MIDFIELD. That’s all U Aye Kyu Gyi, the coach of Myanmar’s U-23 women’s football team, can think about these days, as his side prepare for the next month’s SEA Games.
“If the midfielders play well, the strikers will score goals and the defenders should be able to look after things down back,” U Aye Kyu Gyi said last month.
“But if the midfield is weak, the strikers and defenders will have to help them out and this will distract them from their own roles. So we are now preparing our midfield to be perfect in Laos.”
A “perfect” performance will be required if they are to achieve their stated aim: a gold medal.
A dose of luck will help. Twenty five players are now training with the team and 20 of these will be selected for Laos. But there are injury clouds over several of the team’s stars, U Aye Kyu Gyi said.
“We face challenges if we are to meet the high target we have set – mainly, our best players are suffering from injuries. Mai Nilar Htway, our leading goalscorer, and Thuzar Htway, our best midfielder, are both injured,” he said.
While there will be disappointment if the pair don’t return from injury in time for the Laos Games, it will be an opportunity for the squad’s lesser players.
Two friendly matches in late October against North Korea’s U-16 team at Yangon’s Thuwanna Stadium gave U Aye Kyu Gyi some indication of where his squad is currently at.
“In the friendly matches with DPR Korea, some players who were injured did not play at all. If they are still injured in Laos, we will need to have capable reserve players ready to replace them,” he said.
The results were promising. On October 27, the hosts went down 2-1 before drawing the final match three days later 1-1.
More important than the result was the experience gained from playing such a well-drilled side.
“The North Korean team is a world standard team. They are better in fitness, power and strength than we are so my team got some good expe-rience from playing friendly matches against this kind of team,” U Aye Kyu Gyi.
“I tested the strength, stamina and performance of the more established players in the first match and gave the younger players an opportunity in the second. They really responded, using all their effort and speed – the second match was more competitive than the first.”
But further international tests are required before the team is ready for next month’s competition, he said.
“This friendly match was the first time we have invited a foreign team to come here during our preparation for Laos. We need to play more of these kinds of matches before the Games begin next month.
“The Myanmar Football Federation has said they will invite foreign teams to play more friendly matches but I don’t know exactly when that will happen. We really want to play against our Southeast Asian rivals, like Thailand and Vietnam.”
These two sides will probably pose the biggest threat to Myanmar’s gold medal chances in Laos, he said.
“The Myanmar women’s U-23 team has won three silver medals and three bronze medals at the SEA Games,” U Aye Kyu Gyi said. “We seriously want to win gold in Laos.”
