Online interviews

PPC coach Bojan Hodak keeps tabs on his new team

I've tracked down a couple of online football interviews. The first is with new Phnom Penh Crown coach Bojan Hodak, from June 2008, when he was the subject of the focus by Malaysia's Star Online. Click here to read more. The second is with former Cambodian national coach Scott O'Donell who was recently talking to Australia's NineMSN. You can read the interview here though the most telling comments relating to Cambodian football are as follows. "I didn't think the federation were serious about the development of football, and in particular the apparent lack of interest in the national team," O'Donell said. "They are getting left behind the rest of the region and they will not catch up until they focus on developing the youth players from an early age. Countries like Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia all have relatively successful youth development programs which involve giving the kids opportunities to play regularly and receive qualified coaching from a young age. Cambodia has done very little in regards to youth development." I'm pleased to report that Phnom Penh Crown are doing their bit to begin a serious tilt at youth development with their Elite Football Academy undergoing its final trials this weekend. From tomorrow, PPC will have 22 under-13 players ready to start on their journey to becoming professional footballers.