Secret behind ethekwini’s futsal success
JUST three years after taking over the reins, Chris Naidoo has transformed ethekwini City into the top futsal team in the country.
The team, which is owned by Durban-based attorney Jay Reddy, made history recently when they completed the coveted South African Indoor Football Association (Saifa) league and cup double.
Even more astonishing was the fact that they went unbeaten for the entire 2016/2017 campaign.
Naidoo’s attacking and technical approach reaped rewards on the pitch and also saw him named Coach of the Year at the recent Saifa awards ceremony.
“I was really excited and I felt really good about the award,” Naidoo said. “A lot of credit must go to my team, however. They listen well and know how to execute the game plan.”
Naidoo has been involved in football for the past 40 years at different levels.
In 2010 he attended a course hosted by the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB).
The workshop focused mainly on small-sided games and immediately inspired Naidoo to lean towards futsal.
The 56-year-old from Reservoir Hills says it has taken a long time for his team to finally take shape.
Part of his early challenges was getting his players to think “futsal” rather than “football”.
“My players have big football backgrounds so we had to get them out of that mindset,” he explained. “I think that took some time to get to grips with.”
After attending a futsal course in Scotland two years ago, Naidoo refined his approach to coaching and motivating his side.
He continued: “I realised then that we were playing the game at a walking pace in South Africa. The top countries around the world are playing with high intensity.”
Naidoo then sought to instil a greater balance between attack and defence, coupled with a high energy running approach.
“We defend tightly and once we get possession we attack,” he said. “Our transitional play is very good and that catches opposition teams off guard.”
Their biggest stumbling block at the moment is a lack of remuneration.
Futsal is still an amateur sport in South Africa and administrators are hard at work trying attract sponsors.
“The players and I do it for the love of the sport,” the coach added. “We do not receive a cent. We are confident that private companies will come to the party and support the game.”