13 July 2014

Coach Kwon happy with Brunei’s grouping

Sunday, July 13, 2014
HEAD coach Kwon Oh-son is happy to be in Group B following the draw ceremony for the 5th Hassanal Bolkiah Trophy for ASEAN Youth Football Championship yesterday.
Brunei, as the hosts, chose to be in Group B alongside Cambodia, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam at the August 9-23 regional Under-21 tournament.
Group A comprise Laos, Myanmar, the Philippines, Timor Leste and two times champions Thailand.
“Both groups are very tough but I think it is a very good draw for Brunei,” said coach Kwon in an interview with The Brunei Times yesterday.
“Vietnam and Singapore are strong and we have not heard much from Cambodia, but they can be a surprise too,” he said.
“I see Thailand and Myanmar as the top contenders in this tournament and it is good that they are in the other group.”
Team Manager Hj Feisal Hj Eusoff echoed Kwon’s sentiments but insisted that either group is just as tough as the other.
“It is still not going to be easy as we will be facing Vietnam, who is one of the strongest in the region and we also have received information that Vietnam have just got back from a two-month training stint in Japan,” said the manager.
“Malaysia and Singapore also have been very active with their own local leagues and tournaments and I don’t think that this is an easy group to be in,” he added.
The national team have been training continuously since January and there are currently 26 players in the squad.
“When we first started, we hadmore than 300 players, but now we have only 26 players remaining. At the end of the day we will only need 18 players,” said assistant coach Hj Mohd Rosanan Abdullah Samak.
“There is still no date for the final selection of players and, for now, we are just going to focus on our training,”
“Most players came from clubs from the national leagues (DST Super League and Premier League), mainly from Indera Sports Club (SC), Najip FC and some from IKLS,” he said.
The organisers announced on Wednesday that each team will be able to bring in five overage players, and DPMM FC have agreed to lend striker Adi Said, midfielders Mohd Hendra Azam Mohd Idris and Mohd Najib Hj Tarif to assist the national team.
It was revealed by coach Kwon yesterday that the two other overage players are centreback Reduan Hj Petara and goalkeeper Md Fakhrul Zulhazmi Yussof.
“I am very thankful to DPMM FC for allowing their players to help us in the tournament. They are the best team in the country and they got the best players,” said Kwon.
”We have prepared for the tournament, we will try our best,” said Kwon.

The Brunei Times

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