Duo named to lead open GB futsal side in Berlin

Andy Landesberg and Jon Kurrant will again spearhead the Team Maccabi GB open futsal squad at the 2015 European Maccabi Games in Berlin.

The appointment follows on from the impressive work the duo undertook at the 19th Maccabiah Games in July 2013 where the side reached the quarter-Finals of the tournament, with Landesberg being the team’s manager, and Kurrant the side’s coach.

In addition to his achievements with Team Maccabi GB Open Futsal, Landesberg is extremely familiar with the Jewish Football scene. A former Wingate and Finchley captain, he has represented every men’s team at London Maccabi Lions, both in the MGBSFL and in non-Jewish football. Last year he took over as manager of the Lions’ MGBSFL side, where he won the Cyril Anekstein Cup and finished fourth in the Premier Division. What made his achievement even more impressive was that he took over with the team bottom of the league. Andy currently manages the London Maccabi Lions First Team in the South Midlands League whilst carrying out his duties as Director of Football for London Maccabi Lions’ 33 multi-age group teams.

Team Maccabi GB open futsal coach, Jon Kurrant, is also well-known within futsal circles – both Jewish and non-Jewish. Capped a number of times by the England futsal team, Kurrant now manages and coaches the Maccabi GB Futsal Club – the only Jewish side in the FA National Futsal League. His team, predominantly made up of young players from Team Maccabi GB’s U16 and U18 Maccabiah Games squads with some Masters players, currently sits undefeated at the top of the Southern Division 2.

Speaking about what it feels like to be appointed in his role, and what his aims are for Berlin 2015, Landesberg said: “Being appointed as the manager of the men’s open futsal team gives Jon Kurrant and I the opportunity to finish what we started in Israel last year. We had a fantastic group of players that were totally committed to both the competition and the Maccabiah Games experience and ethos.

“I can see from the great work that Jon has started with Maccabi GB’s National Futsal League team, that we will move forward and give this squad every opportunity to return home from Berlin with a medal. To be able to lead a team that competes in Berlin is extremely special for obvious reasons, and I know that the whole squad will be extremely proud to represent British Jews in Berlin, this is exactly what Maccabi GB and its philosophy is all about. The recruitment process has already begun and we will be laying down some tough fitness programmes as Futsal is, without question, an extremely demanding sport.”

Landesberg and Kurrant are looking to add one more member to their management team in the coming weeks, and they will be looking to go one better than at the European Maccabi Games 2011 where the team came back with silver.