DPMM FC beef up Brunei's Suzuki Cup squad

Ak Fauzi Pg Salleh


BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN


Wednesday, August 29, 2012


IT'S DPMM FC to the rescue as players from the Sultanate's only professional club will be lacing up for the national side at the Asean Football Federation (AFF) Suzuki Cup qualifier campaign which kicks off on Oct 5 in Yangon, Myanmar.


Team manager Hj Feisal Hj Eusoff yesterday told The Brunei Times he has included DPMM FC midfielders Mohd Hendra Azam Mohd Idris, Mohd Najib Hj Tarif and goalkeeper Md Fakhrul Zulhazmi Yussof in the squad.

"These three players (Hendra, Najib and Fakhrul) will be very important for us. We feel very grateful to have the players joining us. We would like to thank His Royal Highness Prince Hj Al-Muhtadee Billah, the Crown Prince and Senior Minister at the Prime Minister's Office, for allowing these three players to represent the national team," said the manager.

"The squad are made up of players from the DST National Football League. The players came from Majra FC, Indera, MS ABDB and MS PDB and seven of them are from the HBT (Hassanal Bolkiah Trophy) squad. The coaches of the football clubs in the country and the National Football Association of Brunei Darussalam (NFABD) have been very helpful in assisting us in scouting the players," he added.

The players have been training at the Hassanal Bolkiah National Stadium and Berakas Sports Complex since May but it was only in July that they were brought together for a centralised training.


"So far they are only twenty players in the squad. They started training since May, but it was an on and off training. Centralised training started in July. They train twice a day, in the morning and afternoon. But during the month of Ramadhan they only trained once a day in the evening," explained Hj Feisal.

National coach Kwon Oh-son however, was not impressed with the progress of the players.

With the event only a month away, and the team only starting their first official centralised training in July, the national coach admitted that it is going to be a difficult task.

"Their level of stamina are still low. They only trained once a day during Ramadhan and it was not enough. We only have one month left before the tournament so we need to squeeze all their physical fitness training, set-piece play and the attack and defence's organisation in that period of time," said Kwon.

"They will be playing number of friendly matches in Malaysia. We hope that these friendly games would help secure their confidence of playing at the higher level and I also hope that it will give them actual international exposure in the game. With the support from the DPMM FC players, it will help boost the confidence of the team," added the South Korean.

The national team will be leaving for Kuala Lumpur today to compete in some friendly matches to ensure their players are in peak condition before the tournament.

The Sultanate face Cambodia on Oct 9, Laos on Oct 11 and Timor Leste on Oct 13. All matches will be played at the Youth Training Centre in Yangon.


The Brunei Times ..