Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Kuala Lumpur: Ong Kim Swee has been named the new head coach of Malaysia after the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) confirmed his appointment on Monday.
The 45-year-old has been given the nod after taking charge of the team in a caretaker capacity since September following the resignation of Dollah Salleh, a role he also fulfilled briefly in 2014 after K. Rajagobal’s tenure had come to an end.
At a press conference held at Wisma FAM, the association’s headquarters, it was confirmed that Ong had agreed a two-year deal.
Ong is no stranger to the international setup and, along with his two stints as interim coach of Harimau Malaya, also took charge of the Malaysia U-23 side since 2010 and led them to the gold medal at the 2011 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games.
It is understood that the former Malaysia international was selected ahead of two foreign candidates in Croat Bojan Hodak, who enjoyed success at both Kelantan and Johor Darul Ta’zim, and Dutchman Robert Alberts, who was last in charge of Sarawak and has a wealth of experience in Southeast Asian football.
The FAM have presented their new coach with three main targets: qualify for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup, improve the team’s position in the world rankings, as well as winning the 2016 AFF Suzuki Cup at the end of this year.
At present, Ong’s immediate priority is Malaysia's final joint 2018 FIFA World Cup/2019 AFC Asian Cup qualifier against Saudi Arabia on March 24.
Nonetheless, it is likely he will also invest plenty in preparing for the Suzuki Cup, which Harimau Malaya won once in 2010 under Rajagobal, while they also finished as runners-up behind Thailand in the previous edition two years ago.
Photo: AFP