Thailand aims for hat-trick as Tiger Cup kicks off

Thailand aims for hat-trick as Tiger Cup kicks off

Agence France-Presse, Hanoi, Vietnam

Southeast Asia's biennial battle for footballing supremacy
kicks off Tuesday with regional giant Thailand gunning for a hat-
trick in the 10-team Tiger Cup.

Thailand, which begins its campaign against Malaysia in Kuala
Lumpur on Friday, starts as favorite to be crowned champion of
the ASEAN Football Championship for the third tournament in a
row.

Launched eight years ago, the Tiger Cup has been held every
two years since 1996 and has emerged as Southeast Asia's premier
international soccer event.

This year's competition is being co-hosted by Malaysia and
Vietnam, with each nation staging one of the two first round
pools of five teams before home-and-away knockout rounds start on
Dec. 29.

Group A gets under way in Ho Chi Minh City on Tuesday with
Laos meeting Indonesia while Singapore play host Vietnam.
Cambodia completes the group.

Group B, which kicks off in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday, sees
host Malaysia pooled with Thailand, the Philippines, Myanmar and
East Timor.

With victories in three of the four Tiger Cups held to date,
Thailand starts as the team to beat despite a troubled year which
has seen them change coach twice, exit World Cup qualifiers early
and get trounced at the Asian Cup.

Former German international Siegfried Held -- a veteran of the
1966 and 1970 World Cups -- has sought to introduce an air of
stability into the Thai set-up by enforcing a strict disciplinary
regime.

Previous coach Carlos Roberto de Carvalho's reign was made
miserable by players missing training or arriving late for
sessions -- and Held is determined not to suffer the same
difficulties.

Practical jokes on the training ground have been banned, as
have alcohol and poker games. Players must switch off mobile
phones when at the training camp and Held has also ordered a
"lights-out at 10 p.m." policy for his players.

Held is banking on the experience of midfielder Therdsak
Chaiman, the star of the 2002 tournament, to inspire Thailand to
more Tiger Cup glory.

The Thais warmed up for the competition with a penalty shoot-
out loss against Slovakia in Bangkok last week after a 1-1 draw
in normal time.

Held said the match showed up worrying weaknesses in Thai
ranks, and has called for his team to maintain possession more
effectively.

"Once again we showed fighting spirit but only fighting spirit
is not good enough to win matches," Held said. "Instead of quick,
simple passing they always make jokes with the ball.

"The service to the strikers was not very good and the
strikers did not hold the ball up for the midfield. They have to
protect the ball rather than always trying to beat their man."

Despite Held's concerns, it will be a major surprise if
Thailand fails to win a semifinal berth from Group B, where its
main rival for top spot is likely to be Malaysia.

Group A meanwhile should see a more closely fought contest,
with Vietnam -- runner-up when the country last hosted the
tournament in 1998 -- Indonesia and Singapore expected to head
the challenge for the two semifinal places.

In a break with previous years, the knockout phase of the 2004
Tiger Cup will see the semifinals played over two legs on a home-
and-away basis between Dec. 29 and Jan. 2.

The final will also be home and away, with the two legs
scheduled for Jan. 8 and 15.

Tiger Cup fixtures

Draw and schedule for Tiger Cup ASEAN Football Championship
which gets under way on Tuesday:

Group A
Cambodia
Indonesia
Laos
Singapore
Vietnam

Matches
At Ho Chi Minh City
7/12/04: Laos v Indonesia, Singapore v Vietnam
9/12/04: Cambodia v Vietnam, Indonesia v Singapore

At Hanoi
11/12/04: Laos v Cambodia, Vietnam v Indonesia
13/12/04: Singapore v Laos, Indonesia v Cambodia
15/12/04: Vietnam v Laos

At Haiphong
15/12/04: Cambodia v Singapore

Group B
East Timor
Malaysia
Myanmar
Philippines
Thailand

Matches
At Kuala Lumpur
8/12/04: Philippines v Myanmar, East Timor v Malaysia
10/12/04: Thailand v Myanmar, Malaysia v Philippines
12/12/04: East Timor v Thailand, Myanmar v Malaysia
14/12/04: Philippines v East Timor, Malaysia v Thailand
16/12/04: Myanmar v East Timor, Thailand v Philippines

Semifinals
29/12/04: 1st A v 2nd B 1st leg
30/12/04: 1st B v 2nd A 1st leg
01/01/05: 2nd B v 1st A 2nd leg
02/01/05: 2nd A v 1st B 2nd leg

Final
08/01/05: Winner SF1 v Winner SF2 1st leg
15/01/05: Winner SF2 v Winner SF1 2nd leg