BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN (30 August 2012) – With the qualifying round for the AFF Suzuki Cup 2012 just slightly over a month away, Brunei chief coach Kwon Oh-Son is not impressed with the preparedness of his chargers.
“Their level of stamina is still low. They only trained once a day during Ramadhan and it was not enough. We only have one month left before the tournament so we need to squeeze all their physical fitness training, set-piece play and the attack and defence’s organisation in that period of time,” said Oh-Son, who had led Brunei to the Hassanal Bolkiah Trophy earlier in the year.
“They will be playing number of friendly matches in Malaysia. We hope that these friendly games would help secure their confidence of playing at the higher level and I also hope that it will give them actual international exposure in the game. With the support from the DPMM FC players, it will help boost the confidence of the team.”
With preparation an issue, the team welcomed this week the inclusion of three players from Brunei’s only professional outfit. The three players are Mohd Hendra Azam Mohd Idris, Mohd Najib Tarif and Md Fakhrul Zulhazmi Yussof.
“These three players (Hendra, Najib and Fakhrul) will be very important for us. We feel very grateful to have the players joining us. We would like to thank His Royal Highness Prince Hj Al-Muhtadee Billah, the Crown Prince and Senior Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office, for allowing these three players to represent the national team,” said Feisal Eusoff, the team manager of Brunei.
“The squad is made up of players from the DST National Football League. The players came from Majra FC, Indera, MS ABDB and MS PDB and seven of them are from the HBT (Hassanal Bolkiah Trophy) squad. The coaches of the football clubs in the country and the National Football Association of Brunei Darussalam (NFABD) have been very helpful in assisting us in scouting the players.”
Brunei will be making a return to the AFF Suzuki Cup fold after giving it a miss in 2010. The qualifying round for the meet this year will be played on 5-13 October 2012 in Yangon, Myanmar.
