KUALA LUMPUR — The Australian connection with the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) continues, as former Socceroos defensive midfielder Mark Milligan has been linked with the assistant head coach position in the national football team under Peter Cklamovski.
The 39-year-old, who earned 80 caps for his country between 2006 and 2019 and played in four FIFA World Cups (2006, 2010, 2014, 2018), recently resigned from his role as assistant coach at Adelaide United.
A source within FAM, who wishes to remain anonymous, revealed that Milligan is currently the leading candidate to fill the assistant head coach role, which has been vacant for the past three weeks.
“He has been FAM’s prime candidate from the start, and Cklamovski is very keen for him to join Harimau Malaya’s setup.
“Cklamovski met him a few weeks ago, and Milligan was impressed by the head coach’s objectives and vision for the national team. That (would be) the main reason behind his decision to leave Adelaide United.
“However, Milligan has yet to make up his mind. What’s certain is that he’s currently more interested in coaching a national team.
“If Milligan’s deal doesn’t go through, there’s a high chance Cklamovski will turn to former Australian players who have experience playing in Malaysia or even consider local coaches to take up the role,” said the source.
For the record, many Australian players plied their trade in the M-League between 1999 and 2008.
Notable names include Mitchell Prentice, Tom Pondeljak, Marko Rudan, John Tambouras, Matthew Bingley, Andrew Clark, Simon Colosimo, Travis Dodd, Ante Milicic, and Ross Aloisi, who are now assistant coaches in several nations abroad.
It has also been reported that local coaches such as Hairuddin Omar and Tan Cheng Hoe are in contention for the assistant role.
Milligan’s prospects of joining FAM appear even brighter, with 7News Adelaide reporter Rob Cornthwaite confirming that the Australian will be appointed as Cklamovski’s assistant.
“Former Adelaide United assistant coach Milligan will head to Malaysia to join Cklamovski’s coaching team,” Cornthwaite posted on X.
Cklamovski’s Harimau Malaya will kick off their 2027 Asian Cup qualification campaign in March, starting with a match against Nepal, followed by games against Vietnam and Laos in the group stage. – January 6, 2025