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Chiky Ardil: Best Goal Award Nominee in Beach Soccer 2019
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Beach Soccer
Chiky Ardil: Best Goal Award Nominee in Beach Soccer 2019
23.10.2019

During the national team’s pre-game meetings at Cambrils Park Sport Village to get ready for the World Beach Games Qatar, we interviewed him to know more about his professional career.

You are 4 siblings and the 4 of you play beach soccer!

Yes, we are four siblings, three boys and a girl. We, the three boys are international players at the Spanish beach soccer national team and our sister is playing her first year at the Club Deportivo Bala Azul at an amateur level. The 4 of us like beach soccer….

But, how did beach soccer arrive to your lives?

Beach soccer arrived in our lives in a different way than you might think. I used to go to play small tournaments held in villages of Murcia, Alicante and Valencia regions with groups of friends to have fun during the weekends. And this is how everything started.

How did you go from playing beach soccer as a hobby during the weekend to playing for the Spain national team?

As I was saying, we started playing with friends during the weekends, and at some point, the Murcia’s team coach called me to play a tournament against regional teams. The Spanish national team coach, Joaquín Alonso, was also there. I did a good tournament… and this is how professional beach soccer started in the family.

I was the first one, then my older brother (Raúl Ardil) and later the little one (David Ardil), who is a regular player in the national team.

chiky

Besides playing together in the national team, the three of you also play together at Club Deportivo Bala Azul at the beach soccer national league…

It's a young club, but despite its short history, we have been Spain’s runners up twice, runners up of the Cup, in Europe we have already competed three times… Right now, in Spain it is already a big team.

Being brothers, do you get along well on and off the field?

When we are competing, we are all the same. We don’t prioritize if it is a brother or a teammate…

You have been nominated for the Best goal of the year award for the Beach Soccer Worldwide along with two national team colleagues. How did you receive the news?

The truth is that I am very happy to be nominated. It is the second time I am, and let’s see if this year I receive it. It is very difficult because there are nice goals and because with the goals of my teammates, that are also really nice, the votes are divided. It is not the same to be the only Spanish nominee fighting for the vote than to be three Spanirds among other foreign nominees.  We hope one of us receives it and this award remains in Spain.

beach soccer

When you scored that amazing scissor kick goal, were you aware that it was a goal that could be nominated for the Best Goal Of the Year award?

The play started with a teammate’s cut-off. I tried to finish the play facing the net, but the bounce went backwards, so I had to balance it. I saw that it went in the upper corner of the net, that it was a nice goal, but until you watch the images, you don’t realize that it is a really nice goal that can aim for the Best Goal Of the Year.

 

Last July you were also gathered at Mediterranean Sport Village to prepare the Minsk European Games. You won the silver medal after losing to Portugal in a very, very tight final…

We got into the final and the truth is that, in the first time, the game was on track, we were 2-0 and we were controlling the game. But, for some reason, we had a mental block, and they came back in the second time. During the third time, we tried to score, but we couldn’t. Honestly, it was a shame to have the gold so close and not winning it, but silver is also a huge achievement for the group.

chiky

Portugal is currently the number two in the worldwide ranking behind Brazil. It was a very powerful rival ...

Yes, Portugal is a hard rival, like Brazil or Russia, but we have great potential to win them all. For one thing or another we couldn’t, but now we are ready for the Worldwide Games and we will try everything, let’s see if we win the gold and we get it off our chest.

We are a power in Europe, and if we are fine, we can beat anyone. Brazil is just a little bit superior, but if we train as we are doing and the team believes it, why not?

Step by step, first we must pass the group against Mexico, Solomon Islands and Italy. If we are the first in the group, in theory, we would play against Brazil in the semi-finals and it would be a hard game.  

And why not, I trust in all the members of the team, both coaches and players, and I know that we can win Brazil and any other national team. 

Note: at the time of the interview, the World Beach Games had not yet started, in which Spain, finally, lost to Italy the pass to the semi-final in a very disputed match.

beach soccer

What is the main strength of the Spain national team?

The greatest strength of the Spanish National team is that it controls the game and we normally control the match. When we control the game, we are a difficult national team to defeat.

The problem is that we can’t make any mistakes or lower the quality of the team.

What do you think about Mediterranean Sport Village facilities for your preparation?

It is the third time we stay here at Cambrils Park, two times with the girls and another alone, and the truth is that we are really happy, both with the Resort and with the Futbol Salou. We see the football pitches, with a well-maintained grass, with the ultimate artificial turf … The facilities are amazing to enjoy and to train. Any club in the world and in Spain can come to visit and see that it is true.

Thank you very much & good luck, Chiky!

 

Potos: Beach Soccer Worldwide