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