KUALA LUMPUR – Ahead of his first few matches as Harimau Malaya’s new head coach, Kim Pan-Gon has announced the list of players selected for central training camp.
The camp, which begins on March 14, will be instrumental in preparing the national squad for two Tier 1 international events: The 2022 FAS Tri-Nation Series, where Harimau Malaya will face the Philippines and Singapore, and a friendly match against Singapore League’s Albirex Niigata Singapore FC on March 28.
All matches will be played in Singapore.
Out of the 30 names, the majority of the footballers called up have been part of the squad in previous years.
Among them are 15 players who represented the country at the ill-fated AFF Suzuki Cup tournament last year.
A sizable portion of the players – 14 out of 30 – come from Johor Darul Ta’zim FC.
Speaking at a press conference at Wisma FAM today, Pan-Gon says his decision was made after attending several league matches over the week.
“For the past one week, the panel of coaches have sat down together and provided ratings for the players based on their performance.
“I am happy to say that we have identified a pool of players to form what is potentially the core of the Malaysian national team,” he said.
Based on the league matches, he says they had identified a pool of almost 70 players before shortlisting the individuals they believe best fit Harimau Malaya’s playing philosophy and tactical plans.
“However, we would still need to assess the players’ ability through observation and monitoring − either directly or indirectly − in terms of technical, tactical and professional behaviour,” he added.
The team is set to report for duty at PJ Hilton on March 14 and scheduled to train at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium.
“Our short-term objective of this call-up is to prepare for the 2023 Asian Cup qualifiers in June.
“But our long-term vision is to build a Malaysian national team game model and rediscover the team confidence in our bid to create a strong team spirit and winning mentality.
“We also want to build a healthy player-centred high-performance culture amongst those delivering the best services so they feel proud to be part of this group,” said Pan-Gon.
The South Korean football professional says that can be done by providing quality tactics along with sports science-based training sessions that cultivate proper nutritional habits.
The team departs for Singapore on March 22 to play the Philippines on March 23 and Singapore on March 26. – The Vibes, March 10, 2022
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