Southeast Asia

Manager Focus – Southeast Asian National Team Coaches

By: , August 25, 2019 5:25 pm

With World Cup Qualifying around the corner, coaches are preparing their players and shaping up their squads amid high fan expectation. The luck of the draw placed all four major Southeast Asian nations – Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Indonesia – in the same group for 2022 World Cup and 2023 Asian Cup qualifying. Today, we take a look at the four coaches and how they are preparing for the start of the campaign early next month:

Thailand

Name: Akira Nishino

Age: 64

Nationality: Japan

Background: Akira Nishino is a well-respected figure in Japanese football, having guided Gamba Osaka to six major trophies in the late 2000s, including the 2008 AFC Champions League. Before his work in with Gamba, Nishino was in charge of the Japanese U23 side that beat Brazil at the 1996 Summer Olympics - the match is now known as "Miracle of Miami". Nishino took up the Japanese FA technical director role in 2016 before replacing Vahid Halilhodžić in charge of the senior team just two months ahead of the 2018 FIFA World Cup. And it was in Russia where Nishino worked his magic again, taking the Samurai Blue to the knockout stage via the fair play rule, making them the only Asian team to get through the group stage.

Fan Opinion: Thai supporters are extremely excited with the appointment of such a high profile head coach and his vow to maximize the players potential. There is also an understanding that Nishino is working on limited preparation time. The only concern now is about Nishino's playing style; what will it look like? Who will score the goals with only two players listed as strikers in our 33-man preliminary squad?

Expectations for Upcoming Games: I believe Thai supporters will take a draw from our first qualifying game versus Vietnam if, and only if, the team puts in a strong performance. If there is a structure to our game plan, something we can believe the team can build from, then a draw wouldn't be the worst result.

Obb Deewajin

Vietnam

Name: Park Hang-Seo

Age: 60

Nationality: South Korea

Background: When was a player, Park played as a midfielder and earned one cap for NT. He started his coaching career as the Korea U23 team coach in 2002 and won a bronze medal at 2002 Asian Games. He was also an assistant for Guus Hiddink at the 2002 World Cup. After that, he coached some Korean clubs before taking charge of the Vietnam National Team in October 2017.

Fan Opinion: From October 2017 to now, Park Hang-Seo has brought a lot of achievements to both the Vietnamese senior and U23 teams. At the moment, we can say that he is the most important man in Vietnam's system.

Expectations for Upcoming Games: Clearly, most will be hoping for a win against Thailand after we achieved it at the King's Cup recently. However, the team now are devastated by injuries to some key players. So a draw in the away match might not be a disaster at the moment.

Tran Tien

Indonesia

Name: Simon McMenemy

Age: 41

Nationality: Scotland

Background: The youngest coach compared with his colleagues around SEA nations, Simon played in lower leagues in England, Finland, and the United States before making his name as a manager over a ten-year stint at various destinations across Southeast Asia. His resume includes two national sides, Philippines and now Indonesia. He took The Azkals through the AFF cup semi-final for the first time, winning titles with Filipino side Loyola Meralco Sparks in the 2014/15 season and Indonesia's Bhayangkara FC in 2017.

Fan Opinion: Simon is still adapting to the team that he is trying to build. He has brought in some new faces like Nigerian-naturalized striker Osas Saha and young goalkeeper Angga Syahputra who contributed a lot in PS-TIRA Persikabo. He recently also called-up two outstanding figures from the U-22 and U-18 teams midfielder Hanif Sjahbandi and striker Amiruddin Bagus, to join the senior team.  Without any friendly matches before the game against Malaysia on September 5th, I think Simon want to make good communication between young and experienced players and also some new debutant.

Expectations for Upcoming Games: Earning the best result from the first two home games of 2022 World Cup qualification is important for Simon. Malaysia and Thailand are familiar opponents which he faced when coaching the Azkals. With the magic that supporters bring to the Gelora Bung Karno, I hope we can earn two home wins before the team travels to face the UAE.

Steven Danis

Malaysia

Name: Tan Cheng Hoe

Age: 51

Nationality: Malaysia

Background: As a player, Tan played for Kedah in three Malaysia Cup finals from 1988 to 1990. As a manager, Tan began as an assistant to coach K. Rajagopal from 2004 to 2013. Both of them guided Malaysia to the quarter-finals of 2004 AFC Youth Championship. They also brought home the gold medal in 2009 SEA Games and 2010 AFF Championship. Cheng Hoe then moved to Kedah as a head coach in 2014 after Dave Mitchell was instructed by Kedah FA to take a 'rest'.

Fan Opinion: Once called the 'Asian Guardiola', Tan Cheng Hoe has a good tactical understanding and attacking philosophy, which was on display method when he took Malaysia to the AFF Cup final last year. The game against Thailand, in particular, showed their ability to build from the back and retain the position. He has used the same approach from his time with Kedah, much to the delight of the fans, which helped him win the Malaysia Cup in 2016.

Expectations for Upcoming Games: The national team will host Jordan in a friendly match that will take place at Bukit Jalil National Stadium on August 30. Following that match, the coach will announce the final list of 23 players who will join the mission in Jakarta on September 5. I expect a draw against Jordan and a win against Indonesia.

Aiman Nazirmuddin