STICKING TO THE TARGET
Hamidin wants national team to make final of the AFF Cup
FAM are adamant in sticking to their initial target for Malaysia — to reach AFF Cup final next month even though Tan Cheng’s Hoe’s squad are still not formidable. According to FAM president, Datuk Hamidin Mohd Amin, there is still room for Cheng Hoe to improve the national team’s performance after Harimau Malaya went down 1-0 to Kyrgyzstan in an international friendly at the Hang Jebat Stadium in Melaka on Tuesday.
“Sometimes football can be somewhat difficult to understand. The national Under-23 team, led by Ong Kim Swee, managed to defeat defending champions South Korea in the group stage of the Asian Games in Jakarta recently. Despite having only two chances to score, they made the most of them, and got two goals to win the match.
“On Tuesday night, the senior squad had about 15 chances to score but somehow they just could not breach the Kyrgyzstan defence and in the end we lost. We can’t just look at the players’ performances on the field because the result or outcome is also very important.
“We will just have to wait and see how the team perform in the next friendly match against the Maldives and in the AFF Cup next month, so we will need to give Cheng Hoe the space he needs.
“Cheng Hoe’s predecessor, Portuguese Nelo Vingada, did not even manage to lead the national side to a win, but Cheng Hoe on the other hand has four wins, a draw and three losses under his belt which shows that there has been improvement,” said Hamidin.
Hamidin was speaking after launching the football studies executive diploma programme and handing over the Jalur Gemilang to the UiTM squad who will be competing in the Asia University Football Federation Championship that will be held in Jinjian, China from Oct 29 to Nov 11.
Cheng Hoe’s charges are now in the final phase of their preparations and will take on the Maldives at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil on Nov 3 before beginning their challenge in the AFF Cup from Nov 8 where they have been drawn in Group A with Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and Myanmar.
However, FAM will be in no hurry to take action against the national coach if the target is not achieved.
“I have said when I first became president that the target for the AFF Cup and next year’s Sea Games is to reach the final, but it does not mean that I will dismiss the coach if he is unable to meet the target. We will carry out our own analysis,” said Hamidin.