SEA GAMES 2011: PRINCE SUFRI ASKS BRUNEI TO SHIFT FOCUS TO HBT 2012

JAKARTA (14 Oct 2011) – HIS Royal Highness Prince Hj Sufri Bolkiah, the Honorary President of the National Football Association of Brunei Darussalam (NFABD), has asked the Brunei team to shift their focus to the Hassanal Bolkiah Trophy (HBT ) 2012 after what was felt as a largely disappointing performance at the SEA Games this year.

Brunei, who have not taken part at the SEA Games since 2001, took part at the biennial championship eager to show too that their two-year ban by FIFA which was lifted earlier this year has not affected their game.

But while Brunei have shown some quality through players like captain Azwan Salleh and striker Adi Said, still it was obvious they lacked international exposure and they also did not have the pace to last the full 90 minutes.

It also did not go down well with Prince Sufri who was at the last game when the Sultanate side went down 8-0 to Vietnam.

“I’m not really happy because to me, they were really careless in the first half (which ended 6-0),” said Prince Sufri, who is also the president of the Brunei Darussalam National Olympic Council (BNOC).

“The goalkeeper (Junaidi Akim) didn’t play well. For me, he should have been changed after the second goal instead of waiting until six. To me, what’s the use at that point? I’m not a footballer but I say they should have changed him at 2-0. Why wait until 6-0?

“I noticed that a few players are good but there is no teamwork. To me, they let in easy goals and passed the ball in defence when Vietnam were near. They should have just cleared the ball.”

Even though Brunei still have one game to play for when they take on the Philippines tomorrow, Prince Sufri said that it is better that they shift their focus to the HBT which the country will be hosting in early 2012.

This considering that a handful of the players from Brunei are still eligible to take part in the HBT 2012 which is for team under the age of 21-years-old.

“Work hard in preparation for the Hassanal Bolkiah Trophy which we will host next February which we will have only three months to prepare,” he added.

Source : aseanfootball.org