PETALING JAYA: Malaysia football coach Kim Pan-gon wants all Harimau Malaya players to play with full passion as they will carry the nation’s name on the international stage in the Asian Cup Finals in Qatar next month.
The South Korean said it is also his dream to go to the main stage of the showpiece tournament in Asia and hoped the players share his passion.
The Harimau Malaya side are making a return to the Asian Cup on merit after a 42-year wait but is expected to face a tough time as they are among the lowest-ranked teams in the competition.
“We have been waiting for a long time for the Asian Cup. As a coach, it was my dream to go to the main stage of the Asian Cup,’’ he said as the players checked in for centralised training at Wisma FAM yesterday.
“The country now provides us with this opportunity. I think the Asian Cup, the World Cup, these tournaments are not only about going there to play football, as we represent the country and show them our culture.
“We’re going to show them our winning mentality.
“We never give up and we will be strong in going through any tough situation we come across.”
Pan-gon also hoped to draw support from the select group of fans that are expected to converge in Doha next month.
Stepping up: Coach Kim Pan-gon hopes the senior players like Paulo Josue (right) can guide the younger players.
“We are facing big challenges and of course, you know, there are not many supporters for us.
“But in my heart, in our hearts, we represent Malaysia. So we work for Malaysia, the name of Malaysia, we fight for the name of Malaysia. Patriotism is very important,” he added.
Pan-gon said he expects the senior players in the squad like Brendan Gan, Paulo Josue, Endrick Dos Santos and Junior Eldstal to guide the younger players in the team.
“In the last competition we learned not to be overconfident and so this preparation is important. We are not playing weak teams, these are top teams in Asia. We have a good, balanced team. We have experienced and middle-aged players in the team.
“We hope the experienced players can guide and control the younger players.”
Malaysia will face Jordan on Jan 15, followed by a clash with Bahrain (Jan 20) and South Korea (Jan 25).
Dion Cools and Dos Santos were not present yesterday as the duo will only join the team later.
The players and management later gathered to celebrate the 58th birthday of FAM president Datuk Hamidin Mohd Amin.
