VIENTIANE (10 Oct 2014) – Cambodia are the first foreign team to arrive into Vientiane, Laos last night as they gear up for the qualifying round of the AFF Suzuki Cup which begins in two days at the KM16 National Stadium.
It will be the second time that chief coach Lee Tae Hoon will lead the Cambodian national side for a place into the final round of the blue riband event in the ASEAN calendar and he is naturally upbeat about his team’s chances.
AFF: Welcome to Vientiane Mr Tae Hoon. This is your second time in charge of the Cambodian team for the AFF Suzuki Cup qualifiers. The first was back in 2010. How do you feel now?
TAE HOON: A lot better than four years ago. I feel that I have a better batch of players even though they may not be at the highest possible level. Before, the players don’t understand some of my tactics and thinking. Now it is different. The players work very hard and I believe that they can be competitive.
AFF: Tell us where you’ve been before your arrival here?
TAE HOON: Before coming to Laos, we had centralised training in Cambodia before playing three friendly matches. We lost to Malaysia (in Kuala Lumpur) 4-1, fell to Indonesia (in Surabaya) 1-0 and then beating Chinese Taipei 2-0.
AFF: Your assessment of the friendly matches?
TAE HOON: I thought that we had some good games. We did not play well against Malaysia but we improved against Indonesia and also Chinese Taipei. We were competitive against Indonesia especially when we were playing at their home ground. The game could have gone either way and we lost only through one single penalty.
AFF: What is your own personal record against Laos?
TAE HOON: In 2010, we drew 0-0 and did not make the final round (of the AFF Suzuki Cup). Then in 2012, we had a World Cup qualifying match which we lose 6-2 even though we did beat them in Phnom Penh. In July this year, we played a friendly just before the Hassanal Bolkiah Trophy which we drew 2-2. So it is always very close between us.
AFF: What about your statistics since taking over the Cambodian national side since July 2013?
TAE HOON: Some good, some bad. But in total, we won around 40%, drew around 10% and the losing 50% of the time. We are on upward scale, so it is a very good sign.
AFF: Which team or teams will be a problem for you?
TAE HOON: All teams here are a problem for sure. There will not be just one or two teams which we have to look out for. All teams who are here will be hard to play against.
AFF: What are your concerns at this time?
TAE HOON: Concentration level. I just want the players to continue to be able to concentrate all the way for the full 90 minutes. That had always been an issue, so I hope that we can do better in these matches.
AFF: What about your opening match against the hosts?
TAE HOON: I’m not worried about that. The players have played a lot of opening matches and they are used to it. Sure it is always difficult to play against the hosts, what more in an opener. But the players are well prepared.
