KUALA LUMPUR: National Under-23 coach, Ong Kim Swee and his Australian assistant Brad Maloney will leave for Madrid, Spain early tomorrow morning.
The two coaches, who were pivotal in leading the national Under-23 squad in making history by reaching the quarter-finals of the AFC Under-23 Championship in Changshu, China last month, will be on a one month ‘learning mission’ with Spanish giants Atletico Madrid and the Spain national team.
FA of Malaysia (FAM) secretary general, Datuk Hamidin Mohd Amin explained that the two coaches trip to Spain are a direct result of efforts and the initiative taken by FAM president Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim.
Hamidin said that the main objective of sending them for the stint was to improve their level and quality of coaching, which will bring about a positive impact for the young tigers squad leading up to the 2018 Asian Games in Indonesia this coming August.
“We hope that Kim Swee and Maloney will make full use of such a rare opportunity to learn and pick up as much valuable information and coaching techniques as they can throughout their one month stint there.
“It is to repay the faith and trust given by Tunku Ismail who is determined in ensuring that there are positive improvements and advancements in Malaysian football from time to time,” he said via a media statement released earlier today.
Prior to this, Kim Swee had stressed that he will not waste such a golden opportunity to learn as much as he can in Spain while admitting that such opportunities would not be possible if not for the good understanding between Tunku Ismail and La Liga giants Atletico Madrid.
“It proves that Tunku Ismail is not just concerned about the players, but for the coaches as well,” said Kim Swee.