The 2007 soccer season had its own set of ups and downs as the season somewhat seemed to be the longest ever in the history of football in the country as games were played till a week before Christmas.
The prolonged season was the result of national commitments, O-league and above of it all the delay in the kick off of the national league series. The league had to be delayed as the sponsors pulled out and Fiji FA had to dig deep to find new sponsors New World supermarkets that signed a deal of over half million with the national league board.
On the national scene, Fiji welcomed new coach Juan Carlos Buzzetti as its new coach after the demise of Lee Sterrey whose contract was not renewed by the parent body. Buzzetti a well known coach in the region due to his involvement as coach in Australia and Vanuatu took the national under 20 team as his first assignment.
The Uruguan native selected a relatively strong team made of some relatively unknown players of whom little was known but after their performances in the under 20 playoffs in New Zealand they became household names and made it big and represented districts in the season. One such player was Roy Krishna the golden boot winner in the under 20 playoff and the star of the national under 20 team who upon his return donned the jumper of his hometown Labasa team although he was being eyed by other districts as well.
The national under 20 team lost narrowly to the kiwis in their final encounter in the OFC qualifiers 2-3 and received praises from Fiji fans all across the globe. The national under 17 team however did not do well in their playoffs in Tahiti and bowed out after the pool games.
The main national mens and womens team partook in the Pacific games and finished second and third respectively in their grades. Fiji’s mens soccer team lost in the final to Tahiti 0-1 while the Womens team settled for bronze after losing controversially to Tonga in the semifinal.
The national team went to the US to build up matches before the Pacific games and returned with mixed results. The side played club and state teams in there.
Fiji and New All Whites featured in a two match football for hope FIFA sanctioned series to raise funds for the Tsunami victims in the Solomon Islands. The All Whites won the first match at the Post Fiji Stadium 2-1 while Fiji won the second encounter 1-0 to equal the series.
Buzzetti did not have a good season as national coach and his final assignment with the national soccer team wasn’t effective as the team lost two of its three matches in the world cup qualifiers. Buzzetti who was adamant that his boys would do well in their bid to secure a place in 2010 world cup had to bite the dust as the national team lost on home soil to arch rivals New Zealand 0-2. The away match against the Kiwis in New Zealand which was supposed to be played before the match in Fiji had to be cancelled as Fiji goalie Simione Tamanisau was denied visa into New Zealand by the New Zealand immigration as his father in law was a military officer.
Fiji drew against Pacific games gold medalists New Caledonia at home 3-3 and were hammered 0-4 in Noumea bringing an end to their unsuccessful bid. Fiji is automatically out of 2010 world cup and now it will all be left to the executives and management of the national team to plan and focus on the 2014 world cup, a road that seems to be so far yet not unreachable.
On the local scene, The Men In Black Ba received most accolades and appreciation for making it big on the international scene by featuring in the O league final against Waitakere United of New Zealand. Ba won all their pool matches and faced off with Waitakere in the first match and won 2-1 on home soil but lost in New Zealand 0-1 and also dashed its hopes of playing in the Club World Cup.
The champion vs champion series kicked off the 2007 domestic season with defending champions Ba taking on Suva. Suva surprised Ba with a one all draw at the Post Fiji stadium and Ba replied with a win in its home ground to reclaim its champion status.
In a milestone achievement, Fiji FA signed a major deal with English FA through which the English FA has agreed to provide technical assistance to Fiji for the coming years. To date professionally qualified coaching tutors from English FA have conducted two coaching clinics in the country more programs are scheduled for next year.
The national league this year was delayed till May as Fiji FA could not find a sponsor after Tappoos pulled out New World came to the rescue and pledged to sponsor the league with a handsome amount. Due to the delay the format of the league was changed this season with the bottom four finishers after the first round to play in a separate competition and the super six playing their own competition. Ba the winners of the first round earned the ticket to play in the O league once again and to date the Men in Black have only played a single match in the league and have a win to their name. Ba bet Tafea FC of Vanuatu 1-0 at home through the boots of nippy Shalen Lal.
Labasa won the national league title after a lapse of many years and the Babasiga Lions with all their players playing their trade else where in the country returning home proved to be a class apart in the national league.
Ba and Labasa also signed a major deal with mobile giants Vodafone which bought the naming rights of the teams and therefore Ba and Labasa have been referred to as Vodafone Men In Black Ba and Vodafone Labasa.
Vodafone Men In Black Ba once again reigned supreme in all the major tournaments and bagged all the three titles at stake. The Yogendra Dutt coached side beat Labasa in the final of the Fiji FACT tournament in front of its own crowd 1-0 through a Malakai Tiwa goal.
In the Battle Of the Giants tournament in Nausori the Men in Black were a class apart and went on to win the final beating Nadi 2-1. Nadi had fought hard in the match and had forced an equalizer but a late goal by national striker Osea Vakatalesau sent Nadi packing.
In the Courts Homecentres Inter District Championship, all odds were staked against Ba as Ba had lost a couple of its top players through injuries and overseas commitments. The Men in Black were also beaten in the national league and this raised eye brows amongst the soccer fraternity.
However the young Vodafone Ba brigade worked wonders and were probably the luckiest team in the tournament as they escaped in all their games including their last pool match against Lautoka and the semifinal against Suva and the final against Nadi. Ba came from behind in the extra spell to score two goals and win the title after Nadi went ahead by a goal to Viliame Toma. Avinesh Swamy and Malakai Tiwa gave Ba the much needed victory and wrapped up the season for the Men In Black on a high note.
Fiji FA also elected two new vice presidents during its annual congress in Suva in October. Former western vice president Dr Hari Kewal got back into his vice presidency role after being elected ahead of others for the vacant position after the demise of Mohammed Yusuf to New Zealand. Rewa soccer boss Faiyaz Ali was elected as the new southern vice president replacing long serving vice president Ashok Balgovind.
With the 2007 season not looking so promising as there weren’t major achievements for the national team, Fiji FA officials are positive that the 2008 season will be much brighter and full of activities.
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