The Tiki Toa, or Warrior Men as they are known, are still on a high following their dramatic 4-3 win over reigning champions the Solomon Islands in the final of the OFC Beach Soccer Championship in Papeete on Saturday.
But already they are looking ahead to prepare for the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup in Italy this September – which is where Schirinzi comes in.
“I am here to help them improve on the little details that will take them to the next level,” says the 38-year-old, who helped his Swiss national team to a silver medal at the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Dubai 2009.
“With Tahiti this week we are training twice a day to do tactical work and talk about how to progress their skills further.”
OFC Technical Director Patrick Jacquemet invited Schirinzi to lead the Technical Study Group during the OFC Beach Soccer Championship and stay on for a week to work with the winning side.
Schirinzi, like many others, may have been expecting the favoured Solomon Islands to take out the title but he says it is good to see a new Oceania champion.
“It shows the sport is becoming more competitive in this region. Solomon Islands will be disappointed of course after qualifying for the past four World Cups but perhaps this will mean a new start for them. They will have to think about the match and see where they can improve to be ready for the next qualifier.”
Reflecting on the final, he says Tahiti got their tactical game right.
“We saw a Tahitian team who were very concentrated, they had good communication and supported each other. The tactic was to give long balls to their captain Naea Bennett for him to win the headers and threaten the goal and I think this was the only way to win against the Solomon Islands. They did it very well and were deserved winners.”
Tahiti will want to make the most of Schirinzi’s visit as he is one of the most experienced and well-respected proponents of beach soccer in the world. As CEO and founder of Swiss Beach Soccer, Schirinzi helped to build his national side from the ground up beginning in 2001 and going on to win their first European Championship in 2005. The father of two has more than 200 caps to his name while the team enjoys a current ranking of fourth in the world. Schirinzi says their results are not down to luck.
“It has been a lot of hard work for the past ten years by a group of people who share a passion and determination for what is still an amateur sport.”
Schirinzi also has an interest in the 11-a-side game, previously playing for FC Bale and now working as a coach and instructor for the Swiss Federation. But he says his main focus is on beach soccer.
“It is a young sport and we have to work together to continually lift the profile and standards. I’m happy that Patrick has invited me to this part of the world because this is my daily business and I like to help. It is my goal to help prepare Tahiti for the World Cup so they will represent Oceania with pride.”
The experience in Italy will be a valuable one for the Tiki Toa in terms of looking ahead to the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup 2013 which they will qualify for automatically as hosts.
Schirinzi will stay on in Tahiti until the end of the week.