Malaysia’s head coach Tan Cheng Hoe is clearly in a predicament as he knows that he will only have a short time to prepare his team for the AFF Cup and, in fact, he only expects to get all the players together two days after the Malaysia Cup final. — Bernama pic
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 3 — Although there is still about a month to go before the 2020 Asean Football Federation (AFF) Cup kicks off in Singapore, national head coach Tan Cheng Hoe is already worried about his players having to deal with injuries and fatigue.
He said both these factors could happen to any player due to the tight schedule of the ongoing Malaysia Cup competition, with the final set to be held on November 30 and Malaysia slated to kick off their AFF Cup Group B campaign against Cambodia on December 6.
This has left Cheng Hoe with no other choice but to hope for the best as he seeks to form a squad capable of playing at the highest level since they have been drawn in the “group of death” in the AFF Cup.
The other teams in Group B are Laos, Vietnam and Indonesia.
“As the coach, I’m not worried about the team’s performance, but more about injuries and tiredness when it comes to the players. If we look at the AFF Cup schedule (from December 5 this year to January 1 next year), we have no choice but to go along with it so, I hope all the players we take (to Singapore) will be in good health.
” because (in the Malaysia Cup campaign) they play a match every three days and if they are in the first 11, and their team make it to the final, then in just a month they would have featured in nine games,” he told Bernama today.
Cheng Hoe is clearly in a predicament as he knows that he will only have a short time to prepare his team for the AFF Cup and, in fact, he only expects to get all the players together two days after the Malaysia Cup final.
“If we get the full team on December 1, then we can start training. But those who play in the final (of the Malaysia Cup) will need two or three days for recovery, so that means we will only have two or three days to form a team,” said the 53-year-old coach.
After taking on Cambodia on December 6, Malaysia will face Laos on December 9, followed by two tough matches against 2018 champions Vietnam (December 12) and arch rivals Indonesia (December 19) as the Harimau Malaya seek a spot in the semifinals.
Malaysia’s first three matches will be played at the Bishan Stadium while the clash against Indonesia will be held at the Singapore National Stadium.
In the 2018 edition, Cheng Hoe guided the Harimau Malaya to a runner-up finish after losing 3-2 on aggregate to Vietnam.
Cheng Hoe said that taking into the Malaysia Cup and his concerns, a spot in the last four would be an admirable achievement indeed.
“It’s not just the coaches, the fans too expect the national team to reach the highest level, meaning make the final again well, we too want to win something for 2021,” he said.
In the last five editions of the AFF Cup, Malaysia have managed to get past the group stage on four occasions, reached the final three times and lifted the Cup in 2010. — Bernama