Shamsaee rewarded for stellar display with MVP prize

AFC -  Few would argue that veteran striker Vahid Shamsaee has been the outstanding player of this tournament, certainly not after his display at the Osaka Municipal Central Gymnasium tonight almost single-handedly returned the AFC Futsal Championship to Iran.

Shamsaee was officially recognised for his contribution by way of receiving the tournament MVP award, a prize that has oddly eluded a player that has claimed the Golden Boot at every previous edition of the Championships.

Eleven tournament goals, combined with a man-of-the-match display in the final, was ultimately enough to secure the top individual honour of these Championships for Shamsaee, who is yet again the toast of IR Iran.

“After all my years in futsal, I have learned to follow the advice of the coaches, try to improve my game step by step and, on the big occasions, to just be calm and relax,” said Shamsaee.

“Since last year, we as a team have kept a promise to each other to win this Championship.

“It is all the sweeter for us this time because we have come to Japan and defeated the reigning champions in their home country.”

The greatest goal scorer in international futsal history, Shamsaee relinquished his monopoly on the AFC Futsal Championship Golden Boot to Japanese lynchpin Kenichiro Kogure, who netted twelve goals throughout the tournament.

Kogure’s prize was some consolation on an otherwise despondent night for the Japanese.

In truth, Kogure was deserving of some recognition for his efforts at these Championships, where he has spearheaded a resilient Japanese line up that came within three goals of defending their title.

In a further bonus for the champions, Iran were also presented with the Fair Play award, having accumulated the least amount of bookings of any side on a pro-rata basis throughout the tournament.

“Since 1999, we have been honoured to be playing alongside Japan,” said IR Iran captain Mohammad Reza Heidarian in accepting the award.

“We’re quite close to each other and Japan is a very good opponent.

“We look forward to showing the world just how far Asian futsal has come at the next FIFA World Championships in Brazil.”