PETALING JAYA: Pau Marti Vicente didn’t have much time to leave his mark as the national team head coach, but the players want to give him a celebratory farewell.
The Harimau Malaya led by Syamer Kutty Abba and Dominic Tan promised to deliver a strong performance when they kick off their campaign against Cambodia in Group A tomorrow at the Asian Football Federation (AFF) Championship.
Captain Syamer reflected on Vicente’s time with the squad before leaving to Phnom Penh yesterday.
“Everyone knows that coach Vicente has been with the national team for a long time, and of course, news of his departure affects all of us,” said Syamer.
“But we want to give him a good farewell gift in the tournament to show him we appreciate all that he has done for the team.
“This is the perfect opportunity for us to deliver something meaningful,” said Syamer.
On Thursday, the Spaniard confirmed that the AFF Championship would be his final assignment with the Harimau Malaya after a discussion with the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) as part of their restructuring plans for the national team.
Dominic, who was named as vice-captain by Vicente for the tournament, said the news of the head coach’s departure wasn’t easy to take in the dressing room.
“We have been working with coach Vicente for a long time, he is a fantastic coach so of course it’s not easy to take the news.
“But people come and go, we wish him all the best after this campaign,” he said.
With the squad composed of many new faces, the Sabah defender added that he is ready to step up into the leadership role for the youngsters.
“We have a lot of new faces here, but everyone deserves to be in the team. I will try my best to help the new players while doing my part to help the team,” said Dominic.
“We always want to win games, but international tournaments are always difficult. The first fixture will be the toughest so it’s important that we get the win.
“I’m honoured to be trusted as the vice-captain and will take it with pride to do my best,” he said.
The others in Group A are Thailand, Singapore, and Timor Leste, while Group B consists of Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, the Philippines, and Vietnam.
