U-18s out to prove their worth

A team of 20 young footballers are expected to reach heights no team from Brunei have in the upcoming Asian Schools Under-18 Football Championship.

The players have undergone months of training in preparation for the tournament's 38th edition, which kicks off tomorrow in Mokpo, South Korea, and chef-de-mission Alidin Hj Zainin hopes that they can make a real difference this time.

"This time we want to at least reach the semi-finals. We want to put up a challenge to the other countries, especially to hosts South Korea," said Alidin, before the squad's departure at the Brunei International Airport in Berakas yesterday.

Two years ago during the annual competition, Brunei reached the quarterfinals in China, and were ousted in the group stage the following year.Chief guest Lt Col Dr Bahrin Hj Bintang, deputy secretary general of the Football Federation of Brunei Darussalam (FFBD), was present at the airport to bid the contingent a safe journey.

"Believe in your abilities and do not let the unfamiliar environment get to you. I know that the atmosphere will be different but do not be afraid," said Lt Col Dr Bahrin, in a motivational speech. "You can play and this is the time to prove that for a fact. Show that you can do it by embodying the spirit of 'Brunei Yakin'," said the deputy secretary general, who is also manager of last season's DST Group FA Cup winners, the Royal Brunei Armed Forces' Sports Council (MS ABDB).

The six officials accompanying the youths include 1999 Malaysia Cup winners Liew Chuan Fue (coach) and Hj Md Rosanan Abdullah Samak (assistant coach), who have been training the players since early this year for the outing in Mokpo, a city in South Korea's South Jeolla Province located on the southwestern tip of the Korean Peninsula.

The players began intensive training three months ago, and did not let the fasting month of Ramadhan derail the sessions. In order to accommodate the fasting month, training hours were shifted to after the daily terawih prayers, starting at 9pm and ending at 10.30pm.

The five-days-a-week sessions also involved friendly matches against the best teams in the local football scene, including QAF FC and MS ABDB.

QAF FC were last season's BPL I champions, the Champions Cup winners and the DST Group Brunei League Cup holders.

Another reason that these youths are expected to outperform their predecessors is because more effort had been put on training the goalkeepers.

A lacklustre display by the team's goalkeepers had been one of the factors that had led to early exits in previous competitions, according to team manager Hj Narudin Hj Putih in an interview with The Brunei Times last Sunday.

"In the last tournament, other countries had commented that we could play on the field but our weakness was in the goalkeeping area," said Hj Narudin.

"Therefore this time, with the help of the FFBD, we had brought in a goalkeeper coach Hj Salihin Abdullah to rectify the problem. There is definitely an improvement now," said the team manager.

Team chemistry is one of the squad's strengths. Though the team is made up of players from various different teams, the majority of them come from the Brunei Youth Team (Under-16) that made their debut in the DST Group Brunei Premier League II last season.

A pet project of the FFBD, the team finished seventh in the 11-team table last year.

Not bad for a newly-established team playing against men in their debut season.

Their achievement, said one of the team's founding members Lt Col Dr Bahrin during a dinner-cum-prize giving ceremony in March, exceeded everybody's expectation.

Solely set up to represent Brunei at competitions abroad, the time has come for the Under-16 players to prove that they can deliver and there has never been a side more prepared than these players.

Ten teams are expected to vie for the title in Mokpo, though not all teams have been confirmed yet for the tournament. Confirmed teams include Brunei, hosts South Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore.

The Brunei Times