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Ong wants European stint to be continued

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Coach Ong Kim Swee.

By K. RAJAN

PETALING JAYA: Coach Ong Kim Swee wants the Harimau Muda squad to continue training and playing football in Europe.

The squad have been to Slovakia three times – twice in 2010 and once in 2011 – for training and playing stints against European club sides.

The stints proved to be a success as the team defended the SEA Games gold medal in Indonesia last year and qualified for the third round of the 2012 Olympic Asian Qualifiers.

After the stints in Slovakia, the Harimau Muda joined the 2011 Super League, replacing KLPlus FC, and finished fifth. They joined the Singapore League (S-League) this season and are sixth in the standings with 26 points after 15 matches.

Kim Swee wants the European training programme to be continued “as it prepares the players for a high level of football”.

“The matches in Slovakia were an important part of our training programme as they allowed the players to experience high-level competitive matches,” said Kim Swee.

“We are planning another stint in Slovakia and I think we must make sure that this programme is continued.

“The matches there are of higher quality compared to that in the S-League.

“We can send our younger players – the national Under-20 or Under-19 team – to play in the S-league and the Under-22 team to Europe.”

Kim Swee also credited the European stints as one of the key factors behind our players being offered trials by foreign clubs.

So far, though, only midfielder Mohd Nazmi Faiz Mansor has been successful after signing a three-year contract with Portuguese top flight club Beira-Mar in May.

Wingers Wan Zaharulnizam Zakaria and Wan Zack Haikal Wan Zakaria attended trials with Japanese Third Division club FC Ryukyu in July. They are still awaiting a reply from the club.

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