Ahmed Rizvi
DUBAI // Ricardinho, one of the biggest names in the world of futsal, is determined to help two-time champions Fohood Zabeel regain the Nad Al Sheba (NAS) Ramadan Sports Tournament.
The Portuguese - winner of the Best Player of the World award in 2010, 2014 and 2015 - is back for his fourth season with Fohood Zabeel at NAS and, after playing a crucial role in their two title-winning campaigns, the 30-year-old player showed his worth once again on Tuesday night, scoring in the final seconds of a 7-4 win over Desert, which booked their place in the quarter-finals of the tournament.
Ricardinho, winner of more than 38 titles during his career, was thrilled to make the last eight, but his target is to win a third title with Fohood Zabeel after being relegated to the runners-up spot by Al Joker last year.
"Our target, of course, is the first place," said Ricardinho, who plays for Madrid club Inter Movistar, where he has won the past three league titles on the trot. He had earlier won five league titles with Benfica.
"We will try our best to finish first, but yes, we also know that the task will not be easy because all the teams taking part in this tournament have made really good preparations and have good players.
"But we will try our best, because Fohood Zabeel is like a family, not just a team we come to represent for a few days. We are one family, in harmony with each other, and that gives the team its strength. I believe we have a really strong character as a team and I thank Fohood Zabeel for renewing their confidence in me."
Ricardinho is one of the 45 foreign players, from nine different nationalities, taking part in the NAS futsal competition this year. The Brazilians are the dominant lot, with 20 players, followed by Spain with nine players. There are five players from Portugal, four from Belgium, three from the Netherlands and one each from Italy, Cyprus, Russia and Britain.
Two of those foreign stars, Williams Oliveira Do and Diogo Henrique Terozeni, both Brazilians ran amok on Tuesday night as Tornado-4 blew away Al Ain Youth 16-0 in a Group B match to keep alive their hopes of qualifying for the knockout stages. Do scored seven and Terozeni a hat-trick in Tornado-4's massive win, while Salim Jameel scored four and Qasim Abdul Redha two.
Fohood Jumeirah, who defeated Al Ain Youth 15-2 in their opening match, assured themselves of a place in the last eight from Group B with a 5-3 win over Al Habtoor on Tuesday night, while Al Theyaba bounced back from the 3-4 defeat to Fohood Zabeel in their opening Group A match with a 9-4 demolition of Studio Zabeel.
Al Theyaba's win means the second qualifying spot from Group A is a straight battle between them and Desert, who had defeated Studio Zabeel 8-5 in their opening match.
In the padel championship, Abdullah Ahli and Ahmed Hussain will battle with Saeed Al Marri and Hassan Sharif Al Marzouqi for the honours in the finals of the UAE Nationals category.
Ahli and Hussain stunned top-seeds Majid Bushagar and Mohammed Al Janahi 6-2, 6-3 in the semis, while Al Marri and Al Marzouqi got the better of Mohammed Al Mansouri and Mohammed Ahli 6-2, 6-2.
arizvi@thenational.ae
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