a day to a cumulative reach of more than 310 million viewers in Asia. ESPN STAR Sports has 17 networks covering 24 countries, each localised to deliver differentiated world-class premier sports programming to Asian viewers. This includes ESPN Asia, ESPN China, ESPN Hong Kong, ESPN India, ESPN Malaysia, ESPN Philippines, ESPN Singapore, ESPN Taiwan, MBC-ESPN (Korea), STAR Sports Asia, STAR Sports Hong Kong, STAR Sports India, STAR Sports Malaysia, STAR Sports Singapore, STAR Sports Southeast Asia, STAR Sports Taiwan, and STAR Cricket.
On the ground, the ESPN STAR Sports Event Management Group manages and promotes premier sporting events around Asia. ESPN STAR Sports aims to reach consumers at any time, any place and through all new media platforms, both internet and mobile. The multi-lingual, online platforms, espnstar.com, espnstar.com.cn and espnstar.com.tw and footballcrazy.tv interact with millions of users providing them with in-depth sports news, results and competitions. Developed for the sports fan that is constantly on the move, mobileESPN and STAR Sports Mobile delivers differentiated mobile content targeted at its various audiences. mobileESPN enables the serious sports fan to follow their favourite sports more closely than ever before with a combination of specially produced video news clips, in-depth news coverage and analysis. STAR Sports Mobile aims to provide interactive and entertaining opportunities to engage with sports, delivering exclusive video excerpts from leading football clubs Arsenal and Liverpool as well as highlights from STAR Sports original programmes covering opinions, instructional tips and the latest online game reviews.
For more information, please contact:
Abdul Rahman (Twenty Four Seven Sdn Bhd)
Tel: 012-6637454
abdulrahman@media247.com.my
Elgen Kua (ESPN STAR Sports)
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kuae@espnstar.com