Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Brunei eye top four finish in Bangkok


LIEW CHUAN FUE thinks that Brunei can reach the semi-finals of the Asean Schools Under-18 football competition.

The coach of the team, who will compete in the Nov 30 tournament in Bangkok, yesterday said that his target was a top four finish.

"It would be a great achievement if we reach the semi-finals," said Liew when asked about his target.

"We reached the semi-finals in 2003 when the competition was held in China, so it is a realistic goal," he added.

The skipper of the national team that won the Malaysia Cup in 1999, Liew is certainly the right man to carry the Sultanate to the last four and has held the position of national junior team coach for the past few years.

But despite his experience, the Temburong native knows he has his work cut out for him.

"It will definitely be hard (to reach the semis) though because we will be up against strong teams such as China, South Korea, Thailand and defending champions Indonesia," he said.

"Compared to last year, it is all new faces in this year's squad," added the veteran footballer.

Employed by the Department of Co-Curriculum Education, Liew said that the team were made up of pupils from schools from across the country.

Except for Temburong, every district is represented.

Training at the Department of Co-Curriculum Education field in Gadong, Liew said that the team started preparing after May's Youth Sports Festival.

Champions of the football competition at the event, the National Schools Sports Council (MSSBD) have various players in the squad.

At least six of the players going to Bangkok also feature for DSTGroup Brunei Premier League (BPL) I and II clubs, with the Sports School having the same number of players in the team.

"They train everyday and work on their fitness in the morning," said Liew during an interview.

This will be Liew's second outing in Bangkok in the space of a year, the coach also in charge of the national Under-14 team that competed in the Asean Youth Football Cup in June.

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