The striker picked up the 2011 O-League Golden Boot for his seven strikes as Amicale made it all the way to a final showdown with New Zealand’s Auckland City in April.
But he is yet to pull on the colours of Vanuatu on a futsal court and can’t wait to get over the disappointment of that aggregate loss to Auckland by firing his country to success from May 16 to 20 at Vodafone Arena in Suva.
“I am very happy to have been selected to play for Vanuatu in an OFC futsal competition for the first time,” he says.
“I have already played for the national team, the national beach soccer team and Amicale and am looking forward to adding futsal to that list. I will try to do my best and will hopefully score a few goals.”
If he can manage to find the net on a regular basis, those goals will be of great importance as the stakes at this year’s OFC Futsal Championship are high.
The tournament is now an annual occurence but the 2011 edition carries extra significance as the winner will qualify to represent Oceania at the FIFA Club World Cup Thailand 2012.
With that in mind, Galinie was particularly careful about making his selections.
“It has not been easy to find the right players to play for Vanuatu but I have needed to work closely with my team manager Glen de Sonneville to identify the right men who can perform well in Fiji this time. Last year, we lost heavily against Solomon Islands, Fiji and New Zealand and we don’t want to repeat the same story. That’s why we have picked three quality outdoor players in the squad.”
Joining Masauvakalo in making the switch from the grass to the court are Amicale team mate Chickau Mansale, who is likely to be the preferred goalkeeper, and Tafea defender Fredy Vava.
Vanuatu have been drawn in Group A with Kiribati, Fiji and New Zealand and Galinie says his charges must not drop their guard at any time.
“We cannot afford to under-estimate anyone,” he says. “We are playing away from home and everyone will want to beat us. We must all work hard and our aim is to advance to the semi-final.”
Vanuatu squad for OFC Futsal Championship
1. Chickau MANSALE (GK), 2. Junior MALAS, 3. Fredy VAVA, 4. Louis DOMINIQUE, 5. Ben HUNGAI, 6. Ricky TUIGALOA, 7. Jacky JOHN, 8. Lui SIFAS, 9. Jack VIRA ALA, 10. Don MANSALE, 11. Fenedy MASAUVAKALO, 16. Benji WOTU (GK)
Coach: Jean-Yves GALINE
Assistant coach: Ben EDWARD
Manager: Glen de SONNEVILLE
Head of delegation: Leon WARSA
Physio: Albert KAIAPAN
For more on Vanuatu football go to www.vanuafoot.vu