KUALA LUMPUR — Outgoing Harimau Malaya head coach Pau Marti Vicente was left baffled by the announcement of the arrival of Peter Cklamovski while the team is still competing in the Asean Cup.
Calling it ‘weird’, Pau Marti’s response came after the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) recently announced Cklamovski as the new head coach of the national team and Nafuzi Zain as the head coach of the under-23 team.
The 46-year-old Australian, who has extensive experience as an assistant coach for the Socceroos and a successful coaching career in Japan’s J-League, will take over from Pau Marti after the Asean Cup concludes.
Pau Marti, who took on the role following the sudden departure of Kim Pan-gon in July this year, said that FAM’s announcement during the Asean Cup campaign brings no benefit to the team.
“From the beginning, I found the process to be ‘weird’, and this is something new and strange for me. In fact, making the announcement while we are still in the middle of the tournament doesn’t bring any benefit to the team.
“However, this is beyond my control, and I can’t do much about it. Both the players and I are very well aware that we shouldn’t dwell on this matter and must focus on what we are here for.
“Our main priority now is to ensure that we get a win against Singapore and qualify for the semifinals of the Asean Cup. We have already started our preparations in training sessions so that we can emerge victorious tomorrow,” said Pau Marti during a pre-match conference at Bukit Jalil National Stadium today.
Harimau Malaya, who currently sit fourth in Group A of the Asean Cup with four points, must beat second-place Singapore, who have six points, to qualify for the semifinals as one of the top two teams in the group.
According to FAM, a total of 10,210 match tickets have been sold so far for the 69th Causeway Derby. – December 19, 2024