"We played beautiful football"

Bouy Dary, head coach of Cambodia's U-14 national team

I caught up with Bouy Dary this week to look back at his experiences as the Cambodia U-14 head coach and his team of promising youngsters, who returned recently from the AFC U-14 Festival of Football, impressing many with their style of play, their positive attitude and their sportsmanship throughout the tournament, which took place in Kota Kinabalu in Sabah, Malaysia earlier this month. In their nine matches, Cambodia drew three and lost six of their games, in what Dary described as a very promising series of performances against such nations as Australia, Thailand and Vietnam. The AFC themselves do not release the results of the games played at the Festival. They prefer to keep the competitive edge out of the Festival and to concentrate more on the teamwork, friendship and sportsmanship elements of the 12-nation tournament.
"I couldn't ask any more from my boys," said Dary. "We surprised everyone with our style of play. We played beautiful, passing football, all of the players have improved and they proved they could play at the highest level that their age allows. The two teams that I selected were of equal ability, everyone followed the style of play we set out for them. I must single out Long Phearath, who was fantastic. He was quite outstanding, especially against the bigger boys, as was Mat Nuron. But everyone played their part, it was a real team effort.
The boys have learnt so much. They were exposed to the culture of the different people they met from so many countries. They have learned a lot from the games they played and how to adapt their own game to different opposition. They learned from the AFC green card system of fair play and sportsmanship. Many of the boys had never flown before, but they followed our plan and were able to adapt to all the new experiences they faced quickly and easily. Personally, I took on board what the AFC were keen to promote, that the development of the boys at this age is more important than winning. I also gained a good insight and understanding into how other countries operate, which is important for us to learn from other nations.
We played good football in each match and we played fair. I am proud of the way the team performed on and off the field. Absolutely no problems. As a coaching team we also worked really hard and I can say it was a successful experience for all concerned. We were fit, our recovery was good but when we played against some of the teams like Vietnam and Thailand, they were very big by comparison and that made it hard, particularly in the attacking and defending thirds. I'm not sure about the ages of the teams we played, it's not an excuse but I looked at the teams on and off the field and many of them acted far older than their age and their attitude was very different. We held our own in most of the matches but some of the teams played the long ball and used their superior height to best advantage.
Cambodian boys are physically smaller at this age, it's all down to their background and their diet. You can see that in some of the boys who come from a good stable background, they are physically stronger. We need to work on their balance, improve their strength, their body weight and I believe they will be ready at sixteen or seventeen. I feel confident that if we look after our young players, get them good accommodation, the right food and diet and play games against good foreign opposition over the next two years, that we will improve and be in a position to win games at the U-16 level of competition. These teams are not better than us, many of our boys are already tactically and technically better, but we must look after them. It's so important. I talk to the boys a lot to encourage them, as a team and individually. They must work hard to improve and show their commitment, but now they know what the other teams are like and they can see for themselves there is no difference. That will give them great encouragement. We need to keep this group together for the next two years and I hope the Football Federation will help me to do this."
Bouy Dary is also the head coach of the Phnom Penh Crown Academy, who supplied 17 of the 22-strong squad that the Cambodia U-14s took to the AFC Festival.

Bouy Dary working with his U-14 national team squad

Festival Final Day

The adventures of the Cambodian U-14s national squad in Malaysia reached their finale today and the youngsters will return home tomorrow. It was the last day of matches and Cambodia met the hosts Malaysia and then Vietnam in the 60-minute format, where Cambodia played two different teams of eleven players in each half. With a record up to that point of three draws and four defeats, I'm sure the Cambodian youngsters were desperate for a victory but the hosts were in no mood to roll over and came out on top 4-0 at the final whistle in the morning kick-off. In the afternoon start against neighbours Vietnam, the Khmers succumbed to a 3-1 defeat with In Sodavid grabbing a last minute consolation goal. So results-wise no victories in their nine matches but three creditable draws and a series of performances that have been of great encouragement to head coach Bouy Dary. Their opposition have been the best of their age-group that the SE Asian countries can offer up and to be in contention in every match and against each nation is a remarkable testament to the youngsters and their coaches. We must remember that Cambodian youth football is at the very start of its emergence with only one football academy in place, at Phnom Penh Crown, which has been operating for just over a year. Crown provided the bulk of the U-14 squad with 17 players out of the 22, though their best player, Phoeun Sopheak, was ruled out before the competition with a knee injury. The AFC themselves do not release the results of the games played at the Festival. They prefer to keep the competitive edge out of the Festival and to concentrate more on the teamwork, friendship and sportsmanship elements of the 12-nation tournament. To that end, everyone is a winner.   
The Cambodia line-ups for today's matches:

v  Malaysia: (1st half): Chanvuthy, Noeut, Phearath, Titchhy, Senteang, Chanchav, Ravann, T Chhaya, Nuron, Hap, Sakrovy.
(2nd half): Pheakdey, Piphop, K Chhaya, Baraing, Sovann, Rozak, Chanpolin, Sodavid, Chansopheak, Muslim, Ponvuthy.
v Vietnam: (1st half): Pheakdey, Piphop, K Chhaya, Baraing, Sovann, Rozak, Chanpolin, Sodavid, Chansopheak, Muslim, Ponvuthy.
(2nd half):  Chanvuthy, Noeut, Phearath, Titchhy, Senteang, Chanchav, Ravann, T Chhaya, Nuron, Hap, Sakrovy.

Festival Day 3

The AFC U-14 Festival of Football being held in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah in Malaysia moved into its third day of  matches for the Cambodian U-14 national team today. The second format of games began with 11-a-side sixty minute matches with a half-time break when each country changes their line-up, barring injuries, so all 22 players in each squad get an even amount of game-time. Cambodia met Myanmar this afternoon and went down to a narrow 1-0 defeat. They meet hosts Malaysia (1045am) and then Vietnam (3.30pm) in their final two games tomorrow in the same format, which will bring their first overseas tournament to a close.
v Myanmar: (1st half): Chanvuthy, Noeut, Phearath, Titchhy, Senteang, Chanchav, Ravann, T Chhaya, Nuron, Hap, Sakrovy.
(2nd half): Pheakdey, Piphop, K Chhaya, Baraing, Sovann, Rozak, Chanpolin, Sodavid, Chansopheak, Muslim, Ponvuthy.

Festival Day 2

The results from day 2 of the AFC U-14 Festival of Football in Malaysia are just in. The bare bones of the results, with matches played over a thirty minute period, are as follows:
Cambodia 1 v 4 Timor Leste - Cambodia goal scored by Kim Hap in the 1st minute.
Cambodia 0 v 2 Thailand
Cambodia 0 v 0 Myanmar.
Head coach Bouy Dary felt that his youngsters began the first game against Timor Leste really well and took an early lead through Preah Khan Reach's Kim Hap, only for the boys to switch off, stop doing as they'd be told and allowed Timor Leste to storm back into the game. Against Thailand, who were bigger in stature as Cambodian are finding most of the teams in this competition, the head coach was suitably impressed by his team, who played good football and the match could've gone either way. It went in favour of Thailand who scored twice, including an own goal. The goalless draw against Myanmar in the final game today was a repeat of yesterday's drawn tie. Dary declared himself happy with the way his team have competed and played, regardless of the results and the Cambodian team have also impressed the other coaches and fans as well, he reports.

The Cambodian youngsters will be involved in a skills test day tomorrow with members of the C-Licence coaching course that is being held simultaneously with the Festival. On Saturday the Cambodian U-14 team move onto the second stage of games, lasting sixty minutes each, with a half-time break. The 22-strong squad will be split into two 11-a-side teams, as it has for the first round of matches, and Team 1 will play in the first-half and Team 2 will change places with them for the 2nd half. 3 substitutions are allowed to any team. The Cambodians meet Myanmar again at 2pm on Saturday and then in the Festival's final day of competition, they come up against the hosts, Malaysia at 10.45am and then finish with a game against Vietnam U-14s at 3.30pm.

The line-ups for the three matches today:
v Timor Leste: Chanvuthy, Phearath, Noeut, Titchhy (capt), Senteang, Chanchav, Ravann, T Chhaya, Nuron, Hap, Sakrovy.
v Thailand: Pheakdey, K Chhaya, Senteang, Baraing, Sovann (capt), Chanpolin, Rosak, Sodavid, Chansopheak (Nuron), Ponvuthy, Muslim.
v Myanmar: Chanvuthy, Phearath, Sovann, Titchhy (capt), Senteang, Chanchav, Sodavid, Ravann, Nuron, Hap, Sakrovy.

First day views

The Cambodian contingent at the AFC opening ceremony

These are a few pictures from the first day of the AFC U-14 Festival of Football in Malaysia, taken from a Philippines facebook account of their U-14 team, who are known as the Little Akzals.

Action from the opening Cambodia match against Philippines

The Cambodian (blue) and Philippines teams line up

A look at the Timor Leste team, who are allegedly U-14

The Australian U-14s who have been on a meat and more meat diet

Opening day results

The Cambodia U-14's line-up in the first match v Philippines - click to enlarge

I spoke to Cambodia U-14s head coach Bouy Dary straight after the youngsters final match of the opening day of the AFC U-14 Festival of Football, played in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia and it was clear that he was immensely pleased and proud of how his young squad had performed in their three matches today. Not only was he happy with their showing in the three games but others watching the matches had also commented to him on how talented the Cambodian youngsters were and how their style of play was a pleasure to watch. The U-14s began the day against the Philippines and found themselves on the wrong end of a 2-0 defeat, though Dary felt his youngsters had the measure of their opponents towards the end of the 30-minute game. All the matches in the first two days are of thirty minute duration. The Philippines team had spent the last couple of months at a training camp in Palermo, Italy and had played a dozen warm-up matches whilst overseas, showing the difference in preparation between the two countries, with Dary having access to his squad for three days a week for the last two months. The second and third matches of the day for the Cambodian U-14s were in the afternoon. Dary played two line-ups of eleven players each, ensuring all of his squad players got game-time. The match against Myanmar couldn't have started any better with a goal by Kunthea Ravann of Preah Khan Reach after just a minute. Despite this head start, Myanmar later equalised though the head coach felt his team were always the better side on display as the teams fought out a 1-1 draw at the final whistle. For their final game on day 1, Cambodia faced the much taller and physically stronger team from West Australia but that didn't deter the Cambodian youngsters who were unlucky not to record their first win. A goal by Yeu Muslim on eleven minutes gave Cambodia the lead but Australia levelled and a penalty by Pov Ponvuthy went astray leaving a final score of 1-1. Dary was full of praise for his boys in both matches against bigger opposition and felt they were the better team in both encounters. The U-14's have three games tomorrow against Timor Leste, Thailand and Myanmar again, all of thirty minutes duration, before three more games that will be played for an hour apiece on Saturday and Sunday.
The line-ups for the three matches today:
v Philippines: Pheakdey, K Chhaya, Piphop, Baraing, Sovann (capt), Chanpolin, Rosak, Sodavid, Chansopheak, Ponvuthy, Muslim.
v Myanmar: Chanvuthy, Phearath, Noeut, Titchhy (capt), Senteang, Chanchav, Ravann, T Chhaya, Nuron, Hap, Sakrovy.
v West Australia: Pheakdey, K Chhaya, Piphop, Baraing, Sovann (capt), Chanpolin, Rosak, Sodavid, Chansopheak, Ponvuthy, Muslim.

The Cambodia U-14s for the 1-1 with Myanmar - click to enlarge

The Australia team in yellow completely dwarf their Cambodian opponents in blue

U-14s fixtures

The matches for the Cambodian U-14 national team, who are competing in the AFC U-14 Festival of Football in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia this week have been announced, with a tough first day of competition tomorrow, with three matches against Philippines, Myanmar and West Australia. The U-14s will play a total of six matches of 30 minutes duration over the first two days. They then have a skills test day on Friday before their first 60-minute match on Saturday and then they end the tournament with two hour-long games on Sunday 3 June, against the hosts and Vietnam. The 22-strong squad will be split into two teams of 11-a-side which the coach, Bouy Dary, will alternate among the games. Here are the fixtures:
Wed 30 May:
10.30am  Cambodia v Philippines (30 mins)
2.45pm    Cambodia v Myanmar (30 mins)
5.00pm    Cambodia v West Australia (30 mins)
Thur 31 May:
8.00am    Cambodia v Timor Leste (30 mins)
10.15am  Cambodia v Thailand (30 mins)
4.15pm    Cambodia v Myanmar (30 mins)
Sat 2 June:
2.00pm    Cambodia v Myanmar (60 mins)
Sun 3 June:
10.45am  Cambodia v Malaysia (60 Mins)
3.30pm    Cambodia v Vietnam (60 mins)

Cambodia will not play against Brunei, Indonesia, Laos and Singapore, who are the other nations taking part in the AFC Festival.

The Phnom Penh Crown 1st-team squad have lined-up two matches this week, during the mid-season break for the Metfone C-League. Tomorrow (Wednesday), they meet BBU at the RSN Stadium in Tuol Kork with a 2.30pm kick-off. On Saturday 2 June, Boeung Ket will be the visitors to the RSN Stadium for a 3pm start time. The next C-League game for PPCFC will be against the Army on Wednesday 6 June, with a 2.30pm kick-off.

Wave goodbye

The future of Cambodian football - the U-14 squad head for Malaysia. Click to enlarge.

Pictured above earlier this morning are the Cambodia U-14 squad heading for the AFC U-14 Festival of Football in Kota Kinabalu, the capital of the state of Sabah in Malaysia, where the tournament begins on Wednesday. The matches will involve twelve ASEAN nations including a team from Western Australia, and will take place at the Likas Sports Complex, the best facilities in eastern Malaysia and in a stadium that holds 35,000 people. Over 250 players from the countries taking part will start their 11-a-side 30-minute matches on Wednesday and end with 60-minute games on the final day, Monday of next week. On the sidelines of the Festival, there are also coaching, refereeing, physio and S2S (Secrets to Success) workshops for officials from all countries involved. More on the U-14's adventures as we hear it.

The Cambodia U-14 squad pictured a few days ago. Click to enlarge.

Dary makes his point

Some of the Cambodian U-14 squad, who are likely smaller in stature than their upcoming opponents

The Cambodia U-14 national team leave these shores for the AFC Festival of Football in Malaysia this weekend, full of youthful hope and optimism. And why not, they are the best of their age-group in the country and have worked hard to put into practice the style of quick, passing football that head coach Bouy Dary wants to see his youngsters play. One point that Dary makes forcibly is on age-cheating. This is where players are given fictitious birthdates/passports that allow them to appear in age-group competitions when their real birthdates would make them ineligible, as they are too old. This has been a blight on youth football for many years in Asia and Africa and FIFA have made great strides over the last few years to cut it out. "I disagree strongly with this practice and will make sure it will not be allowed to happen whilst I'm responsible for this team. I'm sure our boys will be physically smaller, but for me, we must take the correct age for the boys, see how they perform against other countries and then we can see how much we need to develop them, in order to be competitive. I feel very strongly about this." He's also keen to keep his squad together after this festival and will talk to the federation about getting them together, perhaps once or twice a month. There is little doubt that this U-14 squad will be the best prepared and the most closely-knit of any Cambodian team of its age, especially with 17 of the 22-strong squad coming from the Phnom Penh Crown Academy team, which Dary mentors as the Crown head coach. The Malaysia festival will be the fifth and final AFC Festival of Football this season after four regional festivals that have already taken place in Qatar, Pakistan, China and Nepal. There are twelve nations joining the South East Asia regional series in Kinabalu, Malaysia with Brunei, Indonesia, Laos, Australia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor Leste and Vietnam joining the hosts and Cambodia.

The Nepal U-14s who led their festival and look considerably bigger and stronger than their Cambodian counterparts

Passed the final test

In Sodavid, 2 goals against Prek Kdam and my tip for the Cambodia U-14s captain

The U-14s youngsters from the Cambodian national team had their final warm-up friendly on Thursday morning at the RSN Stadium and came out on top against a much bigger Prek Kdam U-16s team who were supplemented by older players as well. The game turned in the second of the three halves of 35 minutes each when In Sodavid with a couple of goals, Orn Chanpolin and Yeu Muslim - each from the Phnom Penh Crown Academy - gave the U-14s a 4-1 lead and despite a fightback from Prek Kdam as the national team rang the changes in the third half, the U-14s will be chuffed they won the game 4-3. Certainly another morale booster ahead of their departure for Malaysia and the AFC Festival this weekend. One player who won't be making the trip is the Crown Academy captain Phoeun Sopheak, who was ruled out of the squad after suffering a nagging knee injury which has required lots of rest. He hasn't played for a couple of months and even though he made the trip to the Asia Pacific Academy in New Zealand with coach Bouy Dary in March, he was only able to do light training instead of a full week of development work whilst overseas.

In good spirits

The all-PPCFC bar 1 line-up for the 2nd half: Back Row LtoR: Chanpolin, Sovann, Sodavid, Baraing, K Chhaya, Chanvuthy. Front: Chansopheak, Piphop, Rozak, Muslim, Ponvuthy.

 With the final squad of 22 players chosen for the Cambodian U-14's national team that will be winging its way to Malaysia next weekend, they took on the Prek Kdam U-15s on Sunday morning in a final practice match, at the RSN Stadium in Tuol Kork. National coach Bouy Dary has selected 17 of his own Phnom Penh Crown Academy players to form the bulk of the squad, which will certainly help with continuity, while Preah Khan Reach supply three players and the Army and Prek Kdam one apiece. Dary began the practice match with a mixed line-up for the first of three thirty minute halves. PKR striker Kim Hap's two goals in a minute put the U-14's in the driving seat though a penalty for Prek Kdam gave them a moment to celebrate. Just before the first break, Mat Sakrovy struck the bar and as the ball came down to Mat Nuron, he was felled in the area. Sakrovy stroked home the penalty to make it 3-1 at the interval. In the second period, Dary selected his full Crown line-up, except the keeper, and they went to town against their opponents. Yeu Muslim used his goal-poaching instincts to good effect with two tap-ins and a lob for his hat-trick. Other goals rattled in from Orn Chanpolin, In Sodavid with a penalty, Ouk Sovann curled in a free-kick and Pov Ponvuthy showed quick feet to net a superb individual effort to put the U-14's 10-1 ahead at the second interval. For the third half, the coach made further changes and three more goals took the final score to 13-1. Kim Hap completed his hat-trick, Nuron scored after a mazy run and Sodavid collected his second with a long range effort. The U-14s had made this older opponents work hard and go into training camp this week in high spirits.

The Cambodia U-14s starting line-up for the opening half. Back LtoR: Pheakdey, Titchhy, Ravann, Hap, Senteang, Sakrovy. Front: Chanchav, Phearath, Nuron, T Chhaya, Noeut.

In Sodavid keeps his eyes firmly on the ball as he strikes this penalty

Ken Chansopheak executes the perfect cross

Coach Bouy Dary offering his boys a half-time team talk

The Cambodia U-14's squad line up before the match begins

U-14s squad announced

The final 22 players & coaches with Cambodia's U-14s - click to enlarge

I can reveal the Cambodian U-14 national squad for the forthcoming AFC Festival of Football in Kinabalu, Malaysia, with the squad and coaches leaving on 27 May and returning on 4 June. This is the fifth regional AFC competition this year, with others already played in Qatar, Pakistan, China and Nepal. There are twelve nations joining the South East Asia region competition in Malaysia with Brunei, Indonesia, Laos, Australia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor Leste and Vietnam joining the hosts and Cambodia. Match results from the festival are not made public as the AFC firmly believe that it's more about instilling love of the game among the young players and honing their basic skills and teamwork rather than being results-orientated. The man in charge of the team is Bouy Dary, a former national player and now the head coach of the Phnom Penh Academy. His assistant coaches are Long Rithea (from the Army) and Ouk Mic (PKR's former national goalkeeper). The selection process saw over 100 youngsters whittled down to a squad of thirty before the announcement of today's final squad of 22 players, who will travel to Malaysia to represent their country. The squad is:
Goalkeepers: Kung Chanvuthy (Prek Kdam), That Pheakdey (Preah Khan Reach).
Defenders: Long Phearath, Men Piphop, Ouk Sovann, Seut Baraing, Kim Chhaya, Suon Noeut, Chhuot Senteang, Sraing Titchhy (all Phnom Penh Crown).
Midfielders: Sath Rozak, Orn Chanpolin, In Sodavid, Choun Chanchav, Theang Chhaya (all PPCFC), Kunthea Ravann (Preah Khan Reach).
Forwards: Yeu Muslim, Pon Ponvuthy, Ken Chansopheak, Mat Sakrovy (all PPCFC), Kim Hap (Preah Khan Reach), Mat Nuron (Army).  

National coach Bouy Dary had this to say on releasing the names of his final squad selection. "We started the selection process in mid-March with over 100 boys and in two weeks we reduced that to thirty boys. We have trained twice a week, Thursday and Friday, with a game every Sunday since then. They've worked really hard and have tried hard to do what I've asked of them. They have all improved a lot. We played two games against the older boys at Preah Khan Reach and they did everything I asked them to do, though because our boys are smaller we had problems in the attacking and defensive third. I now know what to do against bigger teams. We expect teams from Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore will be bigger and I think Japan and Korea will be well developed.
We plan to take them into training camp on 22 May at Cheng Meng, so we'll train every day and have a match or two before we leave for Malaysia. I want them to play good football, attacking football, good passing and be well organized. We are small but we are quick, so we'll try to play short passes and move, rather than concentrate on possession football. I have my view on how I want the game to be played and we will do our best to represent Cambodia in the right way. As the coach, I want to win and to win we must play good football, as a team. That is our aim."

Academy jet-setters

The PPCFC Academy celebrate 3rd place in the 2011 Singapore Sixes competition

Many of the youngsters in the Phnom Penh Crown Academy squad will be jet-setting around Asia this month and next. On Sunday next week they head for Kinabalu in Malaysia to take part in the AFC Festival of Football as part of the Cambodian U-14s national football squad. The final make-up of the 22-strong squad will be announced tomorrow. They will be rubbing shoulders with eleven other Southeast Asia nations at the festival, designed to promote everything that is good about the game at a young age. They will return home on 4 June. Following on from their Malaysian adventures, half of the Academy group will then be heading to Singapore for the weekend of 30 June-1 July to once again take part in the prestigious Soccer Sixes 2012 tournament, hosted by Singapore Cricket Club. With ex-Arsenal star Ray Parlour as the guest of honour, the PPCFC Academy will join seven other U-14 teams in the Charity Tournament, a competition which they took part in last year, and finished a very creditable third against charitable institutions from Thailand, Indonesia, Bangladesh, India, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Singapore. The Soccer Sixes is now becoming a major event in the Asian football calendar and PPCFC are very pleased to be invited back again, after the youngsters impressed everyone with their footballing talent last time around. The Tournament website had this to say about the Academy boys: 'Phnom Penh Crown Academy finished third overall with a technical display of football that is well beyond their years and became the talking point throughout the weekend with the fans.' Whenever and wherever the youngsters have represented Cambodia and the Academy, they have been a real credit to themselves and their coaches and I have no doubt this will continue. 

Pov Ponvuthy celebrates in style after another PPCFC victory in the 2011 Sixes tournament

Final game for U-14s

I hope to announce the Cambodian U-14 national team this weekend, ahead of the youngsters leaving for the AFC Festival of Football in Kinabalu, Malaysia on 27 May and returning on 4 June. National coach Bouy Dary will leave a couple of days earlier to prepare for the arrival of his 22-strong squad, with the players selected from four clubs, Phnom Penh Crown, Preah Khan Reach, Prek Kdam and National Defense. The squad will have their final practice match this Sunday morning at the RSN Stadium in Tuol Kork, against Prek Kdam U-15s at 8.30am. The festival is aimed at instilling love of the game among young players and honing their basic skills instead of being a win-lose tournament. For example, the results of the four regional festivals that have already taken place in Qatar, Pakistan, China and Nepal have not been made public. There are twelve nations joining the South East Asia regional series in Malaysia with Brunei, Indonesia, Laos, Australia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor Leste and Vietnam joining the hosts and Cambodia. It promises to be a great experience for the young men and it's no secret that the majority of the squad will come from Bouy Dary's own Phnom Penh Crown Academy, who have already tasted international competition in Singapore and Vietnam.