AFC - Sanaye Giti Pasand were crowned AFC Futsal Club Championship 2012 champions with a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Uzbekistan’s Ardus at the Yarmouk Indoor Stadium on Friday, becoming the second Iranian club to clinch the coveted title after Sepahan won the inaugural championship in 2010.

A deflected goal off Artur Yunusov in Afshin Kazemi’s effort gave the Iranian champions an early 1-0 lead in the 3rd minute but Yunusov himself brought the match at level within seconds of the second half followed by a decisive goal from Rudimar Venancio in the 24th minute.

Yunusov, the semi-goal scoring hero playing after a long injury layoff, had an eventful evening as the ball that deflected off him gave the Iranians a 1-0 lead. Credit goes to Kazemi for connecting a powerful shot in the penalty area as goalkeeper Rustam Umarov could not react to stop the deflection off Yunusov.

Ardus’ Jamoliddin got the chance of the match just before the half-time but his fierce shot somehow hit the inside of the goalpost and fell back on the lap of Giti Pasand goalie Hossein Hafshejani.

Ardus brought the match at level within the 30 seconds of the second half after the tournament’s top scorer Ahmad Esmaeilpour failed to perform his defending duties properly. Sharipov’s pass to Yunusov went on Esmaeilpour’s feet but the lanky forward missed the ball and Yunusov utilised the opportunity at its best making it 1-1.

A clever piece of futsal all around helped Giti Pasand hit back in the match with a decisive goal in the 24th minute. Captain Mohammed Keshavarz cleverly passed a freekick to Kazemi who, rounding off two Uzbek defenders, cleverly released the ball to unmarked Venancio who slotted home the 2-1 decisive lead for Giti Pasand.

Ardus tried their best but brilliant goalkeeping from Hafshejani kept all their efforts at bay as Giti Pasand became the second Iranian club to win the competition.

Nagoya Oceans were awarded a 'Fair Play' trophy while Giti Pasand's Mohammed Keshavarz was declared MVP of the tournament. Keshavarz's teammate Esmaeilpour walked away with the top scorer honour with nine goals. AFC Acting President Zhang Jilong and Kuwait Football Association (KFA) President Sheikh Talal Fahad Al Sabah gave away the medals and trophy. 

Keshavarz named MVP

AFC Futsal Player of the Year 2011 Mohammed Keshavarz, the skipper of newly crowned AFC Club Futsal Championship winners Sanaye Giti Pasand, has been given the tournament's Abdullah Al Dabal MVP award.

After a series of outstanding performances in the continental futsal club championship, the 30-year old got his second biggest individual honour in Asian futsal.

“This is very special, last year I was Asian Futsal Player of the Year last year but my team Shahid Mansouri failed to win the title but this time around, the award is special because we, as a team, won the tournament,” a visibly ecstatic Keshavarz (in picture, right) told www.the-afc.com.

“These awards prompts me to do better and continue to play this beautiful game of futsal.”
Keshavarz has a unique record of playing in all three AFC Futsal Club championship with three different clubs and two of them ended up with the titles.

He managed a single goal against Nagoya Oceans in the semi-final but his towering presence at the pitch means Giti Pasand only conceded five goals with an impressive average of one goal per match in the competition.

He helped Foolad Mahan Sepahan win the first ever title of the competition in 2010 while his next side Shahid Mansouri lost to Japan’s Nagoya Oceans in the 2011 final.

“This campaign is better than those previous ones as the level of competitions is getting much tougher these days and I ended up with the winners with an individual title which is an icing on the cake,” he added.

Likewise, both leading scorers before the final, Ahmad Esmaeilpour and Dilshod Irsaliev, failed to score in the final meaning Giti Pasand’s marksman Esmaeilpour walked away with the topscorer award with nine goals in five matches.

Biggest day in club's history: Alireza

The newly crowned continental champions’ coach Afzal Alireza could not hide his happiness after leading Sanaye Giti Pasand to ‘the highest ever honour in the club’s history’ when they become the champions of AFC Futsal Club Championship 2012 by beating Uzbek giants Ardus 2-1 on Friday’s final.

Alireza’s Giti Pasand recorded a hard-fought 2-1 victory in the final – thanks to two superbly taken goals from Afshin Kazemi and Rudimar Venancio. Kazemi put Giti Pasand ahead in the 3rd minute but Ardus levelled the score immediately after the half time only for Giti Pasand’s Brazilian export Venancio to score the winning goal in the 24th minute in one of the low scoring finals of the championship.

“It means a lot for the club, especially if you are an Iranian club. Today is the biggest day in our club's history,” he said.

“Back home we have the toughest league in the continent and to emerge winner from there and get a ticket here is an ardent task. And in this championship, it looked easy but it was never,” he added.

While recording five wins out of five matches, Giti Pasand wrecked up 28 goals – more than five goals per match in average with their star player Ahmad Esmaeilpour scoring nine goals alone. In contrast, they only conceded five goals.

“In all those matches, we were the better side but we had some nervy moments especially in the semi-final and today.

“Ardus were excellent, they were well organized and had their moments in the match but at the end of the day, we were the deserved winners,” he said.

“I would like to thank AFC for coming up with an idea of this wonderful club competition and also our club management for handling everything smoothly,” he concluded.