PETALING JAYA: Selangor FC midfielder Brendan Gan is delighted to be part of the national team set-up again and eager to help Harimau Malaya in the King’s Cup 2022 Tournament in Chiang Mai, Thailand starting next week.
The 34-year-old player said it was a great honour for him to be given chance to don the national team jersey once more after many challenges and obstacles he had to overcome in the past year.
“It’s a huge honour for me to be back in the national team after a lot of challenges and a lot of hard work behind the scene.
“So, it’s very exciting for me to be back and do the best for the team and the country. Hopefully, we can do well in King’s Cup,” he said when met on the first day of the national squad’s centralised training camp at Wisma FAM in Kelana Jaya, here, yesterday.
Brendan is part of the 25 players listed in national head coach Kim Pan Gon’s travelling squad to The Land of Smiles on Monday (Sept 19).
Brendan last played for the national team when they defeated Thailand 1-0 in the qualifying round of the World Cup 2022/Asia Cup 2023 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) in June 2021, before he was diagnosed with cancer.
After starting to play competitively in June in the Super League, the Selangor star player said now he is at a level he wants.
Speaking about the latest game’s philosophy under Pan Gon, Brendan admitted he is excited with the changes brought by the South Korean gaffer after watching several matches including the 2023 Asian Cup qualifying campaign in Kuala Lumpur in June.
He said the national team’s high-intensity game and high-pressing approach is his favourite style of football.
“Now I need to make sure I will be able to understand what he (Pan Gon) wants and do that quickly,” he said.
In the King’s Cup Tournament, Malaysia ranked 148th in the world had been drawn to face Thailand (ranked 111th) on Sept 22 (Thursday) while Trinidad & Tobago (101st ) will meet Tajikistan (109th).
The winners of the two matches will meet in the final on Sept 25, while the defeated teams will vie for third place. Malaysia had lifted the cup four times in the past, namely in 1972, 1976, 1977 and 1978. - Bernama
