He has been charged with the task of guiding the Malaysian Tigers when they embark on their historical journey as the first Malaysian team to play in the S-League next year.
Coach Ong Kim Swee and his men, who are effectively the Malaysian under-23 side, could also help light the spark for a whole new ballgame on both sides of the Causeway, after sources told MediaCorp yesterday that work has already started on a possible merger between the S-League and the M-League.
Ong is all for the idea of a combined Singapore and Malaysian league.
Speaking to MediaCorp yesterday, he said: "That's a brilliant idea, there's a shared history between the two countries, not only in football, and I think it's about time we have a combined competitive league.
"We can play with five elite Malaysian clubs and five elite Singaporean ones, for instance. It's really a matter of progression, and there's no need to be jealous, we can progress together through a combined league."
On Tuesday, the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) and the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) announced a partnership that will see, among other collaborations, a Singapore side play in the Malaysian Super League, and a Malaysian team heading the other way.
Ong, 41, has been in the FAM since 2006, when he was appointed coach of the Malaysian under-16 side.
He was a midfielder for Sabah and Sarawak in the early 1990s and remembers the Malaysia Cup days well.
He has experienced the Kallang Roar and is looking forward to playing in the S-League.
"We're not thinking of becoming champions, the S-League is a tough, well-organised league with each team having four foreigners, and there are also foreign teams," he said.
"We have the Olympic qualifiers starting in September and ending next March, and my first priority is to give exposure to my boys so they can learn more before we face big Asian teams."
He clearly did not want to give much away, but the current Tigers' team have been good enough to make the third round of qualifiers for the 2012 Olympics.
They have been drawn in Group C with Japan, Bahrain and Syria, and only the top side will make it to London.
With most of the players aged 22 and below, the Tigers finished a credible fifth in the Malaysian Super League this season, behind traditional powerhouses Kelantan, Terengganu, Selangor and Kedah.
Ong's players have enjoyed several stints - some for as long as three months - in Slovakia, playing against club sides there.
Like Singapore's Courts Young Lions, the Tigers fill their roster with players rising through the national youth ranks. There were four players from the team who were in the senior Malaysia side that won the AFF Suzuki Cup for the first time last year.
There has been talk the Tigers will stay in Johor Baru and travel to the various venues here for their games next season, with Yishun Stadium as their home ground.
Ong insisted nothing has been decided yet.
"We need to discuss and clarify several things with the FAM management ... where we'll be based, training facilities and transport. I understand that a lot of it will depend on the S-League fixture schedule, but I don't want to have to deal with these things when the season starts," said Ong.
No comments:
Post a Comment