Football

Hassan seen as the best candidate to replace Maloney

BRAD Maloney is going away, but there is Hassan Sazali Waras, just the perfect guy.

That's the sentiment at the FA of Malaysia (FAM) after Australian Maloney resigned as national Under-23 head coach earlier this month.

Hassan has proven to be a wily coach by taking Malaysia to the AFF Under-19 title in Jakarta, ahead of fancied Thailand and Vietnam.

Now, there is a big possibility of him moving up to Under-23. This was the latest development following a FAM technical committee meeting yesterday.

FAM will discuss Hassan's job with national senior team head coach Kim Pan Gon when he comes back from vacation in South Korea.

"Hassan has his own targets at the moment as he will be the coach for the Under-20 Asian Cup qualifiers in Mongolia in September, but there's a big possibility of that happening (replacing Maloney)," said FAM secretary general Saifuddin Abu Bakar.

"That will depend on the technical director (Scott O'Donell), the technical committee and also the head coach (Pan Gon) as well as the team manager (Joehari Ayub)."

FAM will also continue to identify other candidates suitable for the job which needs to be in line with Pan Gon's methodology for a seamless transition from Under-23 to the senior team.

"It has to follow the same template because let's say the senior team train morning and evening, the same must be done for the Under-23.

The national Under-23 team have no assignments this year as their last two outings were the Hanoi Sea Games in May (Malaysia finished fourth) and the Under-23 Asian Cup.

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