Wanting to be the best in your chosen sport is all about your desire, which will help you answer that question, “How badly do I really want it?”
In 2015, I facilitated a Premier Skills Football session with around twenty community coaches. At the start of the workshop, my co-facilitator colleagues asked the participants many questions on why they choose or like to coach. I then very bluntly asked the group, “Does anybody in this room have aspirations to coach the Malaysian National team one day?”
Everybody looked stunned after hearing my question. But around three seconds later, one person raised his hand. This gentleman then said, “I have that dream, and hopefully I will achieve that dream.”
I then said to this individual, “That is what it’s all about. You must all dare to dream. It does not matter if it does not happen, but do not die wondering.” This gentleman and I straight away became very good friends. These days he is more of my mentor as he is always giving me good technical advice. This man is none other than Firdaus Aziz.
Firdaus is currently the Head Coach of the Selangor Under-19 team. To inspire us all, Firdaus shared with me some of his career milestones and future plans.
· ORIGINAL CAREER PLAN:
“I studied a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering (Honors) at Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia. Not long after working as an Engineer, I switched to Football coaching because I love teaching the game to young athletes. I got bitten by the coaching bug when I was around twenty-one years of age.”
· MY ACADEMY – KLASIKO ACADEMY.
“The idea behind my academy is to give children the opportunity to learn Football and to also truly understand the beautiful game. It is not just about kicking the ball but more importantly, I teach them about the why before the how. This academy is also set-up to help my athletes become world-class Footballers.
· FOOTBALL & LIFE PHILOSOPHY:
“I believe Football is all about attacking with effective possession through dynamic, creative and intelligent play. You also need to keep it defensively compact, disciplined, and a team must never ever forget to press.
Regarding life, and how Football makes us better people, I always tell all my athletes that hard work beats talent when talent does not work. So never stop working”
· COACHING AMBITION:
“If I am being honest, I have two dreams. One is to be the Head Coach of a top European Football club - Yes I believe a Malaysian can do it. My second goal is to Coach Malaysia and bring us to glory land – AKA The FIFA World Cup.”
I would like to wish my friend Firdaus all the very best in his career endeavors. We both always say to each other when talking about making our dreams happen is that “All you need is grit.” Thanks, Firdaus for being an inspiration to us all. - The Vibes, 14 March, 2021
Ben Ibrahim is a TV Commentator, Sports & Media Consultant. In his career, he has also worked for FIBA, FISU, Foxsports, and the Ministry of Youth & Sports.
He also helped set-up the Malaysia Valke Rugby Club that played in the 2019/2020 Global Rapid Rugby competition.
You can contact him on his Public Facebook page or his Instagram Account @benibrahim_
