{"id":31807,"date":"2018-05-12T10:30:31","date_gmt":"2018-05-12T17:30:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.persianfootball.com\/news\/?p=31807"},"modified":"2018-05-12T13:58:22","modified_gmt":"2018-05-12T20:58:22","slug":"back-to-back-tournament-mvp-honours-for-asias-great-karimi-video","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.persianfootball.com\/news\/2018\/05\/12\/back-to-back-tournament-mvp-honours-for-asias-great-karimi-video\/","title":{"rendered":"Back to back tournament MVP honours for Asia’s great Karimi [VIDEO]"},"content":{"rendered":"

AFC – BANGKOK, As Islamic Republic of Iran celebrated a second consecutive AFC Women\u2019s Futsal Championship final win over Japan, Fereshteh Karimi continued the theme and confirmed herself as a continental great by winning the tournament\u2019s Most Valuable Player award for the second time.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The 29-year-old delivered what could only be described as the perfect tournament in Bangkok, scoring five goals and, remarkably, winning player of the match honours in all five of Iran\u2019s matches.<\/p>\n

The scorer of the tournament-deciding goal in Malaysia three years ago, Karimi also left her mark on this year\u2019s decider, playing a major role in Misato\u2019s Komura\u2019s 30th minute own goal, before setting up Sara Shirbeigi to make it 3-0 moments later.Speaking moments after Iran\u2019s sensational 5-2 win, Karimi spoke of the significance of lifting the trophy for a second time.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor women\u2019s sport in Iran, the futsal team is the only team that has the ability to be an Asian champion,\u201d she said.\u201cThe national teams in other sports don\u2019t have this ability and that\u2019s why this is so important.<\/p>\n

\u201cIranians are very emotional people, especially our women. This championship is the big opportunity for us to be more famous in the country, and the way we dress is unique and different from the other teams.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll the people, especially our families, are so happy about this achievement.\u201dThe 29-year-old graciously accepted the award, but said team success was at the forefront of her goals before thanking Iran\u2019s technical staff.<\/p>\n

\u201cFirst of all I was thinking about how I could help the team. I knew that if I could help the team then I could be the MVP of the tournament,\u201d she revealed.\u201cBefore the final our staff analyzed Japan for us very well.<\/p>\n

We had two sessions of analyzing them and our plan was to make Japan tired in the first half, then try to score in the second half.\u201cThat was our plan and thankfully it worked. We really need to give our thanks to our staff.\u201d<\/p>\n

Iran head coach Shahrzad Mozafar paid tribute to Karimi, saying her dual achievement is evidence of her standing as one of the game\u2019s greats.\u201cCongratulations to Fereshteh,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo be the MVP of the tournament for the second time means that she is one of the really great players in Asia and, to me, in the world.\u201dIran\u2019s hat-trick hero in the final, Sara Shirbeigi (pictured below) won the award for the tournament\u2019s top scorer.<\/p>\n

The 26-year-old finished level with teammate Fatemeh Etedadi and Japan\u2019s Anna Amishiro with nine goals, but won the award by virtue of contributing three assists, compared to her competitors\u2019 two.Karimi thanked her teammates, giving special praise to the goal scoring duo as well as star goalkeeper Farzaneh Tavasoli.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll the Iranian players are the MVP, and they should all be here beside me accepting this award.\u201cThe top scorers, Sara and Fatemeh have been among the best players in this tournament, as well as our goalkeeper Farzaneh.\u201dIran also claimed the Fair Play Award to take a clean sweep of the honours.<\/p>\n

AFC WOMEN\u2019S FUTSAL CHAMPIONSHIP \u2013 AWARDS<\/strong><\/p>\n

Most Valuable Player \u2013 Fereshteh Karimi (IRN)<\/p>\n

Top Goal Scorer \u2013 Sara Shirbeigi (IRN) \u2013 9 Goals<\/p>\n

Fair Play Award \u2013 Islamic Republic of Iran<\/p>\n