KUALA LUMPUR – Despite the high expectations and unwavering support from Malaysian football fans, the Harimau Malaya face uncertainty ahead of their upcoming international tournaments due to limited recent match exposure.
The recent appointment of Pau Marti Vicente as acting head coach, following Kim Pan-gon’s sudden resignation on Tuesday, has added to the anticipation.
Vicente, a Spaniard, will face a litmus test in meeting Malaysia fans’ expectations during the Merdeka Tournament, scheduled from September 2 to 10 at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil.
One of Vicente’s first challenges will be selecting the right players for the national team amid limited match exposure since the 2026 World Cup/2027 Asian Cup qualifiers.
Speaking to Scoop, Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) secretary-general Datuk Noor Azman Rahman assured that the Merdeka Tournament, featuring teams like Lebanon, the Philippines and defending champions Tajikistan, would provide Vicente with an ideal platform to test his players.
Noor Azman mentioned that Vicente, currently in Mallorca, Spain, would begin assembling his squad and setting up training camps upon his return to Malaysia in early August.
“We want to arrange quality matches and not just random friendlies. The FIFA match calendar and ongoing domestic tournaments like the Super League and FA Cup have made it difficult to schedule matches.
“However, the Merdeka Tournament will be the perfect tournament for Vicente to test his players,” said Noor Azman.
Noor Azman also revealed that FAM was arranging four friendlies for the Harimau Malaya before the AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup, where Malaysia are grouped with defending champions Thailand, Singapore, Cambodia and Brunei/Timor Leste in Group A.
The 15th edition of the tournament is scheduled from November 23 to December 21 across various venues in each participating country.
Group B will feature Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines, Myanmar and Laos.
The last time Malaysia won the AFF tournament was in 2010 under former head coach Datuk K. Rajagopal.
“While we can’t reveal the teams that we are securing for now, we can guarantee that we will arrange four formidable matches for coach Vicente (in October and November),” Noor Azman added.
Vicente’s coaching background includes stints as assistant head coach for the Hong Kong football team (2012-2013), Adelaide United FC (2013-2017) and the Barcelona under-18 team (2017-2022).
He will be assisted by E. Elavarasan, with the South Korean crew of Park Bo-bae (assistant coach), Cho Jun-ho (goalkeeping coach), Park Ji-hyeon (fitness coach), Lim Jae-hin and Lee Je-yeon (performance analysts) staying on.
Malaysia are currently ranked 134th in the FIFA rankings. – July 21, 2024