5/19/2008
the-afc.com

BANGKOK – Iran coach Hosseim Shams underlined the ease at which his side collected their ninth AFC Futsal Championship title after a 4-0 victory over Thailand saw the Asian heavyweights claim the 2008 edition on Sunday.

Vahid Shamsaee scored twice to finish as the tournament's top-scorer and also scoop the Most Valuable Player Award, while Majid Latifi and skipper Mohammad Reza Heidarain, who announced his retirement before kick-off, also found the back of the net to ease past the hosts and disappoint a full house at Nimibutr Stadium.

Iran were deserved winners, conceding just two goals in six games as they swept all before them on the way to lifting the trophy.

Indeed they were only seriously tested in their narrow semi-final victory over Japan, an encounter Shams stressed was more taxing than Sunday's contest as Iran consigned their quarter-final loss to Thailand at the KL World 5s firmly to the history books.

"The game we had with Japan was much tougher, it was a more difficult game than the one we had today," he said.

"It was much easier because the pace of Thailand's play was much slower than that of Japan and it could be controlled nicely.

"It's been a long time since KL. I've worked well with the players and just taught them how to defend, how we should play and what each player should be doing.

"No doubt Thailand are better than before, step by step they are growing up, but the level of Iran is quite different.

"We knew exactly what to do. Minute by minute everything was under our control and really we could have scored more. But we just wanted to be sure about everything."

After a draining week that saw Thailand exceed expectations by making the final, coach Jose Maria Parzos Mendez admitted his side under-performed in the showpiece encounter and were simply outclassed by the Iranians.

"I think we didn't play as well as we could," he said.

"Maybe we were chasing the game, maybe we were tired, maybe because it was our first final of this type, it's not easy to play in these games.

"Iran were always better positioned, more concentrated on the task and they were much better than us.

"If you want to play competitively against a team like Iran, you cannot make two mistakes like we did in the first-half.

"The first goal was from a corner that we've seen a lot of on video and we momentarily lost concentration. Today we did not play like we can.

"But it was a very important game because it is a young team, it is a team that can play in more finals and this game can be a lesson for the future."

Mendez's own future is also under scrutiny as his contract expires next month but the Spaniard indicated he would like to remain at the helm.

"I don't know if my contract will be renewed, we must speak this week and see what happens," he added.

"I am happy here, I have no problem. I'm happy with the team, I think it has a lot of potential and I think the team can grow a lot."