AIM TO PLAY IN ASIA FIRST
Inter chairman tells Southeast Asian players to take gradual steps to Europe
INTER Milan chairman Erick Thohir has urged Football Associations (FAs) in Southeast Asia to create the right path for their players to play in Europe.
“Forget about Serie A or the Premier League, the best players in this region should instead aim to play in the leagues in Japan, South Korea and China first,” said Thohir yesterday.
“Many of the better players in Southeast Asia think they are good enough to play in the top leagues in Europe.
“Having dreams is good but the FAs and players must strive to build a pathway to make it possible.
“As an Asian owner of a club in Europe, I will always support this and maybe create opportunities for these players but they need to make a gradual jump first from Southeast Asia to top leagues in Asia.
“Heading to Europe and trying out with smaller leagues in Europe is also good to get noticed and experience.”
Thohir, also the joint owner of DC United, had brought two Indonesian players for trial with the Major Soccer League (MSL) club.
Winger Andik Vermansyah, who now plays for Super League side Selangor, had a trial with DC United in 2012 and was tried out in reserve matches but nothing came out of it.
Syamsir Alam joined DC United in January 2013, on loan from C.S. Vise (Belgium), but the then Indonesian youth international failed to feature in a single MSL match that season.
“I brought Andik and Syamsir, who showed promise in Indonesia, to DC United, but they were not ready,” said Erick.
On Inter Milan’s additional summer signings, Erick said the team have good central defenders, but may to beef up the left and right back positions.
“We have Andrea Ranocchia, Joao Miranda, Jeison Murillo and Milan Skriniar as options for central defence.
“We may have to beef up the wing-back positions, but it is for the coach Luciano Spalletti to decide the players to bring,” Erick added.
Inter Milan want to finish respectably in the upcoming Serie A season and qualify for the Champions League following a dismal seventh place last season.