The torrential rain may have been pouring almost consistently in the past week but that would provide scant consideration for all teams taking part in the AFF Under-18 Championship which kicks off tomorrow.
The city of Yangon once again play host to the AFF U18 meet as teams not only look to the do well here as part of their preparation for the AFC U19 qualifiers next month but also as a step up to the next SEA Games in 2019.
Most teams have had a head start of at least several months as they showed their commitment while others have roped in new coaches in the hope that they will be able to inject new ideas and techniques to bring them to the next level.
Hosts Myanmar in Group B have signed up Rabah Benlariji from France as they look to put up a good show in front of their home fans. Although having a team less in the group will have certain advantage in terms of recovery as against teams being placed in Group A.
“We had about five weeks of preparations where we also managed to play four friendly games which also included a game against Thailand. I saw our first opponent (Indonesia) played before at the Toulon Tournament in France (in June), so we know what we are up against,” said Benlariji.
Indonesian head coach Indra Sjafri said that doing well in Yangon is very important for the team as they will be playing hosts to the AFC qualifiers in Jakarta in October.
“We started preparing this team since February this year where we looked at more than 1,000 players before taking the 23 that we have brought here. But while we want the experience and do well, I believe that it is also important to stress on friendship than just on winning or losing alone,” added Sfajri.
“I had only recently taken over the team. And while we have managed to get some good players, the team still lack experience. It is important that we get the right exposure from this meet where we also hope that we can help develop the next generation of players.” – Brunei head coach Takao Fujiwara.
“This team is a carryover from the U15 team last year. I am grateful to be given the chance to be put in charge of the squad. My aim is to do better than how we fared in 2016. It will be a competitive tournament for sure where I believe that the fight in this group will be close.” – Philippines head coach Jose Maria Aberasturi.
“We had one month’s preparation and while we respect all teams here, my target is for us to make the final. There will not be any easy matches where I believe that all teams who are here would have prepared well. Last year, we were disappointed having to finish third, so we have to do better.” – Vietnam head coach Tuan Hoang Anh.
With six teams in Group A, the competition will be a lot tougher with just the top two teams making the grade to the next round. Champs Thailand have also signed a new coach with Marc Palacios taking over.
“I have been working with this team for the last five months. I believe that we have prepared the team well where we have gone to Qatar to play in a tournament. It is difficult to predict as to which two teams will make the semi-finals. It all depends on the players on the day,” said Palacios.
“I took over the team three months ago. This group is not easy where other than having six teams, we also have big teams Thailand and Malaysia for company. But I hope that we can deliver some surprises when we play against these two teams.” – Timor Leste head coach Joao Araujo.
“I was told to take this team only in the last two weeks, so it will be tough. The new President of the FA of Malaysia (Tunku Ismail Idris Sultan Ibrahim) is making changes to the set-up, so he is looking long term. I really don’t know what to expect but I have prepared the team as well as I can.” – Malaysia head coach Bojan Hodak.
“We have built this team for the last 18 months. We played in several tournaments in Hong Kong, India and also Malaysia. We needed to give this team experience as they need to learn and get better by playing friendlies. I hope that they will continue to improve here.” – Singapore head coach Christophe Chaintreuil.
“We are trying to get more support for youth football in the country and through the establishment of academies, we have managed to get these set of players which is for the future of Cambodian football. I hope that we have prepared these players as best as we can.” – Cambodian head coach Kazunori Inoue.
“We had about three months to prepare this team since my arrival from Turkey. We have trained this team hard but they lacked experience and that is what we need from this championship. I hope that the players will get some good games here.” – Laos head coach Ubeyd Javuz.
