Thais target soccer gold, Indos just want to play
By Patrick Johnston SINGAPORE (Reuters) - At the Southeast Asian Games, the men's soccer gold medal carries more weight than any of the other 400 on offer in a region where football bragging rights are the most priceless of commodities. The importance of winning the 11-nation tournament led Thailand and Vietnam to move their World Cup qualifying fixture after a request to FIFA, while domestic action in other countries has also been put on hold. The Thais want a 10th under-23 gold in 12 editions and are heavy favourites to achieve their goal with a third of their 20-man squad part of the Suzuki Cup title success the senior side enjoyed over their Southeast Asian rivals in December. Influential midfielder Charyl Chappuis maybe missing but their rivals remain wary. "In any regional tournament, Thailand are always going to be the favourites. But we proved in the SEA Games semi-final in 2013 that we can match them," Singapore striker Sahil Suhaimi told The New Paper last month. "The pressure is there and not many Singaporeans think that we can go all the way. It's up to us to prove them wrong." Singapore's scepticism stems from frustration at the stagnation of the senior national side in the two years since German coach Bernd Stange took over. The under-23's have fared little better with preparation not going to plan. Last month, head coach Aide Iskandar contracted dengue while a tour of Japan resulted in defeat to a local fourth division team. Singapore have never won the men's gold but they will have taken heart from local club side Lions XII upsetting the odds to win a first Malaysian FA Cup title last weekend. That surprise win over Kelantan in the final led to the Crown Prince of Johor lambasting the state of Malaysian soccer. The Malaysians won gold in 2009 and 2011 but hopes of a third success are low with many fans sharing the Prince's view. Concerns about a lack of adequate preparation have not been helped by the timing of Wednesday's money-spinning friendly between a local select and English side Tottenham Hotspur in Kuala Lumpur. Those frustrations, though, are minor compared to the ones being endured by supporters of back-to-back runners-up Indonesia. Whether the country even takes part in the tournament remains up for debate with FIFA threatening suspension if a row between the government and local football association (PSSI) is not resolved by Friday, the start of the football tournament. "We are closing our eyes and our ears to FIFA's letter (threatening sanctions)," PSSI secretary general Azwar Karim told Reuters earlier this month. "Hopefully, if things go well they will play on June 2 (against Myanmar). Otherwise they will have to return, which is quite sad." (Additional reporting by Mirza Ayu in Jakarta; Editing by John O'Brien)
