ARE the FA of Malaysia (FAM) taking a huge risk by handing the national Under-19 job to Brad Maloney?
Maloney definitely has big shoes to fill as his predecessor, Bojan Hodak, guided Malaysia to their first AFF Under-19 Championship crown in Indonesia last year.
Maloney was appointed as the team’s caretaker coach yesterday following FAM’s decision not to extend Hodak’s contact last month.
However, it will be double duty for Maloney as he will also continue to assist national Under-23 coach Ong Kim Swee ahead of the Philippines Sea Games.
The Australian will assume his caretaker role from Monday until the end of the year.
The 47-year-old’s first task is the AFF Under-19 Championship in Vietnam on Aug 5-18, followed by the AFC Under-19 qualifiers in Cambodia on Nov 2-10.
The weird decision to replace Hodak with Maloney could turn against FAM if the team do not perform well in both tournaments.
Despite achieving all targets, Hodak’s contract was not extended and this decision is still a mystery.
Although FAM general secretary Stuart Ramalingam said recently that the national body’s decision was a move to use their “resources” better, it doesn’t really tally.
Hodak, no doubt, is a person who speaks his mind and many do not like his strict persona and attitude.
The move to appoint Maloney as the Under-19 caretaker coach was supported by Kim Swee, who believes the stint will help the former Australian international earn valuable experience.
“Maloney has been with us since 2014 and he is familiar with the Malaysian way of football which makes him the perfect candidate to take charge of the national U-19 side.
“We want to promote a close-knit and harmonious working relationship between head coaches of all age groups, and I know the appointment of Maloney will reinforce our case on this,” said FAM technical director Peter de Roo in a statement.
Stuart said: “Maloney has proven himself as an accomplished assistant head coach, so now it is time for him to step up and lead the national U-19 team.
“He is raring to go, which is a great sign.”
Apart from the AFF success, Hodak also helped the Under-19 team qualify for last year’s AFC Championship, following a successful qualifying campaign in 2017.
Hodak, when contacted yesterday, said: “I am currently holidaying in Europe and will return to Malaysia next month. I do not want to comment at the moment.”