NATIONAL football team head coach Peter Cklamovski has described the recent training camp ahead of their 2027 AFC Asian Cup Qualifier against Vietnam as “a unique one”, highlighting its importance in fostering the squad’s ‘team mentality’ and cohesion.
Speaking after Harimau Malaya’s commendable performance in their second Group F match, Cklamovski acknowledged the unconventional nature of the camp, especially since many players had not played competitive football since the Malaysian Super League was off-season.
“Well, it was a bit of a puzzle, this camp was a unique camp. The majority of the players were off-season from the Malaysian Super League. Faced tough opponents against Cape Verde, which you know, again was another good team performance.
“...and then that continued on to the final phase where we get some new players in, they committed to the team mentality we’re building, the training mentality we’re building, you saw the quality that we’re growing as a team,“ he said at a post-match press conference at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium last night.
Speaking about the squad setup, Cklamovski emphasised the necessity of depth and versatility rather than depending entirely on a set starting lineup.
“We make subs and we want to take our game to another level and make impacts off the bench. But you know, we don’t rely on the best 11. We’re an A-Team and that’s the mentality we’re growing, and it’s growing the right way. The mentality in the team’s strong and we’ll continue to build our mentality for team performances,” he said.
Last night, Malaysia ended an eleven-year winless streak against Vietnam with a 4-0 victory, courtesy of goals from Joao Figueiredo, Rodrigo Holgado, Corbin Ong, and Dion Cools.
