Hodak’s boys can only get better

BOJAN Hodak’s side are only getting warmed up in the AFF Under-18 Championship in Yangon.

Despite only two weeks of centralised training, Hodak’s side topped Group A over secondplace Thailand on goal difference to reach the semi-finals.

Their opponents were decided after the Group B proceedings late yesterday.

Hodak has revealed that his players have mastered only 40 per cent of his coaching philosophy.

“From the scale of one to 10, my team are at four in terms of how I want them to play my brand of football... still a long way to go”, said Hodak in Yangon yesterday.

“My players have individual quality, but they are still far from being a good team.”

When asked how long will his team take to meet his expectations, Hodak said: “Some players will catch up in days or weeks, while for others, it may take years... some will never learn”.

“Generally, everything depends on their learning abilities. It takes years to develop high quality players,” said Hodak.

The Croat said his players will need to master at least 80 per cent of his playing system for the AFC Under-19 qualifiers in South Korea on Oct 31-Nov 8.

Malaysia are in Group F with Korea, Indonesia, Timor Leste and Brunei.

“Korea are a good team, while Timor Leste will be stronger compared to their performance in the ongoing AFF Under-18 Championship.

“Timor Leste, who were ousted in the group stage, were without four regulars, who ply their trade in Europe and Korea.

Hodak said the atmosphere in camp is great and that his players are focused on doing well in the semi-finals tomorrow.

“The players, however, are slightly upset with the 1-1 draw against Thailand on Tuesday. It was a match that we should have won easily. Anyway, this is part of the learning process... it will make them wiser for upcoming matches,” Hodak added. Ajitpal Singh