Saturday, October 17, 2009

Lao footballers told to stay level-headed








Thursday, October 15, 2009
Lao footballers told to stay level-headed Standing Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the SEA Games Organising Committees, Mr Somsavat Lengsavad, has told the Lao national U-23 football team not to get carried away with their success at the recent 4 Nations Football Tournament.
Mr Somsavat met the team at the Lao Football Federation in Vientiane this week to congratulate them on their success, but told them it was just the first step towards triumph at the upcoming SEA Games.
“Don't get too pleased with being crowned 4 Nations champions. You have passed the first test for the SEA Games in December, but there are still many challenging experiences awaiting you in the near future,” he told the players.
Mr Somsavat said the tournament showed the Lao team had developed and improved, with a win over Thailand and draws with Vietnam and Malaysia bringing them the tournament title.
At the tournament, Laos drew 1-1 with Vietnam , defeated Thailand 3-0 and drew 1-1 with Malaysia to be crowned champions.
“We should be aware that, while we are developing, our competitors will be devising new strategies to defeat us, so we need to train even harder for the games,” Mr Somsavat said.

After the successful tournament the government presented the team with 15 million kip and gave certificates of congratulations to primary sponsors, the Lao Brewery Company and Crossfire Company.
Ari Survey, Design, Consultancy and Construction Company also rewarded each team member with 450,000 kip.
The coach of the national team, Mr Alfred Riedl, said, before the tournament the players had all trained hard and were very willing to give their best.
“The players are all very willing and eager to train. Their attitude has certainly changed for the better. Now we are trying to improve the players as much as we can and they work hard at improving themselves. In the coming SEA Games we will see the results,” Mr Riedl said.
Team Manager Viphet Sihachakr said 20 players will be selected from the current group of 26 to take part in an upcoming tournament in Cambodia .
“They are getting better and we have seen results since the new coach came. On behalf of the team I would like to urge everyone in Laos to cheer for them during the SEA Games,” he said.
Source : http://www.vientianetimes.org.la/Site_SeaGames/News/News_Archive/News_Lao%20footballers.htm

No comments:

Post a Comment

indonesian supporters