MANILA, Nov 24 — Datuk Ong Kim Swee may be a veteran coach of the Malaysian SEA Games football squad but he reckons the 30th Philippines SEA Games is a whole new ballgame.
The national Under 22 (U-22) squad head coach said Malaysia, the silver medallists at the last Games, are bracing themselves for an intense competition.
Kim Swee said the introduction of two overage players would certainly heat up the chase for the "mother of all golds” in the Games.
The 49-year-old coach has selected Johor Darul Ta’zim defender Adam Nor Azlin, 23, and Kuala Lumpur defender Muhammad Irfan Zakaria, 24, as the two overage players.
"Every team wants to win (the gold medal), and I believe this SEA Games would be totally different from the past SEA Games as this is the first time two overage players are allowed to play. That has made all teams to parade a balanced side in both Groups A and B,” he told a pre-tournament press conference here today.
Kim Swee, who is making his fifth consecutive appearance as SEA Games coach, said he expects the tournament to be well run despite the anticipated hiccups in transport because of Manila’s notorious traffic jams.
Sharing his sentiment is Myanmar head coach Velizar Popov, who said all teams have an equal chance to progress to the knock-out stage of the competition.
"We hope to have a quality tournament in the SEA Games and all teams would certainly be in their best shape, based on the thorough preparations they had made prior to their arrival in Manila,” said the 43-year-old Bulgarian, who coached Kelantan in 2016.
Drawn into Group A, Malaysia will begin their campaign against Myanmar tomorrow, followed by the Philippines (Nov 29), Timor Leste (Dec 2) and Cambodia (Dec 4).
Defending champions Thailand are in Group B with Indonesia, Vietnam, Laos, Singapore and Brunei.
All of Malaysia’s group matches will be held at the Rizal Memorial Stadium in Manila. — Bernama
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