“Once, when I went back home during the weekend break from training, my mother cried. She did not want me to be playing football which she thought was wasting time. Instead, she wanted me to spend more time on my education. After that I rarely went back home even when I had a break because I did not want to see my mom crying. It also made me worry about my passion for football,” Lwin Moe Aung said of his early days in football.

The youngest member of Myanmar’s SEA Games football team, Lwin Moe Aung has been away from his parents since childhood in pursuit of his dream. He was born in Thayet Tan village, Mandalay Region’s Amarapura township in 1999. 

He is the second child of three and he has one older sister and one younger brother.

As a youngstser, he was crazy about football. He began joining local amateur football competitions that were held annually near Paleik Pagoda close to his village.

Realising he couldn’t keep his son away from the game, his father decided to send him to Mandalay Sports and Physical Education Institution to learn the sport properly, putting aside the family’s wishes.

“When I prepared to go, my mother and grandmother didn’t agree. But I went anyway. My mother thought I would come back home sometime because I was young. But I seldom went back so she came to take me back. I was a Grade 9 student at the time,” he told Myanmar Times.

Young international athletes might sometimes feel homesick when they’re far from home, but he says he is happiest playing football and seldom feels homesick.

His father, who is a mushroom trader, often tells him on the phone not to worry about the family and to fully focus on his work, he said.

Once he was enrolled at the Sports and Physical Education Institution, Lwin Moe Aung opted for his favourite sport football, but funnily enough he impressed the futsal coach. Although the coach advised him to play futsal, he just couldn’t give up his passion for football, going so far as to decide he would go home if the school did not allow him to play football.

“I told them I would go back home if I didn’t have a chance to play football. I don’t like playing futsal because it’s played in a small field and I like it less,” he said.

Lwin Moe Aung, who previously played on the right wing, had a chance to play in midfield when he arrived at the Sports and Physical Sciences Institution.

As he had to play in a position he wasn’t accustomed to, it was initially difficult for him. And, as a midfielder, he felt nervous when other players tried to take the ball at his feet away, he said.

As he was having difficulties playing in midfield, he tried to get a chance to play on the right wing, but the manager persuaded him to stay in the midfield, so he remained a midfielder.

His mother now understands his passion and accepts his decision to focus on football. These days, she puts less pressure on him to come home, so he goes back more often during holidays. While playing on the institution’s team, he was selected to play for the national youth team in 2017. Because of his talent, he was selected for U-23 side even though he was playing for the U-18 team at the time. 

One year later, his life goal was also fulfilled.

Then head coach Gerd Zeise chose him for the first time for the match against Kyrgyzstan, played in South Korea, as the final match of Asian Football Confederation Asian Cup 2019. 

“As it was my first cap for the country, I was very happy being chosen. I learned many things although I didn’t have any playing time in that match. I was just happy to be chosen for the national football team and I was nervous when I met the seniors,” he said, adding that the older players helped him get accustomed to the team quickly.

Although Lwin Moe Aung was chosen for the national team, he has never played in the Myanmar National League, the country’s professional league. 

After earning his first national call-up, he received offers from national league clubs and finally chose Ayeyawady United Football Club.

As he is now fully focused on professional football, he has stopped his education after failing the matriculation exam.

His parents, however, understand him and told him to try the best as a football player, he said.

“Finally, my mother understands me. She knows that it was difficult for me to be outstanding in both football and my studies. My mom is happy if I’m happy and she encourages me to always try,” he said.

Lwin Moe Aung now plays for Ayeyawaddy United and has earned his place in the club’s first team.

When he isn’t playing he also loves watching football matches. He mainly watches the matches of teams with strong mid field formations. He loves watching Manchester City and its coach Pep Guardiola, he said.

Asked about his favourite players, he says he admires local player Aung Thu and Barcelona midfielder. There are also players who can influence his life. They are striker Aung Thu, local player and midfielder Xavier Hernández of Barcelona.
“I like Ko Aung Thu’s skills while in possession and vision during the game. I like Xavi as he is also a midfielder like me and I like his way of passing the ball. As I am a midfielder, I enjoy creating chances to score,” said Lwin Moe Aung.

He says the favourite matches of his career so far were the U-23 team’s win against Uzbekistan and the national team’s win against Cambodia in Mandalay. 

“There are differences between national team and age group matches. In the age group squad, we can play freely, but in the senior team, I worry that I might make mistakes during the match. There is less pressure in the age-group squads,” he says. 

The match that worried him the most so far was against Malaysia at Bukit Jalil for the semifinals of 2018 Suzuki Cup.

“I was really nervous in that match because of the passionate home supports. Luckily, I calmed down after getting onto the pitch,” he said.

Despite being a young player, Lwin Moe Aung has sky-high dreams. Some famous local players are playing in foreign leagues and he is hoping to do the same.

Even when he was in youth team, he had chances to go abroad. After a youth match in Timor Leste, the country’s coach offered him a club position.

Although he was tempted to take the offer, he didn’t move away as he knew he needed more experience after speaking with local coaches. 

He will continue playing as long as he can and he doesn’t know when he will retire. He now also runs a restaurant in Hpa-an with his friends and teachers and when he retires, he plans to go back to his parents to run the business full time.

“When I retire, I want to stay near my parents. If parents are happy, children never suffer, the saying goes. I will do a business there. No matter how tired I am, I will be happy if my parents are happy,” he says.

The key to becoming a national player is hard work, he said. He advises other youngsters hoping to follow in his footsteps to obey the instructions of their coaches and to commit to their ambitions.

“I have seen some players drop out after having to choose between sports and education. Some find it difficult as parents aren’t supportive. They should go to an academy like I did and they are luckier now because more academies and sports schools are emerging these days. They can learn properly there starting from an early age,” he said.

His current focus is the SEA Games at the end of this month. Myanmar is in a group together with host Philippines, Malaysia, Cambodia and Timor and he aims to fulfil the expectations of his countrymen.

“I believe we can do something special in coming SEA Games,” he said. – Translated

Myanmar’s Greatest Athletes is a series of interviews with five of local sportsmen and women who will represent Myanmar at the upcoming Sea Games in the Philippines. These profiles tell the stories of each athlete and how they train, why and how they became involved in their sport and shed light on what inspires them to commit and compete.  The 30th Southeast Asian Games in the Philippines will begin on Saturday, November 30 and ends on Wednesday, December 11.

About 10,000 athletes from11 countries in Southeast Asia will be competing in 56 sports in the biennial event. The games are held under the auspices of the South East Asian Games Federation with supervision by the International Olympic Committee and the Olympic Council of Asia. More than 500 sportsmen and women (including coaches) from Myanmar will participate in 31 sports with dreams of winning medals.