Friday, 9 May 2008 9:44 AM
By Paul Mavroudis
South Melbourne is pleased to report that star midfielder and fan favourite Fernando De Moraes has been named in the Futsalroos squad that will travel to Thailand to compete in next week’s AFC Fustal Championships. The achievement is further magnified when it is taken into consideration that Fernando is the only Victorian in the 14-man squad.
A seasoned futsal campaigner, this year saw Fernando break into the Australian side, performing well and scoring frequently in the KL 5s tournament in Malaysia earlier this year.
Australia’s group contains Asia’s second ranked team in Japan, as well as Chinese Taipei and Turkmenistan. The four semi-finalists from the 16 nation tournament qualify for next year’s Futsal World Cup in Brazil.
While his clever play in the middle of the park will be missed in South’s next two matches against the Whittlesea Zebras and Frankston Pines, the South Melbourne family is proud to have another player attain the heights and glory of representing the national side. Good luck to ‘Nando’ and the team!
Australia’s matches are:
May 11 v Turkmenistan – 6.45pm (local time)
May 12 v Chinese Taipei – 12 noon (local time)
May 13 v Japan – 6.45pm (local time)