Football fever

The Cambodian national football team line up before a recent match against Macau

It seems only yesterday that the Cambodian national football team were sacking their South Korean coach - he didn't have the necessary coaching qualifications and results weren't good either - and looking forward to a new era under former youth team coach Prak Sovannara, though his era may be short-lived after another two crushing defeats this week. Ranked 183rd in the FIFA rankings - wedged between Andorra and Nicaragua - Cambodia are likely to drop further down the league table after suffering a 7-1 defeat to Myanmar last night, just days after a 7-0 mauling to hosts Indonesia in the Pertamina Independence Cup tournament in Jakarta. Fortunately only 100 people (in a stadium holding 88,000) witnessed the Myanmar defeat so not too many can say 'I was there.' The reason for the defeat according to Sovannara was lack of preparation. Maybe the lack of talented players and a cohesive team unit might also have something to do with it.
Cambodia, who were using the games to tune-up for the AFF Suzuki Cup 2008 qualifiers to be held in Phnom Penh, are now out of the tournament that also included Libya, Brunei and an Indonesia B team. The Asean Championship qualifying rounds will be held in Cambodia from 17-25 October and five nations will go head-to-head for the two available slots in the final rounds later in the year. Joining Cambodia in the event are Philippines, Laos, Timor Leste and Brunei.

At a slightly lower standard, but not much, there's an inter-squad game between two Bayon Wanderers sides at the Old Stadium tomorrow at 2pm. With well over 40 players itching for a game, the team that went to Saigon last weekend will take on the team that stayed behind and beat the Ministry of Labour 5-3. It's certainly a thriving club and the competition for places is getting hotter each week. I need games to get my own match fitness back after my years in the football wilderness, but I'm likely to miss tomorrow after picking up a niggling groin injury at training on Thursday. I'm getting increasingly frustrated at picking up a series of knocks and strains but I must be realistic that after so long without playing, my body just isn't the athletic machine it used to be...yeah right!