Basger’s Bangkok triumph
JEWISH futsal star Jarrod Basger has returned from a six-week stint in the Thailand Futsal League with Bangkok FC, where he continued to make a name for himself as one of Australia’s top players.
JEWISH futsal star Jarrod Basger has returned from a six-week stint in the Thailand Futsal League with Bangkok FC, where he continued to make a name for himself as one of Australia’s top players.
Basger, who began his career with Maccabi Hakoah and is now a regular with the Futsalroos, was scouted by the Bangkok FC coach who mentored the Australian national team at the FIFA Futsal World Cup in the Thai capital last year.
“The competition was massive and futsal is pretty big over there,” Basger told Maccabi News.
“It was amazing living the professional life, going to the gym in the morning, training in the afternoon.
“[And] there was good media coverage. There were three media people waiting for me to do an interview after my first session there and most of the games were televised.”
The Aussie was the only foreign player on the team and was in awe of the level of competition and the interest surrounding it.
“The standard is much higher than any Australian league,” Basger said.
“You needed to be more agile and I had to be on my game more. But it was so enjoyable [with] two games a week and training the other days.”
Basger said Thailand was a great place to experience, but it did come with its challenges.
“I was actually living pretty rural, it was more of a foreign area,” he said.
“The language barrier was really difficult and I couldn’t ask anyone about anything.
“[And] the coach’s instructions were impossible; I didn’t understand any of it and that got a bit frustrating. So I had to go out there and play the way I play and I also learnt plenty of stuff off the others.”
The team was sitting fourth when Basger’s stint was over, which he said was a huge improvement from the previous season.
Basger will now take part in the ASEAN/East zone of the 2013 AFC Futsal Club Championship qualifiers with Dural FC ithis month after the side won the F-League last year.
Maccabi Hakoah qualified for 2012 championships after winning the inaugural F-League season, but the side did not compete in the Australian competition last year.
The ASEAN/East zone of the AFC Futsal Club Championship qualifiers will take place from April 11-16 in Shah Alam, Malaysia.
AJN Staff
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