De Melo and Barzel make Futsalroos 14-man squad
After a series of selection trials for the Futsalroos ahead of their Asian Futsal Federation (AFF) Championship campaign in Bangkok from April 3-12, new national men’s coach, and Hakoah Futsal Club head coach, Miles Downie, now has a full complement of players, who trained together for the first time on Wednesday night.
Jewish player for the Mascot Vipers, Ethan De Melo, trialled for, and made, the 14-man squad.
Almost three years ago, when the Futsalroos last played overseas at the last AFF Championship, the talented pivot was only 16, and was picked in the squad for the first time, only getting court time in the pre-tournament practice matches.
Now in his second year of an Economics/Law degree at the University of Sydney, De Melo, 19, told The AJN he is keen to make more of a mark on the international futsal scene.
“I’m very excited to be selected, it’s always an honour to represent your country, and I hope I can have a bigger role in the squad, now that I’m a bit older,” he said.
“Last time I was selected for the Futsalroos, I was still in high school (Emanuel School) and it was all about getting as much experience out of everything as possible.
“After a full squad training session, we’ll depart for Bangkok this Sunday, and get to play a couple of local [Thai] clubs as warm-up games before the tournament begins.”
Also making the 14-man Futsalroos squad is Hakoah’s Jono Barzel – who will make his Futsalroos debut – while Robbie Ezekiel made the squad’s standby list, after impressing selectors in the trials, and could be called upon if a major injury rules a player out prior to game one of the championship.
Also invited to, and participating, in the futsal selection trials, were Hakoah players Gilad Swartz and Noah Felich.
Swartz looked sharp in the first trial, but a calf muscle injury ruled him out of the second and final trial.
Felich, a 19-year-old goalkeeper, just missed out on selection, but will gain confidence from being considered.
Australia will play in Pool B, which includes Vietnam, Myanmar and Timor Leste.
In February, De Melo joined Hakoah for a one-off tournament, the Australian Futsal Club Championship, in which they reached the semis.
Apart from at the 2022 AFF Championship, De Melo and Barzel will next play together again at the Maccabiah Games this July, when representing Australia in men’s futsal.
Hakoah Futsal Club president Daniel Sharp said Barzel is one of the club’s best players.
“He was a former Hakoah junior who, after a stint with Inner West Magic, recently rejoined our club to reunite and play with his mates, with the Maccabiah Games around the corner,” Sharp said.
“And now, as his reward, he gets picked in the Australian team.”
Sharp added that Ezekiel, Hakoah Futsal Club’s captain, “is an unbelievably good player, and he can really count himself unfortunate to have just missed out on missing the 14-man Futsalroos squad, but he was chosen as a reserve (emergency) player, which is still an accomplishment”.
“And if those two, plus Felich and Swartz, continue on their path, one day we could have four or five Jewish Futsalroos players at the same time.”
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