Van Huizen looking at 2000

20/03/1999

NATIONAL hockey coach Stephen van Huizen prefers too see beyond next
month's Sultan Azlan Shah Cup. He wants his young side to qualify for the
2000 Olympics and create an impression in the 2002 World Cup to be held in
Kuala Lumpur.
Although he has the material to form a good side, he prefer to move
gradually forward.
"After watching them play the friendlies against the Australian
Institute of Sports (AIS) and the Western Australian Institute of Sports
(WAIS), I know what the players are capable of.
"Pushing them to the limit is not the right thing to do now. The Azlan
Shah Cup will be used as an exposure for the young side and we will like
to move gradually," said van Huizen.
The fans may be asking for too much if they expect this side to beat
Germany, Pakistan, South Korea, Canada and New Zealand on April 2-10.
In fact, a win against any of the teams is surely a cause to celebrate
as side is fairly young and inexperience.
Never mind, even if we finish at the bottom of the six-team tournament.
The exposure alone will be great experience.
Not many people knew of goalkeeper Roslan Jamaluddin before the
Commonwelath Games but his confidence grew with every match and at the
end, he played a pivotal role in helping Malaysia win a silver medal.
Van Huizen hopes a handful of Roslans will emerge after the Azlan Shah
Cup.
"What the players need right now is a nudge in the right direction. A
shove into the mainstream will damage their confidence and will serve no
purpose."
Jiwa Mohan, Indra Hadi, Izwan Shuardi Selamat, V. Vasanthan and Chua
Boon Huat displayed flashes of brilliance in the friendlies.
"I hate to give excuses for a poor performance. But the reality is that
we have a very young side which needs more matches to grow."
Though MHF's 2001 and senior team come from the same pool of players, in
reality, take away Maninderjit Singh, Mirnawan Nawawi and Chairil Anwar
from the senior squad and you are left with the 2001 team.
MHF deputy president Datuk Seri P. Alagendra said that arrangements to
employ German coach Paul Lissek will be done by the National Sports
Council.
Should Lissek accept the offer, he will be the techinical director of
the development programme and will oversee the local coaches who would be
handling the various national teams.
Azlan Shah Cup fixtures - April 2: Malaysia v New Zealand (4.05); Canada
v Pakistan (6.05); Korea v Germany (8.05).
April 3: Malaysia v Canada (5.35); Pakistan v Korea (7.35).
April 4: Germany v New Zealand (6.05).
April 5: South Korea v Canada (4.05); New Zealand v Pakistan (6.05);
Germany v Malaysia (8.05).
April 6: Pakistan v Malaysia (6.05).
April 7: Canada v Germany (5.35); Korea v New Zealand (7.35).
April 8: Germany v Pakistan (4.05); Malaysia v Korea (6.05); Canada v
New Zealand (8.05).
April 10: 5th placing match (8.05am); 3rd placing match (4.05); Final
(6.35).
(END)