NEW DELHI: The second edition of the Hero Futsal Club Championship concluded on Sunday with Minerva Academy lifting the title after a shootout win over Mohammedan Sporting Club.
Witnessing the final in the capital was Dutch futsal legend Vic Hermans, who is currently in India as a futsal consultant for the AIFF. The veteran consultant has led three different national teams to the Futsal World Cup as head coach and holds extensive coaching experience in Asia.
After decades of experience in Asia, Hermans believes that the continent’s teams have all the potential to be world-beaters, provided there’s a proper developmental programme. “I joined Iran in 1993 to develop their futsal programme, and we won the AFC Futsal Championship in 2000,” he said.
Iran are the most successful futsal team in Asia, having won 12 continental titles. They are the only Asian side to reach the FIFA Futsal World Cup semi-finals, doing so twice in 1992 and 2016. Hermans hopes other Asian countries can follow suit soon and challenge the likes of Brazil and Spain.
Hermans was hired by Thailand in 2012, leading them to second place in the AFC Futsal Championship in his first year, eliminating Iran in the process. “The head coach and the assistant of the Iran team was my player from my time in Iran,” he shared.
The Dutchman went on to have a silverware-filled four-year spell in Thailand, winning four AFF Futsal Championship titles and the SEA Games gold medal in 2013.
Hermans sees a bright future for futsal in the world and India but knows that the professionalisation of the sport will be the most crucial aspect.
“Futsal is the highest-growing indoor sport in the world. It’s now a big thing in Europe. You can make your salary with futsal there, which was not the case 20 years ago. But that has changed with increasing sponsorship and television coverage. We need media and television to sell this product,” he explained.
On the growing futsal scene in India, Hermans said, “I’ve seen a few matches of the Hero Futsal Club Championship. The technique is not a problem. Most players know the technique here. We need to work physically. Coaching and tactics are important. A proper league is needed so that we have good games. The coach needs to have a good view of the team’s preparations.”
