Brazilian Marcos Falopa will face his first test as national coach at the Merdeka Tournament in Malaysia next week. Pic: Aye Zaw Myo

MYANMAR national football coach Marcos Falopa has no illusions about the task ahead as his side makes last-minute preparations for the Merdeka Tournament in Malaysia next week. As defending champions, Falopa says all the pressure is on Myanmar.

“As champions at Merdeka, it’s going to be very difficult to keep the title.

“We all know it’s not easy to continue as a champion, so we’re trying to prepare the players mentally because everybody wants to beat Myanmar,” Falopa said last week during an early morning training session at Aung San Stadium in Yangon.

This file photo taken August 29, 2006 shows the Myanmar national football team celebrating with the Merdeka Cup trophy after winning the tournament last year. New head coach Marcos Falopa says he is relying on some of the veterans of the 2006 campaign to help defend the title in the Malaysian tournament’s 39th edition from August 20 to 29. Pic: AFP

“We’re trying to prepare ourselves for a good presentation and to get a good result for the country,” added the 58-year-old Brazilian, who will be managing the team at its first international competition since he filled the hot seat in April, replacing Sann Win who took charge of the under-20s.

Myanmar stunned critics at home when they lifted the Merdeka title last year, edging out Indonesia 2-1 in the final and raising hopes of a new era for Myanmar football.

Going into that tournament, the squad were viewed as firm outsiders, with even Myanmar Football Federation (MFF) officials downplaying the team’s chances in the absence of a foreign coach.

“The highest Myanmar could place in the Merdeka Cup is third out of the four nations,” MFF technical director U Myo Win Nyunt had said. “The Myanmar team’s focus has got to be on conceding as few goals as possible.”

But the surprise victory dispelled such doom and gloom attitudes, and a good-showing will be demanded of Falopa at this year’s expanded Merdeka Tournament as the MFF seeks to collect on the US$6000 it is thought to pay Falopa each month.

Eight nations are represented at the August 20-29 competition, including three African teams. Myanmar has been drawn in Group A together with Malaysia, Bangladesh and Lesotho, while Group B features Indonesia, Singapore, Uganda and Zimbabwe.

“The African teams are going to be difficult because physically they are very strong. In the group stage, the match against the host team, Malaysia, is very difficult,” warned Falopa, before adding: “We can make to the final – it’s sure.”

Falopa said the team were heading to Kuala Lumpur on a high after a series of 11 games against domestic teams that saw the national side win nine times, draw once and lose once.

“We lost only one game to the Ministry of Forestry team who played very tough against us and we didn’t play our complete team. Most league teams are also very strong and played well against us. But if we got to play with some international teams, it would be much better for us,” Falopa said.

About 70 percent of the Merdeka squad is made up of under-23 representatives, who narrowly lost out to India in the Olympic preliminary qualifiers early this year.

But while Malaysia and Indonesia announced all their players would be under 23, Falopa is relying on some of Myanmar’s more senior members to pull the team through.

“It is good to take some experienced players with us because they can support the team well,” he said. “For example, if Brazil play at the World Cup, they couldn’t play well without players like Ronaldo, Cafu and Roberto Carlos because they support the team.”

Falopa added that everyone in the team was in top condition.
“You can’t play football without being in good physical condition and my boys do well at training and try very hard. I’m happy with them and also satisfied with their performance.”

U Aye Maung Gyi, administrative manager of the national team, claimed the players have shown marked improvement under Falopa’s guidance, particularly with their ball skills.

“Our players are happy to train under Mr Falopa. I always listen to feedback from the players and they say they’ve improved a lot with their individual skills and have more self confidence now,” U Aye Maung Gyi said.

He added that Falopa took a “more clever” approach to handling the players than had Myanmar’s previous foreign coaches.

“He is so smart in his work and never pressures the players,” enthused U Aye Maung Gyi. “His style is to emphasise football skills and he’s always focussing on good finishing. I’m sure he’s won the respect of the players, which is important for team spirit.”

Even if Myanmar fail to clinch the Merdeka title again this month – it would be their fifth in 36 years – Falopa can take comfort in the fact the team will still have another three months to prepare for the main event: the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Thailand in December.

It was following a poor showing by the football team at the 2005 SEA Games in Manila, the Philippines, that then-coach Ivan Kolev of Bulgaria was given the boot.

Falopa clearly has the support of the MFF at this stage but he is being careful not to get ahead of himself and promise glory prematurely.

“I think we could win the Merdeka Cup and we will try to be champions, but I can’t say exactly (what will happen). We can’t talk about tomorrow and I don’t about tomorrow,” Falopa said.

“I can’t guarantee to get the Merdeka Cup. But we’re preparing to go there and we’ll do our best there. So we hope.”