Under-19 coach Bojan on the lookout for more players

PETALING JAYA: National Under19 coach Bojan Hodak is on the hunt for at least two players to strengthen his squad for the AFC Under-19 Championship qualifiers in South Korea next month.

The Croatian coach said he’s on the lookout for a natural rightback and a box-to-box midfielder to add more depth to his squad when the team report for centralised training next month.

Hodak, who has been scouting for players in the ongoing President’s Cup and Youth Cup competitions, is happy with the cooperation given by the teams’ coaches.

“I’ve been scouting for players during the quarter-finals of the Youth Cup and President’s Cup. The are some players who caught my eyes.

“I’m also in the midst of gathering information on players who did well with teams who did not reach the quarter-finals,” said Hodak yesterday.

“The coaches of the teams in the President’s Cup and the Youth Cup have given me good information on their players and that makes it easier for us to add them into our database.

“We have good players but I want more options. We only have one rightback in the team, so I’m looking at alternatives. We also need a midfielder who is good at attacking and defending.”

The 46-year-old Hodak, who guided Malaysia to second spot in the AFF Under-19 Championship in Yangon last month, said he would also get the National Sports Institute (NSI) to help in the team’s preparation for the AFC Under-19 Championship qualifiers.

Malaysia are drawn with hosts South Korea, Timor Leste, Brunei

We only have one rightback in the team, so I’m looking at alternatives. We also need a midfielder who is good at attacking and defending.

Bojan Hodak

and Indonesia in Group F of the tournament, which will be held in Paju from Oct 31-Nov 8.

“We will put the players through some physical tests as well as get the NSI psychologists to help the team.

“These batch of players do not have much international experience, so we need to give them all the help we can,” said Hodak.