New UAE beach soccer coach Gustavo Zloccowicz hits the sand running

As the Intercontinental Cup kicks off at Dubai International Marine Club today, the man in charge of the host nation is in optimistic mood, writes Ali Khaled.

UAE beach soccer coach Gustavo ‘Guga’ Zloccowicz, centre with clipboard, has had some early success with his new team. Courtesy Beach Soccer Worldwide

A new coach, a young team and a fresh era for the UAE beach soccer national team.

As the Intercontinental Cup kicks off at Dubai International Marine Club on Tuesday, the man in charge of the host nation is in optimistic mood.

Gustavo Zloccowicz, better known as Guga, may have landed in the UAE only a few months ago, but already he likes what he sees.

“I came here in May and since then we’ve had a good period of preparation [for this competition],” the 37-year-old Brazilian said. “We are expecting to have a good tournament. I think the UAE is one of the top teams.”

The team’s recent run of form backs his claim. Over the past week, the UAE have faced Lebanon, Oman, Azerbaijan and Hungary and, on Saturday, drew 2-2 with the world champions Russia.

“We’ve played nine friendlies in the last three weeks,” Guga said. “We won seven and lost just one. So we are in good shape and we have high expectations.”

Guga’s record in beach football is impressive. He has taken charge of Bahrain, Azerbaijan, Russia and Portugal and, in 2012, led Brazil to success at the Copa America.

Having experienced such varying environments, he has easily settled into the UAE lifestyle and climate since taking over from Marcelo Mendes.

“The facilities are great, Mamzar Beach where we train is fantastic,” he said.

“We’ve been concentrating on this tournament in a big way and, hopefully, we can perform well this week.”

The coach has quickly stamped his identity on the squad, and he has pinpointed one area in particular for improvement.

“Compared to other nations we needed more body fitness, more strength,” he said. “We need to put on more weight, but we are at a good stage in our project.”

He has also carried out a significant overhaul of the squad, with a group of young players such as striker Ali Mohammed, 18, midfielder Walid Basher, 23, and defender Abbas Ali Naseri, 25, balancing out the experience of more established members.

“We’ve changed some players, the average age of the team now has dropped five or six years,” the coach said. “Part of the project is to get the players physically stronger, but technically they are super, even the young ones.”

Despite a tough group, Guga is not short on confidence in his team.

“I hope to put the UAE in the top five of the world,” he said.

The UAE will kick off Group A against Morocco at 6.45pm on Tuesday, before facing reigning champions Iran on Wednesday night and Portugal on Thursday.

“We are ready, of course. This is tournament play, so we are trying to avoid any surprises,” he said in regard to the strengths of his rivals.

“Our group is very tough, there are three teams that are very, very strong: Morocco, Portugal and Iran.

“Our first target is to get to the semi-finals. If we get there then we will try and finish in the highest position we can.”

Should the UAE progress to the last four, they will face one of Group B’s four teams: Brazil, Japan, Russia and the USA.

Guga said he sees little difference in the standards of all the participating teams.

“With this type of competition you can’t really pick a favourite,” he said. “We have eight very strong teams.

“Maybe, if the USA made it to the semi-final it would be a small surprise, but really any of the teams can make it to the last four.

“Iran were the last champions and Portugal are one of the top teams. There’s no need to speak how good Russia is and, of course, there is Brazil.”

The UAE have a lot to gain from Guga’s experience around the world.

“I coached Brazil, Portugal and Russia,“ he said. “So I know some of the players very well, this is an advantage to ourselves.”

A little help from the stands would not do any harm either in his opinion, with entry to the tournament free.

“We want the fans to come and support us, the players are very strong but they need the backing of the fans,” Guga said.

“We are playing at home and we want to see a full stadium. I hope it’s full of people supporting our team, and I hope we can get to the final for them.”

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