Damien and Luveen hope to make big impact at Allianz Junior Camp

PETALING JAYA: Teenagers Damien Lim and Luveen Visnu hope to make a strong impression at the Allianz Junior Football Camp with Bayern Munich FC in Germany later this month.

Damien, who was named the best goalkeeper en route to helping Selangor emerge champions in the national schools championships (MSSM), said “I can’t wait to meet my idol – Bayern Munich goalkeeper Manuel Neuer”.

“I am training under goalkeeping coach Lim Chuan Chin, who also happens to be my uncle, three times a week in Bukit Jalil. It is a solid two-hour session. This is a huge opportunity for me and I hope to give a good account of myself during the trip and impress the talent scouts over there,” said Damien, who will take part in a training session with the club’s coaches.

The 15-year-old Damien and Luveen, 16, were picked from more than 1,000 players to attend the Allianz Junior Football Camp with Bayern Munich.

Luveen is also all fired up for the trip and has been keeping himself busy in training and competitions.

“I want to be in good shape for the camp in Bayern Munich,” said Luveen from Kuantan yesterday.

The trip to Germany will be Luveen’s second overseas stint, having won a tournament in Croatia with the national Under-11 squad under coach Richard Scully a few years back. Luveen, who is a centreback, played for the Pahang President’s Cup side this year.

The two lucky winners were picked at the end of a two-day trial at the SUK Field in Shah Alam last month by a panel of coaches, led by former international K. Gunalan.

The Allianz Junior Football Camp will be hosted by Allianz SE in Germany from Aug 30-Sept 3. This is the first year that two teenagers from Malaysia will be involved in the project, which is jointly undertaken by the FA of Selangor (FAS) and the Selangor Education Department.

The two winners will get to meet the Bayern stars and go on a tour of Munich before watching a Bayern Munich home match at the Allianz Arena.

Last year, 30,000 teenagers from all over the world applied to participate in the camp and 52 of them, from 16 countries, were selected.