LAHORE: Pakistan and Malaysia are gearing up for the race which can earn them a place in the football tournament of the 2012 London Olympics with the first leg of the Olympic qualifiers getting underway on February 23.
Pakistan's coach Tariq Lufi hopes Pakistani youngsters are not put under any pressure as they strive to develop into international-calibre players.
“It's normal for the public to expect a lot from this game but it is not fair to judge these young players because they need time to develop. If you expect a lot, it will put a lot of pressure on them,” said Tariq
“You can't have results without giving time for preparation and development.”
Pakistan will take on Malaysia in the first leg of the Olympic Qualifiers at Shah Alam Stadium on Wednesday, February 23, 2011 at 8.45 PM.
Malaysia are probably one of the finest U-21 national teams of recent times and coach Ong Kim Swee believes his boys have the experience and pedigree to qualify for the 2012 London Games if they play to their potential.
In the training squad, Kim Swee has six players from the AFF Suzuki Cup-winning side and also trainees who have had short stints with the national senior squad over the past year. The players have also become more confident after their stint in Slovakia, where they were exposed to high quality matches, playing 14 competitive matches in the Slovakian Division One. They also completed four matches in the ongoing Malaysian Super League.
The Pakistan U-21 team completed its sixth visit to Thailand on Sunday with three warm up matches against clubs and one U-21 international friendly against the Thailand U-21 team during a two-week camp from 7-20 February. Pakistan previously toured Thailand in 1981, 2001, 2004 and 2009 and the Pakistan U-16 team visited the country in 1992 for the Coca Cola Cup.
The difference in atmosphere between the two teams cannot be more obvious as they prepare for their Olympic qualifiers. Malaysia are on a high after being crowned Asean champions for the first time last month, while Pakistan continue to search for answers after three penalty kick misses in three matches. Malaysia have been together for the best part of four years and they have had time to build a team of players who are able to put on a show on the international stage.
“This team has played regularly in the Malaysian league and they are very lucky that national coach K Rajagopal is exposing a lot of young players to international games. That really helps develop confidence, and confidence is very important,” said Tariq.
Meanwhile Malaysian U-21 coach Ong Kim Swee said that “Playing against Pakistan is quite special, it brings back memories of the Merdeka Cup days where Pakistan faced Malaysia twice...and because our senior team has done well recently, there is definitely pressure on us to do well,” he said.
Both Tariq and Ong admitted that “The result will be important but we must look at player development, of course.”
Tickets priced at RM 20 for adults and RM 5 for children for the Pakistan-Malaysia match will be on sale from Tuesday and will be available at the venue as well.
Pakistan U-21 team:
Goal keepers: Yousof Ejaz Butt (Birkerod IF Skjold, Denmark), Amir Gul (NBP), Muhammad Omar (KESC)
Defenders: Manzoor Ahmed (WAPDA), Alamgir Khan (Police), Ahsan Ullah (PEL), Obaid Majeed (KPT), Ansar Abbas (Army)
Midfielders: Faisal Iqbal (NBP), Syed Arif Hussain (WAPDA), Muhammad Tauseef (WAPDA), Muhammad Adil (KRL), Mahmood Khan (KRL), Irfan Khan (Bradford Park Avenue Association Football Club, England)
Strikers: Saddam Hussain (PIA), Fahad Ullah Khan (PTV), Jadeed Khan Pathan (WAPDA) CAP, Rizwan Asif (KRL) VC, Kalim Ullah ( KRL)
Malaysia U-21 team:
Goal Keepers : Khairul Fahmi Che Mat (Kelantan), Mohd Izham Tarmizi Roslan (Harimau Muda A)
Defenders: Mohamad Muslim Ahmad CAP, Mohd Affize Faisal Mamat, Mohd Faizal Muhamad, Mahalli Jasuli, Mohamad Fadhli Mohd Shas, Mohd Fandi Othman (Harimau Muda A)
Midfielders: K. Gurusamy VC, Wan Zaharulnizam, Mohd Irfan Fazail, Robbat Gary Steven, S. Sivanesan, Wan Zack Haikal (Harimau Muda A), Mohamad Faizal Abu Bakar (Kedah)
Strikers: Mohd Ferris Daniel Mat Nasir (Harimau Muda A), Ahmad Shakir Ali (Kedah), Ahmad Fakri Saarani (Negeri Sembilan)
Substitutes: V. Kavi Chelvan, Muhammad Zamir Selamat, Nazirul Naim Che Hashim, A. Thamil Arasu, Wan Nor Wan Zakarian, Muhammad Nazmi Faiz, D. Saarvindran, Abdul Shukor Jusoh.
Wednesday’s fixtures:
Iran v Kyrgyzstan (Azadi Stadium, Tehran 3 PM) Indonesia v Turkmenistan (Gelora Sriwijaya Stadium, Palembang 5 PM) Thailand v Palestine (Suphachalasai Stadium, Bangkok 6 PM) Kuwait v Bangladesh (Mohammed Al-Hamad Stadium, Hawally 6.20 PM) Oman v Tajikistan (Seeb Stadium, Muscat 6.30 PM) Jordan v Chinese Taipei (King Abdullah Stadium, Amman 7 PM) India v Myanmar (Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, Pune 7 PM) Hong Kong v Maldives (Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong 8 PM)
Malaysia v Pakistan (Shah Alam Stadium, Selangor 8.45 PM)