The former Papua New Guinea national team head coach Flemming Serritslev is now officially the new head coach of Fiji national team, after signing for three years with the Fiji Football Association.
It was already known the Danish coach would take charge of the Bula Boys, but now officially the FFA announced the coach and disclosed the details of his contract.
The FFA president Rajesh Patel (left) and Serritslev – FFA Media
The Danish Serristlev was responsible for guiding Papua New Guinea to the grand final of 2016 OFC Nations Cup, where his side was beaten by New Zealand in the penalty shootout. Serritslev takes charge after former coach Christophe Gamel resigned from the position and his big target will be the upcoming OFC Nations Cup to be held in New Zealand.
Isabel earned a very important win for their sides by 4-2 against the mighty Warriors. The important striker Bently Kelobi scored a hatrick for Isabel in the match, while Junior Berry scored the fourth for his side.
Kelobi and Ifunaoa, goalscorers of the clash
Warriors could only reduce the scoreline through Adrian and Ifunaoa efforts, to give the final scoreline of 4-2 for the friendly match.
The VFF National League Championship was recently cancelled, but the VFF decided to maintain the tournament for the North provinces of the country. The tournament kicked-off this 30th January with three matches held in Luganville, Espíritu Santo island.
Galaxy and Malampa Revivors would use the tournament as preparation for OFC Champions League. The situation stands for Malampa Revivors that is playing the tournament, but Galaxy withdrew the competiton as they are playing the PVFA Opening Cup back in Vanuatu capital city Port Vila.
Torba FA vs Penama FA in VFF National League Championship – VFF Media
The competiton is having six teams (Penama FA, Torba FA, Luganville FA, Sanma FA, Malampa FA and Malampa Revivors FC) and already had three matches in the competition, all played at Lyceé de Luganville Stadium, Luganville.
Malampa FA 3-2 Sanma FA Torba FA 2-0 Penama FA Malampa Revivors FC 4-2 Luganville FA
You can see full schedule of the competiton by clicking here.
Hekari United and Lae City are the most known clubs currently in Papua New Guinea; both sides top the league so far, but just behind them in the standings two new contenders appear to be in the running: Tusbab Stallions and Vitiaz United.
Vitiaz squad before match against FC Bougainville – PNGFA Media
The only Madang-based side in the competition, Tusbab Stallions is getting wide recognition through their very good media service and also for their performances on the pitch. Stallions recorded the biggest win so far in the league – 5-0 against FC Kutubu – and also won their first ever match in Port Moresby after beating FC Boungainville by 2-1.
Stallions got noticed nationwide after a fantastic performance against the powerhouse Hekari United in PNG Football Stadium, where the home side scored a last-minute goal winner to break the hearts of the Madang fans. Despite their 2-1 defeat, the team received much praise by the local and national media and is set to make a huge crowd go to Laiwaden Oval to watch their upcoming match.
Stahl Gubag scored six for Stallions, the current top scorer of the league – PNGFA Media
Stallions will count on the flair of the young star Stahl Gubag: the 20-year old is the top goalscorer of the season so far. The team is led by the only woman to coach a top-tier side in Oceania, Rachel Wadunah, who has also another talented young players in her squad, such as the brothers Ricky and Jason Wadunah and the striker Papalau Awele.
The next match for sides will have a special taste: both Vitiaz and Stallions are set to face each other in Madang at Laiwaden Oval in the upcoming round of PNG National Soccer League. A win will see Vitiaz hold on to their 3rd place, while a defeat will make the Lae-based side lose that spot to the Madang team. The owner of Vitiaz United, Matthew Strach said to Oceania Football Center: “We are wary of their potential [of Stallions] and with the incident last week we know they will be determined to get a win this weekend to make a statement. We will stick to our game plan of keeping to basic football and play the full 90 minutes“. The incident Mr. Strach mentioned in his statement is the scandal of obscene gestures of Hekari United player Joseph Joe to Stallions supporters in Stallions previous match in the league. A similar statement was given by Stallions general manager Conrad Wadunah, who is expecting a hard match and one of the most important so far in the league for his side – and is also hoping to count on the local fans for their loud support.
The good news for Papua New Guinean football lovers is that local Madang TV Station Tumbuna TV will be telecasting and streaming the match of Vitiaz United against Tusbab Stallions. It is expected a massive crowd at Laiwaden Oval will witness the most entertaining match of the weekend in the country. The duel will kick-off at 3pm in Madang – see here all details for tickets and venue.
The final match of the OFC Champions League preliminary stage is set to take place today (31th Jan) at Ngahue Reserve in Auckland. The Cook Islands side Tupapa Maraerenga only needs one point to qualify for the next stage, as they hold Lupe o le Soaga to a 0-0 draw in their debut in the competition. The Tonga representative side Veitongo will need a win at any costs to proceed in the competition if they want to turn into the first Tongan side to compete in the modern format of the OFC Champions League group stage. Veitongo suffered a 2-0 defeat against the Samoan side Lupe o le Soaga in the first game of the competition and win is all what they need against Tupapa. The Samoan is already qualified for the next stage as they got four points in the table with a draw and a win.
Harlem Simiona (white) of Tupapa were not able to surpass Zane Green (purple) of Lupe – OFC Media
Tupapa is the favourite for the encounter; the club counts with the experience of players as the Chilean midfielder André Estay, the Cook Islands international Grover Harmon, Harlem Simiona and Ishaq Nazeem. The Cook Islands champions never failled to proceed to the group stage through the preliminary matches in the modern era of the OFC Champions League. Tupapa Maraerenga did not impress in their first match against Lupe o le Soaga – some players felt hard to play in the turf of Ngahue Reserve – and they will be surely looking for a better performance to seal their spot in the group stage.
The Tongans come for the tournament without many of their important players as the Tongan international defender Sione Tui’fangaloka. Veitongo played a very good second half, but were unable to find the back of the net – losing even a penalty when Vai Lutu was stopped by the experienced Zane Green.
Hemaloto Polovili is the dangerman of Veitongo – OFC Media
Veitongo will look to defend well couting with the likes of Opesi Tui’fangaloka and Sione Uhatahi and hoping with good combinatios with the talented and always dangerous Hemaloto Polovili and the pacy Pita Uhatahi upfront. The goalkeeper Sinilau Taufa was a standout for Veitongo in their debut against Lupe o le Soaga, avoiding many goal opportunities from the Samoan champions.
The match will be streamed by Oceania Football Confederation in the MyCujoo platform. The match is set to kick-off at 4pm NZT.
After the schedule and dates of the upcoming OFC Nations Cup were released, all local federations of Oceania have a clear picture of the time they will have to preapre their national teams for the most important football competition of ther region. New Zealand already stated they will be fielding a U23 team in the competition and Fiji already named their new head coach in order to prepare for the competition. The competiton is nearing, but still one of the most football crazy nations in Oceania is still to announce their new head coach and to inform their fans what will be done for their preparation for OFC Nations Cup 2020. Vanuatu already reached the semifinals of the tournament as their best campaign; having players as Brian Kaltak, Jason Thomas and Mitch Cooper can put them in a serious position to be contenders for the title of the tournament – but a good preparation is certainly required.
After the departure of the North-Irish coach Paul Munster that last coached Vanuatu national team in the Pacific Games in 2019 held in Samoa, the post as head coach for national team is empty. In the U23 Olympic Qualifiers in September, 2019 – the most recent international tournament played by the country – the local and experienced Etienne Mermer took place to guide the team that displayed a good football and achived the third place in the competition.
Mermer with Vanuatu U23 in 2019 – OFC Media
Vanuatu has a big history at OFC Nations Cup, reaching the semi finals of the competition for four times – in 1973, 2000, 2002 and 2008. Despite their good records, they are still to reach the grand final match of the tournament – being unable to reach the semifinals in the last two editions of the Nations Cup, in 2012 and 2016.
In 2016 – the last edition of the OFC Nations Cup – the current co-coach of Galaxy in PVFA Premier League Moise Poida was the head coach of the team. Vanuatu was grouped alongside New Zealand, Fiji and Solomon Islands and ended at the bottom of the group with just one victory – against Fiji by 3-2 – unable to reach the semifinals and the next stage of the FIFA 2018 World Cup qualifiers. The best three ranked teams by each of the two groups in the competition would proceed to the third and final stage of the World Cup qualifiers in OFC.
Vanuatu football legend Moise Poida – OFC Media
In the 2012 edition of the competiton another local coach was the responsible to guide Vanuatu in the OFC Nations Cup. It was Percy Avock, that had experience of coaching in New Caledonia with the traditional AS Mont-Dore, most recently, in 2017, Percy Avock was in charge of Malampa Revivors in their first appearance in OFC Champions League.
Vanuatu was also not succesful in their campaign in edition held in Solomon Islands. They lost two of their three matches, being able just to beat Samoa by 5-0. Tahiti and New Caledonia, both sides who completed the group, advanced for the semifinals and both met in the grand final where Tahiti won by 1-0.
Percy Avock when coach of AS Mont-Dore – LNC
In 2008 the format of the competition was different: the 2007 South Pacific Games held in Apia would serve as part of the OFC World Cup qualifiers and qualify three teams for the next stage – the 2008 OFC Nations Cup – to compete alongside New Zealand for a spot in the intercontinental playoffs. Another local – the current Tafea FC general manager Robert Calvo – was in charge as head coach of the national side. Calvo was succesful to qualify Vanuatu for the OFC Nations Cup, as they earned bronze in the 2007 South Pacific Games.
Calvo and his players were grouped alongside New Zealand, New Caledonia and Fiji – being the first placed-side in the group the champions of the 2008 OFC Nations Cup. Vanuatu finished at 4th in the competition, but in the round-robin competition were able to draw against New Caledonia and win Fiji, both matches played at Korman Stadium, Port Vila.
Robert Calvo, the 2008 OFC Nations Cup head coach of Vanuatu
The most succesful coach in Vanuatu history comes from far away the Pacific Islands: the Uruguyan Juan Carlos Buzzetti coached the team from 2000 until 2004, being the responsible for three campaigns at OFC Nations Cup – 2000, 2002 and 2004, qualifying his team for two semifinals in the three competiton he coached the national side.
The 2000 Melanesian Cup – divided with two groups of five teams – served as qualifiers for the OFC Nations Cup in the same year. Vanuatu was not succesful in the Group A as they finshed 3rd – behind Fiji and Solomon Islands – and only the two spots would advance. Due a civil unrest in Fiji, the team could not proceed to the next stage and the spot was awarded to the 3rd placed Vanuatu in the run.
Vanuatu was grouped alongside New Zealand and Tahiti, losing to New Zealand but beating Tahiti in the process to qualify to the next stage. Vanuatu faced the powerful Australia in the semifinal, but the Buzzetti coached side were able to hold the Socceroos to only a 1-0 win. In the bronze medal match, Vanuatu was beaten by Solomon Islands by 2-1.
Buzzetti, the Uruguyan also coached Fiji – FFA Media
In 2002, Vanuatu reached the semifinals once again under the guidance of Buzzetti. They lost their match against Australia by 2-0 in the Group A, but were able to beat Fiji and New Caledonia to reach the decisive playoffs.
In Auckland, New Zealand was the opponent of the Ni-Vanuatu side. Unfortunatelty for the Uruguyan and his team, they suffered a 3-0 defeat by the hands of the home side. Vanuatu could got their first bronze medal in the competition, but they were once more beaten at the 3rd place match playoff by 1-0 against Tahiti.
In 2004 OFC Nations Cup Vanuatu could not reach the same success they had in their previous two editions, but one epic moment happened in their football history, understood to be the most important achievement of Vanuatu football history: their 4-2 win against New Zealand. Their schocking win against the All-Whites took them out of the final match of the tournament. Vanuatu lost all other matches in the competition, but Buzzetti and his players could celebrate a fantastic moment.
The Vanuatu team in their victory over New Zealand Stand (L-R): Moise Poida, Larry Thompsen, Geoffrey Gete, Alphonse Qorig, Lexa Bibi and David Chilia (C) Crouched (L-R): Seimata Chilia, Fredy Vava, Graham Demas, Jean Maleb and Tom Manses.
Vanuatu has a lot of potential in their country; already introducing to Oceania very good players – since the historical Richard Iwai until the current days star Brian Kaltak. Their organization might be crucial to find another impressive result in the upcoming 2020 OFC Nations Cup – but the time is running out and, even having very good players, it is necessary to make a team from it good enough to compete at the regional stage. The fans are intrigued, waiting the steps of Vanuatu Football Federation.
It is being reported that Vanuatu player Alex Saniel could be joining Lautoka from Fiji. The 23 years old forward has some experience at New Zealand lower leagues and he could be a good addition for the Bluez as they have already lost Samuela Drudru and Benjamin Totori while Dave Radrigai might be leaving as well.
Saniel playing for Lautoka in 2019 Pacific Cup. Source: NZFFI Media
Erick Joe Ribeiro is one of the Brazilian players that recently arrived in Papua New Guinea to play for Hekari United. He is a 24 year-old defender with some experience in the Brazilian regional leagues. Oceania Football Center talked to him about his first days in PNG and his expectations for 2020 OFC Chahmpions League.
Erick and Vinícius arrived in Port Moresby two weeks ago to sign with Hekari United. Both players came from Brazil through the same players agency – “I was playing for União Mogi from Brazil and I came to Hekari United through Millennium Soccer Agency,” said the Brazilian defender.
Erick Joe signed for Hekari United to play 2020 OFC Champions League. Source: Millennium Soccer
He stated that he is enjoying his first days with his new teams but he pointed out one big problem: the weather – “It is too hot here but I am feeling comfortable now […] Hekari is an excellent club.” Things are becoming easier for him due to a budding relationship with his new teammates – “I have no words to describe them and the coaching staff. I am being very well received”.
Erick knows about Hekari’s winning history and he made it clear: “We want to win championships and we are working hard for it,” Hekari is currently leading the 2019-20 Papua New Guinean National Soccer League with five wins in five matches.
Hekari built a strong squad for 2020 with strong local players and some shrewd foreign signings. This year might be something special for the team because it has been ten years since they won OFC Champions League for the first (and only) time in history.
There are some strong teams like Auckland City and Eastern Suburbs from New Zealand but there are also some good teams from other countries like Ba (Fiji), Galaxy (Vanuatu) and Hienghène Sport (New Caledonia). Hekari can compete with most of these teams and have a good campaign. However they do not want to be a supporting actor in the continental championship – “We want to do it again,” said the Brazilian player.
It may be a bit obvious that people predict that the New Zealand’s clubs are favourites to win the league but Erick points an important thing – “Everyone knows how to play football nowadays. It is all about details, tactics and training,” Hekari United have an experienced head coach that may take them to the next level.
Ba FC already count on three players that took part of Lautoka’s squad last year: Beniaminio Mateinaqara, Benjamin Totori and Samuela Drudru. And it seems that they want one more player from the Bluez: Dave Radrigai.
The interest on Radrigai was confirmed by Ba’s manager Arvind Singh. There is nothing concrete but things can be decided soon as the transfer window closes tomorrow.
Reid is 31 years old and he is playing for West Ham since 2010. He recently came back from a severe knee injury and playing in MLS can be a good chance to have some gametime at a good level again.
Oceania Football Center 