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AIS Playas de San Javier coach Joaquín Castaño talks about 5 players that we should keep an eye out for in the coming years…
After finishing his career as a beach soccer player six years ago, Joaquín Castaño was in no doubt that he wanted to become a beach soccer coach and help women’s beach soccer grow. He saw great possibilities and potential, as well as an area of the sport where he could add a lot of value.
Nowadays, he is one of the most knowledgeable coaches on the global women’s beach soccer scene, winner of the last Euro Winners Cup, and we wanted to ask him about the players that he thinks deserve our particular attention over the coming seasons.
These are the five players he chose, and why:
Phallon Tullis-Joyce
Between the sticks, I would want Phallon Tullis Joyce (State de Reims). Despite the fact that she is still very young, she has a strong personality and a big presence on the pitch. She is 1.85m (6’1″) tall but she moves with great agility, and that makes her very difficult to get past. It wasn’t for nothing that she was named Best Goalkeeper in last year’s Euro Winners Cup. Her professional contract with the French side has prevented her from making her debut with the US national beach soccer team, but she will no doubt have a place with the Stars and Stripes when she becomes eligible.
Besides that, she is calm and consistent in her decision making. If she specialises in beach soccer and works on her footwork, the future of beach soccer goalkeeping will be hers for years to come.
Carmen Fresneda
It took some time for her to reach the high level she is at today, but I think her moment has arrived. She is one of the most versatile players I have ever seen, thanks to her qualities and condition. She can play anywhere on the pitch, because she is very intelligent. Moreover, she is a really fast player, who knows how to mark and defend and also how to get into dangerous positions. Last year, she won both the Euro Winners Cup and a gold medal at the ANOC World Beach Games. Maybe she was not one of the most highlighted players, but her contribution was instrumental to those two victories. Her moment has come, I have no doubt.
Melissa Gomes
She has won the last two the top scorer awards in the Euro Winners Cup for a reason. No player has her eye for goal. She is terribly smart on the pitch, her moves are very intelligent, and, moreover, she is very good in a one on one situation thanks to her terrific technique. Although she always has goal-scoring on her mind, she is also very generous with her teammates, and whilst scoring a lot of goals she also accumulates many assists. She has a bright future in the sport, although she is already considered among the greats.
Saki Kushiyama
It was a great surprise when I saw her perform for the first time at the 2018 Euro Winners Cup. She is a player with an outstanding strength, skillful with both feet and with great scoring instinct. Playing as a pivot, with her back to goal, she is definitely one of the best in the world, and she is also very good at the bicycle kicks, an essential skill in this sport. If she manages to win titles at club level, she will need to be considered amongst the best on the planet.
Andrea Mirón
I wanted to leave this player, who is a reference point for coaches, teammates and also opponents on a global level, until last. She is a really powerful player, who defends very intelligently and has the capacity to shoot from distance and to break into the opponents’ danger zones to score goals. She performs like a super experienced player despite her age. She can strike the ball with both feet and in recent years she has improved a lot technically to adapt to the game on the sand, becoming a specialist. She has won everything that can be won in the women’s game already and if she truly believes in herself she will soon be at the very top.
