Malaysia coach responds fiercely to criticism before match against Vietnam team

Yesterday (May 16), Malaysia announced the list of 38 players preparing for the match against the Vietnamese team. According to the New Straits Times, coach Peter Cklamovski has received a lot of criticism from the domestic public when he excluded two players Adam Nor Azlin and Sergio Aguero of Sri Pahang Club.

Sergio Aguero's absence from the Malaysian national team has created huge controversy (Photo: SNE).

It is worth mentioning that right before the Australian coach announced the squad list, these two players had just performed outstandingly in the final of the Malaysian National Cup.

Adam Nor Azlin played for the Malaysian national team from 2017 to 2019. The central defender born in 1996 has been playing quite well recently. Meanwhile, Sergio Aguero was born in 1994. This player participated in the AFF Cup 2022 and 2024. In addition, he also participated in the Malaysian national team participating in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.

"Many people feel that the absence of Adam Nor Azlin and Sergio Aguero from the Malaysian team is extremely regrettable. Among them, there are many suspicions that coach Peter Cklamovski has favored some members of the current squad," the New Straits Times emphasized.

Faced with that situation, coach Peter Cklamovski spoke up to explain: "I cannot call up 100 players to the Malaysian team. I have a list of 100 players in my hand and I want to develop their talents."

The absence of Adam Nor Azlin and Sergio Aguero comes at a time when Sri Pahang FC is rumoured to be unable to participate in the National Championship next season due to financial crisis. Meanwhile, players who rarely play for Johor Darul Ta'zim FC such as Junior Eldstal are included.

Coach Peter Cklamovski confirmed that he cannot call up 100 players to the national team (Photo: FAM).

Coach Peter Cklamovski added: "I'm still monitoring everything. Eldstal is training hard every day. His intensity and desire is what I'm looking for. A player shouldn't lose his desire every day just because he wasn't selected.

Some players were not called up this time but they are still in the plans of Malaysian football in the future. I hope they will maintain a positive attitude, continue to improve themselves and be ready to be called up in the next rounds."

In the training camp to prepare for the match against Vietnam, Malaysia divided the team into three stages. In the first stage, 28 players will join the team on May 18. These are players who have finished playing in the Malaysian domestic league. After that, 8 players Syihan Hazmi, Corbin-Ong, Matthew Davies, Shahrul Saad, Junior Eldstal, Afiq Fazail, Romel Morales and Endrick dos Santos will join the team on May 25. The remaining two players who will join the team the latest, Dion Cools and Hector Hevel, will join the team on June 1.

Speaking about this, coach Peter Cklamovski said: "This phased gathering is very unique. The players who were called up in phase 1 have had 4 weeks of rest. After that, we will add players who were called up in phases 2 and 3 to complete the squad."

The match between Vietnam and Malaysia will take place on June 10 at Bukit Jalil Stadium. This is a match that will directly decide the ticket to the 2027 Asian Cup in Group F.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/hlv-malaysia-dap-tra-du-doi-nhung-chi-trich-truoc-tran-gap-tuyen-viet-nam-20250517132108034.htm