AFF UNDER-19: OH-SON RAISES CONCERN FOR BRUNEI

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN (5 Aug 2011) – Next month’s AFF Under-19 Youth Championship in Myanmar will be the first international competition for Brunei Darussalam in two years but chief coach Kwon Oh-son is worried of the quality available to him.

Brunei was banned by international body FIFA in May 2009 and whose suspension was lifted only recently in May 2011.

But at a recent trial alongside Brunei’s Department of Youth and Sports for the AFF meet, the Korean stated that the signs do not look promising.

“No skill, no power, no insight about play, no midfield general, no finishing, no strong defense, no goalkeeper,” he sighed.

“There is no Iniesta (Barcelona midfielder Andres Iniesta) or Pique (Barcelona defender Gerard Pique) here that’s how I can explain it to you.

“There were four Brunei Youth Team (Under-18) players here and they played well. But the others look to have had no training and they aren’t playing well.

“Brunei has not played an international match in years so it will be hard to discover good players. Now we are selecting for the future and we need to make a continued investment in these players for at least two years. Keep them training. That’s the most important thing.”

A total of 66 players attended the trials with 29 players shortlisted.

Brunei are in Group B of the AFF U19 Youth Championship against hosts Myanmar, Indonesia, Laos and Vietnam.

In Group A are Thailand, Singapore, Philippines, Malaysia and Cambodia.

Aseanfootball.org